Thousands visit Qatar’s pavilion at Beijing Expo
Qatar’s pavilion at the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition (Expo 2019) hosted a book-reading and signing ceremony for the Desert Rose’ story by writer and artist Lina al-Aali. The ceremony was attended by senior officials of Expo 2019 as well as the commissioners and heads of the participating countries’ pavilions.
Al-Aali said in a statement that the story of Desert Rose stems from the desert environment and is linked to the educational values of the child, noting that she was inspired by the idea of the story. The story, she said, was translated to the Chinese language with the support of Qatar’s ambassador to China Sultan bin Salmeen al-Mansouri and deputy commissioner-general of Qatar’s pavilion Dr Fayqa Ashkanani, and with the active contribution of Qatar’s embassy in Beijing.
She is seeking to spread the culture of the desert rose not only in Chinese and Arabic, but in all languages in order to reach a large number of children around the world, the writer said. Qatar’s pavilion at the Beijing Expo 2019 opened its doors to the public on April 29 and will run until October 7.
A quarter of a million people of various nationalities and ages have visited the pavilion since its opening. It is the largest foreign pavilion at the expo and among the biggest overall.
Built on a total area of 2,100 sq m, the pavilion was designed by Qatari engineer Fatima Fawzi and is deeply connected to the Qatari community. The Qatari pavilion at Beijing Expo 2019 presents Qatar’s experience in gardening, agriculture, agricultural solutions and green development, highlights the country’s development and urbanisation experience, introduces the world to the culture and history of Qatar, presents Qatar National Vision 2030 and highlights the country’s preparations for hosting the horticultural exhibition in 2021 as well as its preparations to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar in 2022.