The designers of the Japan pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai, aware of lingering anti-Japanese sentiment stemming from the 1937-45 Sino-Japanese war, found inspiration in a co-operative tale about a bird.
Japan's Hinomaru national flag, often seen in China as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, does not fly over the pavilion. Instead, visitors get to see two performances based on a joint effort by Chinese and Japanese scientists to save the crested ibis, Japan's national bird, from extinction.
Noriyoshi Ehara, director of the Japan pavilion, said the story best suited the expo's theme, 'Better City, Better Life', and was a good example of bilateral co-operation.
The crested ibis disappeared from Japan decades ago but several were found in a remote part of Shaanxi province in the 1980s. Chinese scientists helped breed up the population and in 1999 China gave two crested ibis to Japan. Further breeding has since lifted the number living in Japan to 111.
The crested ibis story takes up more than half of the pavilion tour, with visitors watching a hi-tech show followed by a drama performed by Chinese traditional Kun opera artists to a background of Japanese classical Noh music.
'These two performances convey the message that we want to keep a good natural environment, and that we hope the momentum of two countries working together can be maintained,' Ehara said.
The Japan pavilion, which cost 900 million yuan (HK$1.03 billion), covers 6,000 square metres, making it one of the largest foreign pavilions. Covered by a purple membrane material, it has become known as the 'purple silkworm island'. One of the expo's must-see venues, it receives an average of more than 20,000 people a day, with visitors having to queue for about three hours to get in.