Written by Qu Zhongzhi

The World Expo itself is an innovation as it was an extension and expansion of the marketplace in the beginning. The first World Expo, held in London in 1851, was an extraordinary trading fair at the inception, laying a solid foundation for future large-scale World Expositions. As the old Chinese saying goes, good rice seedling indicates at least a half harvest, which is similar to the western proverb that "a good beginning is half done." All of them reflect the importance of a good start.

The first World Expo was not only a dazzling and rich display of exhibits; it also was the fountainhead for the future free trade, in what was seen as a harbinger for the arrival of the industrial age. Its exhibits reflected the development of modern industry and the boundless imagination of human beings. It splendor and huge success serves as a good beginning for the future exhibitions, which has been inherited by future World Expos, attracting worldwide attention. It is no doubt that innovation is the core and soul of the World Expo.

Innovative contents: Keeping pace with the times

The World Expo has been more and more concerned with the common problems faced by the mankind along with a process of development and enrichment over the past 150 years. It endeavors to unveil the whole developmental process of the nature, seeking the solutions to the concerned problems while providing deep insights for the public. From this we can say that the innovation of the World Expo is first manifested in the contents of the exhibits, which are a symbol illustrating the zeitgeist of the times. Combing through the development thread of the World Expo in its exhibits, we can easily discover that: the 1851 London Expo and the 1867 Paris Expo paid attention to industrial technology, and the 1873 Vienna Expo highlighted the agricultural achievement; since then the World Expo had been gradually unshackled from the original design of industrial (agricultural) exhibitions and the stereotypical exhibition forms. The 1893 Chicago Expo and the 1898 Paris Expo blazed a new path in displaying the beautification movement for modern cities, with cities and architectural designs and technologies being chosen as the important exhibits of the World Expo. Meanwhile, the Chicago Expo also introduced contents of entertainment and urban life. The two recent World Expos starting from the 2000 Hanover Expo has been particularly concerned with the harmonious relationship between technology and nature and that of environmental projection and sustainable development. The 2005 Aichi Expo put forward a clear theme of "Nature's wisdom", and has been trying to live up to the theme in pavilion design and the construction of Expo Park. It has enhanced the harmony between societal development and nature to a relatively high level of consciousness, providing a new perspective for us to reexamine the relationship between mankind and nature.

Technological innovation: the glamour of the Word Expo

As early as in 1851, exhibits such as engines, water-driven printing machines and textile machines showing the latest technologies at that time were on display, attracting all the eyeballs. Since then, exhibitors to the World Expo all agreed to display their latest technological achievements to the public, making the World Expo a stage and frontline in displaying and promoting the latest technologies. Many of these familiar exhibits were transformed into consumer products after being displayed at the World Expo, making contributions to the development of the society and to the convenience of our life. The World Expo has become a propeller for technological innovation. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that technological innovation is the inborn nature of the World Expo, and the display of technological products has been the convention and core of the World Expo.

Innovative exhibition forms: serving the contents of the Exhibition

On the front of exhibition forms, the World Expo is also an innovative gala. Suffice it to say that the 1851 World Expo held in the UK aimed to display the huge achievements of its industrial revolution to the world, and showing off its powerful force of the country, then the theme of "exhibiting industrial achievements" has been weakened and modified in the following World Expos starting from the 1855 Paris Expo, because some paintings by celebrities were also selected as exhibits at this World Expo, apart from the exhibition of the latest technological achievements such as concretes and aluminum products. The inclusion of cultural products into the World Expo has complemented the software part of the World Expo, making it a comprehensive event covering not only hardware but also software. This change has laid the foundation for the future position of the World Expo as a large comprehensive exhibition in the world.

Methodological innovation: source of its vigor

Over 150 years have passed since the first World Expo 1851. In order to host the World Expo, many countries have spared no efforts in winning the bid (fir example, the 2010 World Expo witnessed the competition between China, Russia, South Korea, Poland and Mexico); one of its huge charms lies in the fact that the World Expo is a innovative gala in terms of exhibition methods.

In the earliest exhibitions, there were no such arrangements as thematic pavilions, country pavilions and regional pavilions, and the scattered array of pavilions has never been tried. The 1867 Paris World Expo has adopted an innovative array of pavilions, building up country pavilions in accordance with the architectural patterns of each participating country. The 1873 Vienna Expo saw the establishment of independent theme pavilions, including Industrial Pavilion, Machinery Pavilion, Agricultural Pavilion and Arts Pavilion, which were the predominant pavilions in future Expos for a relatively long time. These innovative measures broke the traditional model of constructing pavilions by the host, consequently enriching the architectural styles and forms of the pavilions in the Expo Park and making the buildings in the World Expo Park colorful and unique. More importantly, the country pavilions reflect the exotic flavor of different participating countries, which are also pleasant exhibits for the visitors. In so doing, the exhibits of the participating countries can also be harmoniously aligned with the architectural styles of the pavilions. This practice has been conventionalized till today. Thus, to some extent, the World Expo is also an exhibition of the architectural styles of participating countries.