There will be beer, there will be music, there will be great food, and best of all, there will be "Czeknowlogy?" That's right!!

Czech ambassador to China Libor Secka and top Expo authorities convened a press conference today to unveil a model of their pavilion, pavilion design plans and to take the press on a tour of the pavilion under construction.

The Czech pavilion will be decorated with hockey pucks and has been thematically dubbed "Fruits of Civilization." As a Canadian, the wisdom of using hockey to visually impart a theme of surpassing social evolution is certainly not lost on me. Hockey is the most amazing, complex and exciting sport on the planet, at once a ballet and gladiatorial, hockey is where the apex of competitive genius finds its fullest expression.

No doubt then that hockey deserves a place sheltering, with its wintry might, the fruits of Czech civilization: the Czech National Ballet, de Bergerac's New World Symphony, the original Plzeň beer (800 years of brewing mastery!), nanotechnology, Kafka, crystal works, an historic statuary and premium Czech cuisines.

Visitors to the Czech pavilion will also have plenty of opportunites for fun and novel experiences. The aforementioned "Czeknowlogy" is put to use creating one-of-a-kind perfumes matched to individual visitors. By sitting in a special chair, every 500th visitor will have their emotional states "read" by a computer, which by some process of alchemy and algorithmic conjuration, creates a unique perfume matching their mood.

Also, after touching a specially imported bas-relief from Prague's Charles Bridge (the largest medieval bridge gallery on the planet by the way) depicting Jan Nepomucky, apparently one of the most popular lucky charms in Europe, visitors will be encouraged to try to guess the amount of gold in the "Lacrimau" exhibit. The 10 best guesses will win RMB 50,000 at Expo's end.

Beyond these highlights, visitors will enjoy 20 other "imaginative presentations" including flight simulations over Prague, taking place in a model plane moving over a floor screen, basically a gigantic arcade game; should be great for the young ones!

See pictures of the Czech pavilion interiors under construction below!
 

Pavilion entryway. The center area will house statuary from Prague's Charles Bridge.

Ceiling segments flow with the curvature of floors and will house artistic displays.

Under construction; the polyhedronal frame on the right will house a video system simulating a 60-meter diameter screen for full-sense immersion.

The aforementioned hockey pucks... there are thousands of these on the pavilion's exterior walls.

See ChinaTravel.net's Czech Pavilion overview.

More on Shanghai Expo travel on ChinaTravel.net:
Shanghai Expo 2010 tickets: Pricelist 
Shanghai Expo 2010 tickets: How to buy Expo tickets in Shanghai
Shanghai Expo: To and from Expo by taxi
Shanghai Expo: Visit the Expo using the Metro

All photos by Stephan Larose