China Pavilion of 2025 Osaka Expo opens to media for sneak peeks

The China Pavilion at the 2025 Osaka Expo, which will open to the public by next Sunday, welcomed media visits on Monday, sharing sneak peeks highlighting the integration of Chinese philosophy and modern technologies.

As one of the largest foreign self-built facilities at the Osaka Expo, the China Pavilion has adopted the theme "Building a Community of Life for Man and Nature – Future Society of Green Development."

The pavilion consists of three components themed "past, contemporary, and future" respectively, featuring an integration of traditional Chinese philosophic norms and the modern sustainable development principles.

The first section of "Tian Ren He Yi," or the "Harmony Between Mankind and Nature," features traditional Chinese culture and history. The exhibited installations include a digital "waterfall of characters" demonstrating the Chinese writing system's evolution, with the introduction of Jieqi, or 24 solar terms on China's traditional lunisolar calendar that demonstrates the understanding of ancient Chinese people to the nature.

The highlights of the section are exhibitions of ancient Chinese archeological sites, including Sanxingdui in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Liangzhu in east China's Zhejiang Province, and Yinxu in central China's Henan Province, dating back to three to five thousand years ago. Replicas of cultural relics from the three sites are presented in the pavilion, among them are the earliest water conservancy system from the Liangzhu archeological site, and the mysterious Bronze Divine Tree from Sanxingdui.

"This is a replica of the Bronze Divine Tree made in the Shang Dynasty (1600BC-1046BC). It is among the earliest and largest single-piece bronze artifacts discovered in the world so far. Other exhibits here include the bronze standing figure with an animal-shaped hat, and the bronze mask. With a touch on the screen, we can learn about details of the cultural relics by examining their 3D models in an immersive way. And we also provide trilingual introductions for visitors from around the world to know about the relics," said a docent of the China Pavilion.

The second section, named after China's contemporary green development principle of preserving "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains," presents descriptions of China's natural and cultural landscapes, ecological systems, and achievements in urban management.

Exhibits in the second section include introductions of China's national parks, and the two mega-sized ecological projects, the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project, which was initially built over two thousand years ago and which has been maintained and upgraded since then, and the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, one of world's largest afforestation projects.

In the third section of future developments, a model of China's Jiaolong submersible and exhibits of China's aerospace science projects share with the viewers China's spirit of exploration of the unknown.

China Pavilion of 2025 Osaka Expo opens to media for sneak peeks

The Houthis in Yemen are ready to coordinate countermeasures with Iran in response to a U.S. blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, a top adviser said on Tuesday, warning that the Bab al-Mandab Strait could also be blocked if red lines are crossed.

The United States imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz to prevent ships from accessing Iranian ports, which took effect after the Iran-U.S. peace talks, held in Pakistan's capital Islamabad late last week, failed to yield a deal to end the war that the Unite States and Israel launched against Iran on Feb. 28. A two-week ceasefire is set to expire next week.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Sanaa on Tuesday, Mohammed Taher Anam, an advisor to Yemen's Houthi Supreme Political Council, said these unilateral American actions must be rejected and confronted, so that the United States does not later impose blockades on other countries.

"We reject this blockade and call for confronting it through various means. We are also waiting for Iranian measures and are ready to take similar steps in our region," said Anam.

He said that the Bab al-Mandab Strait and nearby areas can be blocked at any time if red lines are crossed. They are coordinating with their Iranian allies and closely monitoring developments he said, and, at the right moment, they are ready to expand the confrontation against the U.S. and its allies.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic chokepoint linking the Suez Canal and the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, serves as a vital corridor for global trade, particularly oil and gas shipments between Europe and Asia.

"We remain ready to take any measures. We are coordinating with our allies in Iran and with friendly countries around the world if needed. One possible step is imposing a blockade against the American blockade. The Americans think they can impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, but this is very difficult. We know Iranian missiles can reach up to 1,000 kilometers to target American ships, keeping them far from the Strait of Hormuz. If the U.S. continues on this path, we in Yemen can take similar steps to Iran, and the Americans will suffer greatly," said Mohammed.

The Houthi group, which has controlled Yemen's capital Sanaa and most northern provinces since late 2014, has voiced full solidarity with Iran since the U.S.-Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic started.

Houthi official warns of possible key Red Sea strait closure as U.S. continues Hormuz blockade