SHANGHAI, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Best known for the Little Mermaid statue that traveled from Copenhagen, the Denmark Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo also presents an important element of the country's sustainable and healthy lifestyles: the bicycle.
Denmark's Commissioner General at the Expo, Christopher Bo Bramsen, a former ambassador to China, told Xinhua the pavilion showed cities could be developed through modern technology and expertise with a view to sustainability and quality of life, without sacrificing economic growth.
Bramsen said cycling was easy and convenient in most Danish cities.
"We have established large bicycle lanes in most of our streets and it is both comfortable and safe to go around the cities on bikes that are both sustainable and healthy to use."
Bramsen said every Dane cycled an average 1.6 km everyday, and a third of the population biked to work or school on well-designed cycle lanes in urban and rural areas.
Bramsen said the authorities used taxes, high parking and maintenance fees to control the number of private cars, adding that people chose cycling for convenient transport.
"The average parking fee in Denmark is about 30 yuan, but if you park in a wrong place or park overtime, you'll get a fine equal to 600 yuan," Bramsen said.
Chinese city planners could look to Denmark when they considered how to create a "Better City, Better Life" , Bramsen said.
Walking along the spiral shaped gallery inside the pavilion, Lene Winther, head of press and communications, said visitors to the pavilion could choose either to walk or to bike. Like a Danish city, the Danish pavilion was best experienced on foot and by bike.
"I have 10 to 15 bikes myself, it's just very convenient to bike in Denmark," Winther said.
Danes chose to bike because the government constructed cities to make cycling more convenient than driving, and most Danish people realized that biking was very healthy.
Winther said more fashionably designed bikes could make cycling more appealing to young Chinese, even though it might mean higher costs.
The Danish pavilion is called Welfairytales. Using interactive techniques, it presents Denmark using elements common to Denmark and China, such as the bike.
Visitors can experience a sustainable Danish city, as they cycle around in the pavilion, enjoy a Danish picnic on the roof with a view of the harbor pool where the Mermaid sits.
"I think the theme of our pavilion is very close to the theme of the Shanghai World Expo, to build a better city with more green urban planning ideas," Winther said.
