{"id":886,"date":"2010-06-30T01:00:43","date_gmt":"2010-06-30T05:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dontow.com\/?p=886"},"modified":"2010-07-23T00:34:20","modified_gmt":"2010-07-23T04:34:20","slug":"reflections-on-a-recent-visit-to-shanghais-world-expo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dontow.com\/2010\/06\/reflections-on-a-recent-visit-to-shanghais-world-expo\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on a Recent Visit to Shanghai’s World Expo"},"content":{"rendered":"
My wife and I recently took a two-week trip to Xinjiang, China and a one-week trip to Taiwan.\u00a0 We were able to squeeze between these two trips a two-day visit to the Shanghai World Expo.\u00a0 Since there is so much interest in the Shanghai World Expo and many people are planning to visit it later this year, I thought it would be useful to provide some reflections on our visit.\u00a0 Since many people have visited the Shanghai World Expo and were not able to obtain a ticket to see the China Pavilion, I describe in an appendix a strategy that we learned from a friend that can maximize the chances of obtaining a ticket to the China Pavilion. First we provide some background on World’s Fairs and the Shanghai World Expo. \u00a0 How often do we have World’s Fairs?\u00a0 The answer is actually not so simple and varies with time.\u00a0 There are many so called World’s Fairs and International Expositions.\u00a0 Some are larger and general in scope, and some are smaller and narrower in scope, e.g., an international exposition on horticulture.\u00a0 Some are recognized by the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE), which is the official international sanctioning body established since the signing of the 1928 Convention on International Exhibitions, and some are not.\u00a0 The recognized general World’s Fairs usually have a duration of six months, while others may be shorter, from several weeks to three, four months.\u00a0 Since 1995, the interval between two consecutive recognized general World’s Fairs should be at least five years, although before 1995 this interval varied and was shorter. The Shanghai 2010 World Expo is recognized by the BIE as a general World’s Fair, and is the largest World’s Fair ever.\u00a0 It occupies a site of 5.28 square kilometers straddling both the Pudong and Puxi parts of Shanghai, with more than 170 pavilions from almost\u00a0 200 countries and more than 50 international organizations.\u00a0\u00a0 It is opened from May 1, 2010 to October 31, 2010, with a projected attendance of over 70 million people, or an average of at least 380,000 people per day over 184 days.\u00a0 The theme of the Shanghai World Expo is “Better City, Better Life.”\u00a0 So most of the pavilions focus on what have been done in improving the livelihood of urban living, including about the modern technologies and the efforts they have put in to improve the environment.<\/p>\n The Expo site is divided into five zones:\u00a0 A, B, C, D, and E, with eight entrances, and each entrance within walking distance of one or more subway stations.\u00a0 Each zone represents a part of the world.\u00a0 Zone A contains most of the Asian and Middle East pavilions, including the China and its Provincial Pavilions.\u00a0 Zone B contains several southeast Asian and Australia and New Zealand Pavilions.\u00a0 Zone C contains most of the Africa, Europe, and America Pavilions.\u00a0 The area between Zone A and Zone B contains several central Expo pavilions such as the Expo Center, Expo Culture Center (also called the Expo Performance Center), Theme Pavilion (there are actually five theme pavilions each with its individual name, and three of the five are contained in the Theme Pavilion), and Expo Axis.\u00a0 Zones D and E contain several other China and other countries’ corporate pavilions, and the two other Theme Pavilions (Footprint Pavilion in Zone D and Pavilion of the Future in Zone E).<\/p>\n Most of the structures are only temporary for the Shanghai World Expo, and will be torn down after the Expo ends.\u00a0 Only five structures are permanent.\u00a0 They are the Expo Center, Theme Pavilion, Expo Culture Center (also called Expo Performance Center), China Pavilion, and Expo Axis.\u00a0\u00a0 The Expo theme “Better City, Better Life” is well illustrated by the architectures and functions found in the Expo Axis.\u00a0 For example, it contains six enormous\u00a0 funnel-shaped shells made of steel and glass, called sun valleys, that direct natural light and air into the structure and collect rainwater for irrigation and sanitation, thus saving 50,000 cubic meters of water consumption.\u00a0 The roof of the Theme Pavilion is the world’s largest single piece of solar roof extending more than 30,000 square meters, and saves enough energy to fuel the equivalent of 4,000-5,000 households running average household electrical appliances.<\/p>\n
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\nBackground on World’s Fairs<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nOverview of the Shanghai 2010 World Expo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
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