Author Topic: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)  (Read 56098 times)

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #10 on: 28 February 2012, 02:16:36 »
Shanghai was melting hot! So hot that as soon as I went outdoor, I wanted to return in-door again.

The 3 pictures below shows the cooling devices inside the Expo parks.

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #11 on: 28 February 2012, 02:26:38 »
Did I learn much about other countries or cultures during the Expo? I cannot really say Yes.

The heat, the long line, the rush... none of these made it easier to really focus and spend time to read or see whatever was on display. (I have more stories about the long line later. Stay tuned.)

One thing for sure is that the pavilions are all very cool looking. So I am just showing a few pictures here.

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #12 on: 28 February 2012, 02:28:12 »
More buildings...

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #13 on: 28 February 2012, 02:53:21 »
Before the trip, we already knew that the lines were very long in the better pavilions. The line for the German, Japan, Saudi & China pavilions were particularly long - from 4 to 6 hours waiting!!! Which means lining up for one pavilion would take the whole day!

Luckily, we also knew that some travel agency, especially those specialized in sports event ticketing, can arrange or pre-arrange entries. We have hired one such agency. As a result, we were able to see about 15 pavilions in the 4 days allocated to visit the Expo.

How do they arrange the priority entrance? There are different ways, including
i. send someone in the early morning to get entry tickets that designated a specific visiting time
ii. use the senior, small child, or disabled person priority entry. Each "disabled/senior" person can be accompanied by a number of family member
iii. buying allocation from tour groups who have been lining up from the morning, these tour groups reported more members then actual, thus able to sell the excess spaces
iv. outright bribing (I am guessing) the guards who guarded the VIP entrance or exits!

So in additional to the entry fee to the Expo parks, the travel agency charged us per person per entrance to the pavilions, depending on how hard or how expensive to gain priority entrance. For example, the cheapest would be method i above, which cost only RMB200 per person. Method iv was the most expensive cost RMB2000 per person.

At the end of the trip, after tallied up all costs, we found that we had paid RMB8,100 in official entry fee, plus ~RMB53,000 for these special entry services!

We were also able to hire a specially licensed van, so we can be taken all the way very near the entrance. Special license means the van was meant for people who work for the Expo, not VIP guests.
« Last Edit: 28 February 2012, 03:51:20 by chin »

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #14 on: 28 February 2012, 03:02:55 »
German Pavilion, one of the most popular pavilion in the Expo, with lines routinely 3 or 4 hours long. Entry gained by method iv.

Someone said the Expo was staged not for foreign visitors to China, but mainly to bring the world to China, so the Chinese people can see the world without going out of the country. Sort of "travel" around the world all in one place, and take picture with the strange looking foreigners.

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #15 on: 28 February 2012, 03:11:04 »
The Expo also brought foreign food and entertainment to China. For each day visiting the Expo, we arranged to have dinner in some of the pavilions.

The dinner ranging from very exclusive (and expensive) to very moderate priced (but still expensive for mainland standard.) The first day we had dinner in the Spanish Pavilion. The food was just so-so but the main attraction was the show.

First performance, right after appetizer, was a flamenco inspired solo dance.

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #16 on: 28 February 2012, 03:13:20 »
After the main course, we then have this funny guy who can make music with any tube like material. Almost everything that's not normally musical instrument. Like blowing into the metal tube of a bike.

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #17 on: 28 February 2012, 03:14:28 »
After or while having desert, we had this comical string quartet.

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #18 on: 28 February 2012, 03:15:02 »
More pictures of the Spanish girls.

Offline chin

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Re: Shanghai Expo 2010 上海世博 (Aug 2010)
« Reply #19 on: 28 February 2012, 03:17:25 »
After the Spanish dinner and show, we visited the Spanish Pavilion. And we saw this giant robotic baby.