Wen he was bowled over by India at Shanghai expo

Two days after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao kept the bilateral goodwill going with a 20-minute visit to the bamboo dome-shaped Indian pavilion at the Shanghai world expo.

Two days after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao kept the bilateral goodwill going with a 20-minute visit to the bamboo dome-shaped Indian pavilion at the Shanghai world expo.

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Wen, who is scheduled to visit India in December, said the pavilion left a ‘deep impression’ on him. The six-month expo that ended on Sunday was China's costliest event since the Beijing Olympics, with innovative pavilions of over 200 nations.

"The Premier took a lot of interest in green technologies used in the pavilion," said a statement from the Indian consulate in Shanghai. "While leaving the pavilion, Premier Wen said that its beautiful architecture and display had left a deep impression on him. He also remarked that Buddhism had come to China from India."

The Premier arrived at the Sanchi Stupa-style pavilion accompanied by vice premier Wang Qishan, foreign minister Yang Jiechi and the top Shanghai leadership of party secretary Yu Zhengsheng and mayor Han Zheng. Wen also signed the visitor’s book. The delegation watched a classical Indian dance performance and the holographic show.

The Indian pavilion, visited by 30,000 visitors per day and over four million from April to October, is the world’s largest bamboo dome built with bamboo sourced from east China. The dome is topped with a windmill to generate part of the power for the structure. India spent over Rs 40 crore on the pavilion to market Indian culture to the Chinese. The pavilion has a Dilli-haat inspired courtyard selling food and handicrafts. China’s pavilion is India’s neighbour on the 5.28 km sized site in Pudong.