You won’t find such scenes here when Shanghai’s World Expo opens May 1.
What you will find: A giant octopus, an alpine meadow and an apple-shaped “green city,” among dozens of pavilions in all shapes, colours and sizes featuring a kaleidoscope of visions for the Expo’s theme: “Better City, Better Life.” And, of course, millions of other visitors.
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Shanghai’s Expo is likely to be the largest World’s Fair ever, with some 70 million visitors expected to attend in the six months before it closes on Oct. 31. It’s certainly China’s biggest event since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The huge international show-and-tell will showcase China’s status as a world industrial power, giving Shanghai — its biggest city — a long-awaited chance to show off its stunning transformation from crumbling factory town into modern global metropolis. In this age of information overload, visitors to the Shanghai World Expo are unlikely to find here the kinds of brand new technologies, such as television, that debuted at world’s fairs decades ago.
But governments, groups and corporate sponsors, spread over 5.28 sq. km along both sides of the Huangpu River, will be offering ideas for sustainable urban living.
In Pudong, on the east side of the river, where the national pavilions and most big facilities are located, giant white funnels will provide shade, channel sunlight to underground walkways and collect rainwater for recycling. In Puxi, on the west side, a collection of local and corporate pavilions will demonstrate “urban best practices” focused on sustainable urban technologies and heritage preservation.
Solar panels in Expo buildings will create a five-megawatt solar power system — China’s largest. Zero-emission electric vehicles will be used on the Expo grounds. Expo organizers say most of the materials used to make the pavilions will be recycled; they have pledged to eventually end with a “carbon-neutral” impact.
Like the Beijing Olympics, the Expo will leave a legacy of new landmarks, the most eye-catching the 69-metre China Pavilion — a scarlet structure some say looks like a mahjong table. Though imposing, it’s much shorter than the 300-metre Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition. A clamshell-shaped cultural centre that will seat up to 18,000 people, a conference centre and a new stadium also will permanently join the skyscrapers lining the Huangpu. Several of the old industrial buildings that will house expo exhibits will remain to house museums and other cultural facilities, officials say.
Hoping for an escape from the crowds? The Swiss pavilion features a four-minute chairlift ride above a rooftop alpine meadow. The United Arab Emirates has a pavilion shaped like sand dunes, Israel’s mimics a sea shell, Romania’s a green apple, Macao’s a jade rabbit lantern. Craving some octopus fritters? Keep an eye out for a five-tonne, eight-legged sign being shipped in by a famous Osaka “takoyaki” outlet. Whether it’s Belgian chocolates, Japanese sushi or hot, prickly Sichuan cuisine, the Expo will offer a smorgasbord of choices, with nearly 200 outlets able to feed some 40,000 people at a time, Expo organizers say.
Outside the Expo site, the city has built a new airport terminal, subway lines and expressways to accommodate hundreds of thousands of extra visitors a day. No detail seems too small — new awnings on colonial mansions and 10 roly-poly baby pandas from western China to amuse guests who venture out to the city’s zoos.
By day, once-grimy office blocks and apartment buildings shine under new coats of paint. By night, the city glows with artful illuminations — dots, rainbows, spot lights and strip lighting accenting the city’s diverse architecture. Statues and images of Haibao the “treasure from the sea,” a big-eyed blue Expo mascot meant to represent the Chinese character for people, or “ren,” adorn practically every public space.
Unlike hyper-controlled crowds for the Olympics, the Expo is meant to be an “open-door” event, tourism officials say.
“We have no restrictions at all. We welcome all visitors from all countries,” said Cheng Meihong, vice chairman of Shanghai’s tourism administration.
Tickets (about $28) for May 1 opening day are sold out.
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