The UK pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo hopes to show a less well-known side of Britain to the Chinese people and other Expo visitors.

"One of the key things we really want to do is to get people think about what the modern UK might be like, because we see ourselves as creative and innovative - just as we were back in the industrial revolution - in the 21st century," said Katherine Dixon, spokesperson for UK Pavilion, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua Wednesday.

The UK has a long history of interaction with China, and many Chinese think they already have a good understanding of the UK. But a lot of Chinese people's perceptions about UK are old-fashioned, said Dixon.

The pavilion helps the audience know about UK through interactivity, and not just news and information, she added.

The UK Pavilion's events will hopefully bring relations that last beyond the Expo, Dixon said.

"For us, it' s not about messaging China -- it's about building partnerships and friendships with people."

She said the pavilion has a range of UK performers, from Shakespeare to contemporary art and "some slightly weird ones."

"What we want to show is the kind of life and atmosphere in the UK. But we also want to reflect a little bit of our heritage in the arts as well."

The pavilion encourages visitors to ask questions about what they have seen.

"We want to get people thinking about nature, the future of our cities and their roles in it," Dixon said.

"We also have online competitions and games. Visitors to our DOUBAN mini-site are asked to create a piece of music or art inspired by the UK pavilion. And they have shown fantastic creativity," she said.

The pavilion hosted its four millionth visitor Monday -- junior high student Wu Yin. She and her mother were visiting the Expo Park for their first time. They came from Yangzhou City in east China' s Jiangsu Province.

"All of a sudden, everyone was looking at me and then the crowd started to surround me. I was really surprised," Wu said.

Wu received gifts and an invitation to attend the UK Pavilion Day at the Expo on Sept. 8 as a VIP guest of Lorna Miles, the UK Pavilion director.

Source: Xinhua

Editor: Xu Xinlei