My grandfather took his job as family photographer seriously, and over the course of four decades he produced several huge boxes of slides that my mother has recently begun scanning and digitizing. Mixed in with the usual snapshots of weddings, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings are photos he took during a family trip to the 1964/’65 World’s Fair in New York

Cunningham, Maura Elizabeth

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - LincolnDigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - LincolnThe China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012 China Beat Archive2010“An Oasis of Peace and Quietude”: The 1964/’65World’s Fair China PavilionMaura Elizabeth CunninghamFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/chinabeatarchivePart of the Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Chinese Studies Commons, andthe International Relations CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the China Beat Archive at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012 by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska -Lincoln.Cunningham, Maura Elizabeth, "“An Oasis of Peace and Quietude”: The 1964/’65 World’s Fair China Pavilion" (2010). The China BeatBlog Archive 2008-2012. 795.http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/chinabeatarchive/795“An Oasis of Peace and Quietude”: The 1964/’65 World’s Fair China Pavilion May 13, 2010 in Uncategorized by mcunningham | Permalink By Maura Elizabeth Cunningham  The Unisphere My grandfather took his job as family photographer seriously, and over the course of four decades he produced several huge boxes of slides that my mother has recently begun scanning and digitizing. Mixed in with the usual snapshots of weddings, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings are photos he took during a family trip to the 1964/’65 World’s Fair in New York.  New York State Exhibit On other occasions he took dozens of pictures, but there are only seven slides from their day at the World’s Fair (“It was really hot,” my mother offered as a possible explanation for her father’s uncharacteristic photographic reticence). He got two shots of the Fair’s symbol, the Unisphere, and a couple of landscape photos, plus a blurry picture of the Thai pavilion. The final slide is this view of the Chinese (Republic of China, that is) pavilion, sitting beneath the Swiss Sky Ride:  Thanks to this site, I was able to learn more about the exhibit, in the same words that my grandfather might have read in the “1964 Pavilion Guide”: This is the first time that such a building, in the best architectural style of the Chinese imperial palace, has been erected in the Western Hemisphere. Every piece of roof tile was handmade, and every ceiling panel hand painted in Taiwan, repository and defender of Chinese culture. Everything in this pavilion has a meaning, from the ceremonial arch guarding the grounds, to the intricately carved wood screen immediately inside the entrance. The latter, entitled “100 Birds Pay Tribute to Queen Phoenix,” symbolizes visitors coming from all over the world to see the New York World’s Fair. Interestingly, in the 1964 guide, the author wrote that “The Chinese Pavilion hopes to offer an oasis of peace and quietude that is different from the myriad attractions of the Fair. The purpose is not to impress or dazzle, but to provide a change of pace, a place for reflection and quiet enjoyment of a mellow culture, a heritage of one of the world’s oldest nations.” By the following year, however, the tone of the guidebook had changed. Visitors in 1965 were no longer encouraged to seek refuge in the pavilion, but instead urged to educate themselves about life in Taiwan: Larger than life beauties, in a photo-mural from the “Miss China” pageant, reign over the exhibits from a raised palace room. Products are arranged to show how the Chinese dress (fabrics to fashion styles), what they consume (Chinese cuisine, canned food, table wines and tobacco), how they live (building materials to low-cost housing projects), and how they travel (sedan, motorcycle and bicycle). All objects shown are, of course, made in Taiwan, which enjoyed Asia’s highest growth rate in the last decade. In addition to this shift in focus from the history of Chinese culture to the modernity of Taiwan, the pavilion also added a restaurant for the 1965 season, offering “the standard Chinese dishes.” No indication of what that meant, but it has piqued my curiosity; if anyone has knowledge of what was on the menu, please send me an e-mail (thechinabeat[at]gmail[dot]com). All photographs by William R. Thompson Tags: Shanghai Expo 2010  

“An Oasis of Peace and Quietude”: The 1964/’65 World’s Fair China Pavilion

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012 China Beat Archive
2010
“An Oasis of Peace and Quietude”: The 1964/’65
World’s Fair China Pavilion
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/chinabeatarchive
Part of the Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Chinese Studies Commons, and
the International Relations Commons
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the China Beat Archive at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been
accepted for inclusion in The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012 by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska -
Lincoln.
Cunningham, Maura Elizabeth, "“An Oasis of Peace and Quietude”: The 1964/’65 World’s Fair China Pavilion" (2010). The China Beat
Blog Archive 2008-2012. 795.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/chinabeatarchive/795
“An Oasis of Peace and Quietude”: The 1964/’65 World’s Fair China Pavilion 
May 13, 2010 in Uncategorized by mcunningham | Permalink 
By Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 
 
The Unisphere 
My grandfather took his job as family photographer seriously, and over the course of four decades he 
produced several huge boxes of slides that my mother has recently begun scanning and digitizing. 
Mixed in with the usual snapshots of weddings, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings are photos he 
took during a family trip to the 1964/’65 World’s Fair in New York. 
 
New York State Exhibit 
On other occasions he took dozens of pictures, but there are only seven slides from their day at the 
World’s Fair (“It was really hot,” my mother offered as a possible explanation for her father’s 
uncharacteristic photographic reticence). He got two shots of the Fair’s symbol, the Unisphere, and a 
couple of landscape photos, plus a blurry picture of the Thai pavilion. The final slide is this view of the 
Chinese (Republic of China, that is) pavilion, sitting beneath the Swiss Sky Ride: 
 
Thanks to this site, I was able to learn more about the exhibit, in the same words that my grandfather 
might have read in the “1964 Pavilion Guide”: 
This is the first time that such a building, in the best architectural style of the Chinese imperial palace, 
has been erected in the Western Hemisphere. Every piece of roof tile was handmade, and every ceiling 
panel hand painted in Taiwan, repository and defender of Chinese culture. Everything in this pavilion 
has a meaning, from the ceremonial arch guarding the grounds, to the intricately carved wood screen 
immediately inside the entrance. The latter, entitled “100 Birds Pay Tribute to Queen Phoenix,” 
symbolizes visitors coming from all over the world to see the New York World’s Fair. 
Interestingly, in the 1964 guide, the author wrote that “The Chinese Pavilion hopes to offer an oasis of 
peace and quietude that is different from the myriad attractions of the Fair. The purpose is not to 
impress or dazzle, but to provide a change of pace, a place for reflection and quiet enjoyment of a 
mellow culture, a heritage of one of the world’s oldest nations.” By the following year, however, the 
tone of the guidebook had changed. Visitors in 1965 were no longer encouraged to seek refuge in the 
pavilion, but instead urged to educate themselves about life in Taiwan: 
Larger than life beauties, in a photo-mural from the “Miss China” pageant, reign over the exhibits from 
a raised palace room. Products are arranged to show how the Chinese dress (fabrics to fashion styles), 
what they consume (Chinese cuisine, canned food, table wines and tobacco), how they live (building 
materials to low-cost housing projects), and how they travel (sedan, motorcycle and bicycle). All 
objects shown are, of course, made in Taiwan, which enjoyed Asia’s highest growth rate in the last 
decade. 
In addition to this shift in focus from the history of Chinese culture to the modernity of Taiwan, the 
pavilion also added a restaurant for the 1965 season, offering “the standard Chinese dishes.” No 
indication of what that meant, but it has piqued my curiosity; if anyone has knowledge of what was on 
the menu, please send me an e-mail (thechinabeat[at]gmail[dot]com). 
All photographs by William R. Thompson 
Tags: Shanghai Expo 2010 
 


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“An Oasis of Peace and Quietude”: The 1964/’65 World’s Fair China Pavilion

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