Read the latest updates on Expo 2020 Dubai
A friendly panda robot and a massive lantern with flashing lights will be crowd pullers for the China pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The black and white robot called Youyou can pull off some tai-chi moves, wield a calligraphy pen with a flourish and act as a guide for pavilion visitors.
The China pavilion looks like a luxurious lantern thanks to the brackets, lattice windows and other Chinese traditional architectural elements
Zhang Shenfeng,
commissioner general of the China pavilion
Giant pandas are considered national treasures in China, and the robot has been designed to act as an ambassador of friendship and peace.
Zhang Shenfeng, commissioner general of the China pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, said the country aimed to display its technology while promoting traditional arts.
“Artificial intelligence and robots are one of the core exhibits of the China pavilion,” he told The National.
One of the largest on the Expo site, the Chinese structure is more than 23 metres high and covers 4,636 square metres. Modelled on a traditional lantern and built using LED lamp panels, the pavilion is called Light of China and symbolises reunion and hope.
“The China pavilion looks like a luxurious lantern thanks to the brackets, lattice windows and other Chinese traditional architectural elements it incorporates,” Mr Zhang said.
“The challenge facing us was how to artistically integrate traditional elements with modern design, so as to create the perfect combination of the traditional lantern and modern acoustic-photoelectric technologies.”
Most of the basic construction material was sourced from the UAE, while decorative elements and red modules for the lantern were customised in China.
The panda robot was built by a Chinese company called UBTech. Youyou uses cutting-edge technology such as automatic navigation and hand-eye co-ordination to allow it to paint, draw and walk around the pavilion.
The bear will provide information on smart cities, agriculture techniques and environmentally friendly practices as it takes visitors through large interactive 3D displays.
In an introductory video released earlier this month, Youyou makes a heart sign with his hands and says, “I come from Shenzhen, China. I was born for AI, for our dream, our planet, our home and our future.”
Announcing that he represents China-made technology, Youyou says his mission was to send “love to the world”, in visuals released at the World Robot Conference in Beijing.
Dumplings and driverless cars
Other exhibits will be a high-speed railway model of the China Railway, driverless cars and a theme theatre.
Another section recreates a 3D version of a smart city where visitors need to scan a QR code to watch how hi-tech systems can make life easier, from shopping to medical care and education.
Space exploration will be another focus, with films about China’s satellite navigation networks and the new Tiangong space station. Models, photographs and interactive displays will show the soil of the Moon, Mr Zhang said.
“There will be a space science-fiction film that expounds the common dream of mankind to explore the unknown, pursue ideals and build a community with a shared future for mankind,” he said.
There will also be light shows at night to draw in the crowds, and a restaurant that has operated for more than a century in Yangzhou, eastern China. It will serve popular dishes such as the Beijing roast duck, Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles and Cantonese shrimp dumplings.
“Visitors will have a chance to watch Chinese food made from scratch,” Mr Zhang said.
Organisers have also built an online offering so people who are unable to visit Dubai can be part of the experience remotely.
In Beijing on Sunday, the UAE embassy held a cultural event for diplomats as part of a countdown to the Expo that opens on Friday in Dubai.
Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, the UAE's ambassador to China, said he was confident that the building would “one of the pavilions that could receive the biggest number of visitors at the Expo 2020 Dubai”.
“The China pavilion will showcase China's latest achievements in science, technology and sustainable development,” he said.
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
More coverage from the Future Forum
Manchester United v Liverpool
Premier League, kick off 7.30pm (UAE)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
All Blacks line-up for third Test
J Barrett; I Dagg, A Lienert-Brown, N Laumape, J Savea; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, C Taylor, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, J Kaino, S Cane, K Read (capt).
Replacements: N Harris, W Crockett, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden, M Fekitoa.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203S%20Money%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20London%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Zhiznevsky%2C%20Eugene%20Dugaev%20and%20Andrei%20Dikouchine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%245.6%20million%20raised%20in%20total%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
