The best (no wait, worst) of the Expo Pavilion themes

In the last four months of polishing article after article about the glorious Expo, I’ve come across some pretty strange pavilions with even stranger themes. As if “Better city, better life” wasn’t a weak enough theme, I thought I’d present a list of the top 5 “best” pavilion themes in the Expo Garden. And by best I mean worst, most contradictory and most ironic. So without further ado, here we go.
 
5. In at number 5 is the Oil Pavilion and their theme “Petroleum stretches urban dreams.” Hmmm. Considering the fact that the Expo is supposed to be centered on green technologies, I’m surprised they let this one through (no, not actually surprised). I guess they didn’t have time to change the name or the idea of the pavilion, especially not after the April 20 Gulf oil spill or the one in China in July. They might need to rethink just how this petroleum is “stretching.”
 
4. Taking the number 4 spot on the list is none other than sanction-ridden Iran at the Iran Pavilion. Their theme of “Blending of diverse cultures in the city” is pretty... interesting(?). “Blending” – that’s a very interesting word choice. Last time I read the news, Iran wasn't really known for being open to blending cultures. Maybe that’s just the news I'm reading.
 
3. Third on the list of most absurd pavilion names is the Information and Communication Pavilion with their theme of “Information and Communication - Extending City Dreams.” Well, considering the pretty widely known (at least in Shanghai) censoring of many web sites in China, this is probably the most contradictory theme. Free information and communication in China? Try again next time, maybe after you unblock facebook, Twitter, Youtube and that Wikipedia entry about 1989.

2. The runner up for today’s countdown goes to a country I’m actually dying to visit. It’s the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Pavilion with their theme of “The paradise for people.” Yes, when I think of North Korea, the first thing that comes to mind is paradise. I’ll leave it at that.
 
1. And the winner of the worst, most absurd, most contradictory and most ironic pavilion theme (and inspiration for this top 5 list) is the China Railway Pavilion and their theme “Harmonious railways expand spaces for better life.” Because when I think of harmony, I definitely think of train travel in China. Nothing is quite as harmonious as hours spent in a smoke-filled train surrounded by screaming children, absurdly loud ring tones, even louder people yelling into their cell phones, nose-pickers, hawker and spitters, squawking chickens and train staff who could care less about you wanting to buy a bottle of water. Yes, so harmonious.