The result of Chinese/Saudi cooperation, the Saudi Arabian Pavilion evokes the Chinese/Saudi Arabian friendship through a landscape populated by Chinese and Arabian trees. On its roof, the pavilion displays 150 date palms, trees common to Arabian deserts, first taken from Saudi Arabia, transplanted temporarily in Zhejiang Province, and then finally planted on the pavilion. Since the closing of the Shanghai Expo, the pavilion has reopened as the Moon Boat.
To assure the friendship bit is exceedingly clear, the Saudis took a literal no-expenses-spared approach (already spending USD29.3 million at just 20% completion), having publicly declared that there was no ceiling to the pavilion's construction budget.
Considering China's unlimited appetite for petrocarbons and Saudi Arabia's ample supply, the allusion to infinitely shared interests most likely had more than mere pragmatism at its roots.
Shaped like a "moon boat" the Saudi Pavilion also plays host to a massive movie screen. At 1,600 sq m (1,914 sq yd) in size, it's one of the largest in the world.
Visitors to the pavilion are also be able to wander through gardens landscaped to reference Arabian geography, namely deserts surrounded by seas, and take in exhibits about plans to make Saudi Arabian cities healthy centers of opportunity and growth for their citizens in the 21st century.
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