User:Sherrysyc/Westlake exposition

1929 Westlake exposition
1929 Westlake exposition
Overview
BIE-class	Unrecognized exposition
Name	1929 Westlake exposition
Visitors	20,000,000
Location
Country	Republic of China
City	Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province
Timeline
Opening	June 6, 1929
Closure	October 10, 1929

The article is live on Westlake exposition

This is the sandbox page where you will draft your initial Wikipedia contribution.

If you're starting a new article, you can develop it here until it's ready to go live.

If you're working on improvements to an existing article, copy only one section at a time of the article to this sandbox to work on, and be sure to use an edit summary linking to the article you copied from. Do not copy over the entire article. You can find additional instructions here.

Remember to save your work regularly using the "Publish page" button. (It just means 'save'; it will still be in the sandbox.) You can add bold formatting to your additions to differentiate them from existing content.

Bibliography sandbox

The 1929 Westlake exposition (Chinese: 1929年杭州西湖博覽會) was a world's fair held in Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Republic of China in 1929. The event opened on June 6, 1929, lasting 137 days.^[1]^[2] There were 14,760,000 items in the exhibit with 20,000,000 visitors.^[1] It was the only national exposition during the Republic of China. The exposition grew out of the social and economic flourish of the time, meanwhile, foster the further development of native industry and many other fields.

Main Architect and Designer

The main architect/designer was Liu Jipiao (1900-1992). He studied art and architecture at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. Liu dedicated 6 months of his life to organize and create the Expo. He and his cohorts (such as Lin Fengmian) believed that this would bring modern (western) art influences to the masses. They were hoping to strengthen and modernize China through art and culture.

Background

The 1929 Westlake exposition was the only national exposition during the Republic of China. It resulted from the political, economic, and social development and needs of that area. In return, the 1929 Westlake exposition also promoted development in all three fields and left valuable cultural assets to the city.

Reasons for Success

Many social scholars have analyzed the 1929 Westlake exposition, such as Qiao Zhaohong and Ai Xianfeng. Based on their assessments, the following three components are credited to the success of the 1929 Westlake exposition.

First, the exposition accorded with the government's macro policy to foster political, educational, social, and economic development of the country. At the end of 1928, the Nanjing government unified the country and announced the beginning of political training^[3]. The peaceful social situation at the end of 1928 made it possible to focus on economic development as part of policies about national revolution. The government saw encouraging native industrial development and promoting native products to the public as significant. They thought holding a national exposition was an efficient way.

Second, the exposition was the outcome of multiple 19th-century ideological trends, including the notion of saving the country with industry and encouraging native products^[4]. Since the philosophy of Chinese national revolution was also centered on economic development, these two trends in social thought were supported by the Nanjing government, Chinese entrepreneurs, and many social activists. In support of these trends, the Kuomintang issued a series of orders to reward national industries, promote domestic goods, and encourage machinery manufacturing and technological improvement. With the support of the government and society, the 1929 Westlake exposition displayed native products in twelve categories^[3]. Beyond industrial goods, the exposition also displayed achievements in education, literature, art, and political evolution.

Third, locating the exposition in Zhejiang Province enabled the Hangzhou government to hold a well-planned exposition in an area with a strong economy. In 1928, the Kuomintang issued the "General Rules for The Holding of National Articles Exhibition" to encourage holding expositions to foster local economy and industry^[4]. Given the past native and international exposition experience and the current government's support, the Committee of Zhejiang Province passed the proposal to the exposition. Zhejiang had the proper human, material, and financial conditions to hold large-scale exhibitions. The local handicraft industry had a long history, including a developed and well-known silk industry, wine industry, paper industry, and carving industry. Meanwhile, after WWI, Zhejiang has developed its modern industrial and capitalism^[5]. Also, the committee purposely located the exposition at the Westlake, one of the most popular tourist places in the country. The Westlake exposition attracted more visitors due to the West Lake scenic zone (“藉名胜之区，设博览之会”)^[4].

West Lake Exposition Museum

West Lake Exposition Museum is located at 41-42 Beishan Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China.^[6]

The building was the Industrial Hall and the only professional Hall of the 1929 West Lake Expo and was converted into a museum in 2003^[6]. It was designed by Sheng Chengyan and Sun Bingzhang^[6].

References

^ ^a ^b China.com.cn. "China.com.cn." 杭州西湖博覽會博物館. Retrieved on 2010-05-08.
^ "The West Lake International Expo Hangzhou, China". Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
^ ^a ^b Ai, Xianfeng (July 2009). "Review of 1929 Westlake Exposition". Journal of Huazhong Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences). 48: 84–89.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ni, Kan (August 2020). "Proper Time,Correct Place,Harmony——Inspirations of the West Lake Exposition Successfully Held in 1929". Zhejiang Social Science. 8: 93–96.
^ Qiao, Zhaohong (2003). "1929 Hangzhou Westlake Exposition". Guangxisocial Science. 3: 157–160.
^ ^a ^b ^c "West Lake Expo Museum". wgly.hangzhou.gov.cn. Retrieved 2022-01-20.