Preface（Ⅰ）

At the heart of every Expo, there are few specific initiatives that are remarkable and through their foresight, innovation, solidarity, cooperation and educational value come to embody many of the values of the event. For Expo Shanghai 2010, the Life and Sunshine Pavilion is definitely one of them.

An event of the magnitude of this World Expo on the theme of“Better City, Better Life”could not have been conceived without integrating the concept of the“Life and Sunshine Pavilion”.

The Pavilion has contributed to raising the attention towards people with disabilities and to promoting the development of the rights of people with disabilities. An integrative approach and measures to offer a better quality of life in cities for people with disabilities are crucial.

Mr. Wang Zhijun played a key role in the development of the Life and Sunshine Pavilion: he built the necessary bridge between people with and people without disabilities.

Mr. Wang Zhijun reached the heart of all the visitors with his passionate poems. World Expo Poems is not only the reflection of Mr. Wang’s contribution to the Life and Sunshine Pavilion, but it is also a testimony of the history of China.

World Expo Poems already knows a great success and I am happy that his initiative has already found echo in the society. The Guang Ming Daily published the preface of the Album along with some poems from Ye Xin.

It is not an easy task to translate poems into foreign languages but I believe in the universality of feelings and I think that the poems speak to the heart of the readers, as the Life and Sunshine Pavilion spoke to the heart of the visitors. I am delighted to see that the Life and Sunshine Pavilion team, under Mr. Cao Zi Ping’s leadership and with the support of the Hua Xia Publishing House worked on this project. A special thank goes to Professor Zhang Jian and other experts of the Beijing Foreign Studies University for their work to introduce EXPO Shanghai and the Life and Sunshine Pavilion to English readers.

My gratitude also goes to Professor Zhou Hanmin, who recommended in the first place that the Album be translated in English and French so that it could reach the world.

As we all continue to work on the development of many aspects of the legacy of EXPO Shanghai 2010, I would like to see this Album as one of the elements in this process and as one lesson on how to work towards“Better City, Better Life”in a spirit of open dialogue and continuous learning.

“It all begins with Expo”. Hereby, I would like to express my sincere congratulations to Mr. Wang Zhijun for the publication of the English version of World Expo Poems. I hope that those who care and love Expo may enjoy reading the book.

Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions
Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales
In Paris, Feb, 2012