The Canadian, US, Chinese and other major national Expo 2010 pavilions have been getting plenty of play in the English-language expat and Chinese press (though the US pavilion is mostly still living down its funding fiasco), lesser known are the many corporate pavilions that will be showcasing their products, services and ambitions. Among these, the China State Grid Pavilion looks like it's going to be a doozy.

The pavilion (referred to as both a "Magic-cube" and "Magic-box" by its parent corporation) has been designed by Zhao Xiaojun, famed as the chief designer of Beijing's luminescent Watercube, one of the Beijing 2008 Olympic's most recognizable icons. This makes perfect sense once you see how prominent a role LCD visuals play in the pavilion's design, given the Watercube's integration of the technology into its space-age skin.

The 4,000 sqm structure will be fronted by a massive LCD display throwing off images of Tesla-style lances of electricity, sure to draw light-show loving crowds like proverbial moths to a flame. And though they won't get physically fried, more than a few minds may be momentarily blown by the tech extravaganza within.

What's inside this Magic-box? Functional stuff first, followed by fun: Displays illustrating the massive network of UHV (Ultra High Voltage) transmission lines that the State Grid is developing to bring electricity from far-flung wind farms and (*cough*) coal-fired power plants to China's rapidly growing urban centers (a ten-year, RMB 600 billion project, all told). There will also be displays about the functioning of the electrical substations State Grid is building to power the Expo, and plenty of information about the relationship between renewable resources. Certainly a feast for concerned and interested citizens and energy geeks, yes, but the real crowd-pleasers show off what can be done with the creative application of electricity to the age-old question of how best to make people go wow!

Let's revisit the 1980s, briefly, shall we? Recall the 1982 Disney head-trip flick Tron? The one about being lost inside a groovy vector computer game? Well, though Master Control won't be making an appearance at the pavilion (sorry, Troniacs), if you love the idea of being fully immersed in virtual reality and enjoy the vertigo-inducing stimuli overloads dealt out by Imax and Omnimax shows, then you'll really love what State Grid has in store for you: a 250-person theater with screens on ceilings, floors and walls slated to deliver an unprecedented, totally immersive, sense-tricking "720 degree" video experience.

Expect to "do" things such as walking up to a cliff and leaping off the edge into the awaiting chasm; a thrill-ride experience if there ever was one, except you won't have to move a muscle (though your stomach may involuntarily flip a few times). The good Grid people will be installing handrails to assist those among us who haven't earned our virtual sea legs (that is, those whose first instinct will be to throw themselves the ground and hang on for dear life). Yipe!

Corporate pavilions boring? It would seem not.

Tip of the ol' hat to Michael Darragh at WorldExpoBlog for gabbin' to us about the Grid! Well played sir!

All images from China State Grid, courtesy of WorldExpoBlog.com

More Shanghai Expo 2010 related content on ChinaTravel.net:

Shanghai Expo: Visit the expo using the Metro
Shanghai Expo 2010 tickets: How to buy Expo tickets in Shanghai
Adam Minter: How the US blew it at Shanghai Expo 
Shanghai Expo 2010 news round-up: Cavemen, gemology, smurfs!