Beijing landmarks appear at Expo

BEIJING, April 6 -- Eighty large LED panels will transform the Beijing Pavilion structure into four iconic city buildings - the Temple of Heaven, the National Aquatics Center, better known as the Water Cube, the Bird's Nest, and National Grand Theater.

Beijing Pavilion is transformed into the Bird's Nest.

Each transformation takes about 10 seconds, designers revealed yesterday.

Chinese director Zhang Yimou has finished filming a five-minute movie to be played in the Beijing Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, a senior official of the Expo organizer said yesterday as construction and outfitting finished in the pavilion.

The film, about a foreign tourist's one-day visit to Beijing, is in its final edit and will be sent to a 50-seat theater in the pavilion for testing early next week, said Xu Yuwei, vice chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Beijing Sub-Council.

The movie will highlight many different sounds that the traveler hears in the city, including Beijing accents and Peking Opera. It will be played every 12 minutes.

The 600-square-meter pavilion in the joint-provincial building will showcase the city's hosting of 2008 Beijing Olympics and the ceremony at the 60th anniversary of People's Republic of China last October through videos and exhibits with the theme "Charming Capital."