Shanghai Expo: The final countdown

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/LD30Cb02.html


The city that is China's financial hub throws off the wraps and lights up the fireworks this week for a grand coming-out party - a celebration of Shanghai's re-emergence as one of the world's great urban centers, marked with the opening of Expo 2010 and its appropriate theme, "Better City, Better Life".

Shanghai officially throws open the doors on Expo 2010 on May 1. By the time the last visitor departs the trade fair site on October 31, Chinese officials are likely to be celebrating not merely the proud result of eight years' preparation, but also confirmation that the country is now the world's second-biggest economy, with only the still vastly wealthier United States to overtake.

Expo 2010 is roughly the 52nd or 53rd event of its type since the world's fair movement began in 1851 with London's "Great Exhibition" (depending on how "world's fair" is defined). It will be the first proper world's fair held in China - discounting the Kunming International Garden Festival of 1999 - and sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions, established in 1928 by international convention.

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Even so, preview attendances have already notched up remarkable numbers according to official reports there were 300,000 visitors on April 24, although only 75 out of 120 total pavilions were open at the time, and 400,000 the following day.

On the night of April 30, the razzmatazz gets underway, with a big nighttime ceremony along the Huangpu featuring fireworks, sound effects, and a laser light show. More elaborate ceremonies, open to Expo ticket holders, will be held on May 1, the first day of the Expo proper. May 1 is, of course, "International Worker's Day" or Labor Day for much of the world (the United States annually marks the day in September); the choice of this date for the opening was fitting for a country that still officially purports to be a "workers' state"; more practically, May 1 is an annual public holiday in China, so the opening could be held without disrupting the economy.

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Early favorites to be top attractions include the Polish pavilion, with its striking lace-like exterior, and the Australian pavilion, which has a design resembling "Uluru", a rock formation sacred to aborigines. Inside, the Australian pavilion will feature a "secret machine", the subject of many rumors but which is purported to create a "spectacular audio-visual experience featuring stunning images of Australia".

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If there were a prize for "most bizarre" pavilion, it would probably go to the hedgehog-like UK pavilion, whose exterior surface carries 60,000 acrylic rods, each of which contains a seed, giving the building a haze-like appearance from a distance, even in clear weather.

North Korea is present at a world's fair pavilion for the first time, and its pavilion is among the most talked-about among Western expatriates. The design has been kept secret, but leaked images show a blend of classical and modern architecture with a prominent display of the North Korean flag; the exhibits within will probably focus on the life and culture of Pyongyang, consistent with the Expo's urban theme.

South Korea aims not be outdone by its northern rival, and its presence is so large that there is a separate pavilion just for South Korean companies. The French pavilion, stressing a romantic theme, will throw a wedding every day and display works by Manet and Van Gogh; not to be outdone, the Prada-wearing staff of the Italian pavilion will show works by Caravaggio. Denmark will bring its iconic "Little Mermaid" statue - the first time the statue has left Copenhagen Harbor since 1913. Monaco, building on the statelet's "Grand Prix" reputation, will show Formula 1 cars and the Venturi Volage "eco-car".

At the Israel pavilion, fairgoers can, for a fee, swallow the Israeli-developed "Cam-pill", a medical device that passes through one's intestinal tract, taking digital pictures as it goes. Japan will have a very large presence, including a huge building on the Puxi side devoted solely to Japanese companies.

The US pavilion, which will focus on the American heritage of innovation (though ironically designed by a Canadian architect, Clive Grout), suffered very well-publicized development problems, due both to the 2008 recession and a US law that prevents federal funding for world's fair pavilions.

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A website with daily updates and information about every conceivable aspect of the fair. <1> Augmenting this traditional web presence is the virtual-reality "Expo Shanghai Online". <2> The basic concept of Expo Online is that participating pavilions will submit a digital version of their displays, allowing Internet surfers to tour the pavilions virtually, seeing the same objects that they would see if they were actually at the event. Based on a recent visit to this website, however, only a dozen or so of the nearly 200 pavilions have actually submitted the extensive necessary data to the virtual site, so in all probability, the virtual site will only show the outside of the building for most of the pavilions - and to be sure, the external appearance of the pavilions is very interesting in itself.

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wow. wish I could go see

On taking a short cut to his hotel last night, he accidentally wandered on to the grounds of the Expo. He realized his mistake when he noticed all the extra security and got himself back off the grounds ASAP.

nt

at this point he'd rather have a chance to work on his garage!