In Italy, the children's game of pick-up sticks is known as "Shanghai" after an ancient Chinese game. That famous pastime has inspired the design of Italy's national pavilion at the Expo, writes Chen Yiqin.

For children of the 1970s and 1980s in Shanghai, a game of pick-up sticks stirs nostalgia. We all know the game, it's known worldwide: Drop a bunch of sticks and try to remove them one by one without disturbing the others - a game of dexterity and mental concentration.

In Italy, the game is known as "Shanghai" (the game was played in ancient China, maybe Marco Polo took it home), and Italy recently announced that its national pavilion design at the World Expo 2010 is inspired by pick-up sticks.

This comes as a charming surprise for Shanghai, the 2010 Expo host. Milan, Italy, will play host to the World Expo in 2015.

The rectangular Italy Pavilion is laced with intersecting lines - representing a number of pick-up sticks.

It looks as though the shadow of jumbled sticks had been projected onto the surface, and the surface itself then sliced accordingly.

The 3,600-square-meter structure is comprised of functional modules of different shapes, bounded by the "sticks." They can be assembled into smaller structures and after the Expo the project will be disassembled and reconfigured.

The Expo theme is "Better City, Better Life," so living green, recycling and reusing urban construction materials are part of ideal city life. "Green" was also a standard for Italian designers, since national pavilions will be removed after the six-month event, said Giampaolo Imbrighi, the designer.

"These parts can be rebuilt on single squares of Italian cities, as a reminder of the contemporary quality of the Shanghai Expo amid the continuous and industrious buzz of Italian urban everyday life," said the Italian organizers.