Expo opens - Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia

Sunset, June, 1986

An 850-seat food fair overlooks the cruise ship docks. Or you can stroll outdoor promenades, soaking up miles-wide views.

Wandering west to east on the False Creek site, here are highlights:

Great Hall of Ramses II (Yellow Zone) catches your attention with its towering sand-colored columns and sky-reflecting mirrors. Inside, the show centers on some 60 artifacts from the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses II (1290 to 1224 B.C.).

U.S.A. (Yellow) reviews the space program, gives a 6-minute film journey to a future space station, walks you through a mockup of labs and crew quarters.

West Coast states (Yellow): Washington, Oregon, and California emphasize tourism with films and special effects. California presents some of its high-tech diversity; Oregon adds live entertainment.

The Roundhouse (Green), built a century ago for the first transcontinental train, has been renovated. Through the center of a huge wheel, enter a film theater; watch flying machines and cyclists navigating high-wires; see beautifully restored autos and bikes and a replica of the 1829 Rocket steam locomotive.

The adjacent Holography Gallery houses Spectral Images, the largest exhibit of 3-D laser photography ever assembled.

European pavilions (Green), mostly clustered around the European Plaza, offer serious technical exhibits and attractive historical displays. France, Germany, and Great Britain all show off their latest trains.

U.S.S.R. (Pink) shows the 108-foot-long Soyuz-Salyut-Progress orbit complex. There's also a pond with radio-controlled boats, and fashion shows are promised.

Czechoslovakia (Pink) combines classic forms with modern technology in humorous and informative ways; you'll see antique cars and bikes, and advanced video.

B.C. Pavilion (Blue): glassy 11-acre complex offers logging shows four times a day. In novel elevator videos called Trees of Discovery, don't miss number 4.

Ontario (Red) offers folk music and other concerts in an outdoor amphitheater--the perfect view point for the fair's superb fireworks, nightly at 10.

China (Purple) looks back more than 2,000 years with its replica of a recently unearthed bronze chariot, a piece of the Great Wall, explorer ships. Handcrafts to see and buy; restaurant and cafe.

Folklife (Purple) offers Canadian music, dance, foods, craft demonstrations, as well as shows from participating nations.

Surprises from smaller pavilions

The local staff, often in native finery and anxious to try out some English, turn the small pavilions into friendly oases.

Ivory Coast (Yellow), with its playful stick-figure drawings on exterior walls, joyful music inside, and masks, carvings, beadwork, and other displays, is a winner.

Indonesia (Pink) appeals with a collection of dugout canoes, gongs and drums to beat, and bold dioramas.

Pakistan (Red) has a striking tiled entry, good displays of handcrafts.

Northwest Territories (Purple) has a fine selection of still smoky-scented native crafts ($35 and up; they're less expensive in a satellite pavilion).

Let's go to the movies