Shanghai, China – October 11th to 15th

This posting should probably be called Shanghai Expo 2010 since that is my main reason for being in Shanghai at this time. I will be back in Shanghai on my China tour and will see the city sights at that time.

I arrived from Taipei in the late afternoon and took a taxi to my hotel. The hotel really is out in the middle of nowhere but it seems really nice and modern. They say there is a small strip mall (?) not far down the street but the rest of the surroundings are office buildings. You have to take a taxi to get to the nearest metro station even. The hotel staff do have some strange practices though and they don’t understand much English, which is tough as I don’t understand any Chinese. After a late night last night (explained by Expo section below) I decided to sleep in until 9 a.m., go directly to breakfast as it finished at 10 a.m., and then return to shower and get ready for the day. I left the do not disturb sign on to ensure I could get back into my room after breakfast and that the maids weren’t in cleaning it up. Well, by the time I got back at 9:50 I already had a note under my door saying that because I had my do not disturb sign on they were unable to make up my room today. Can you imagine? They’re done by 10 a.m.! Most hotels wouldn’t even start cleaning rooms that early unless it was an early check out. Oh well, I’m not very messy so I think I’ll survive. I will miss my two bottles of complimentary water though.

The hotel has a shuttle to the Expo sight so I took that yesterday at 9 a.m. because they said the Expo sight opened at 9:30. The shuttle dropped me right at the ticket centre so that was good. They no longer have 3 day passes so I have to buy individual day passes instead which is a bit more expensive than planned. I think it was 160 yuan for the day pass so about $25 Canadian which still isn’t bad for an international expo

The Expo is right along the water, in fact on both sides of the Huangpu River. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how that works but I do know there is a bus that gets you between the two sections. I’ve actually decided that there is way too much for me to see anyway so I’m just staying on the Pudong side. The Pixu side seems to be more commercial and specific topic pavilions whereas I prefer the country pavilions.

I was dropped off right near the China pavilion which is quite a landmark – kind of an upside down pyramid in red and it’s huge so it definitely stands out as the key pavilion of the Expo. Unfortunately I did not get into it and probably never will. Apparently only 50,000 reserved tickets are given out each day and they seem to disappear well before the gates open. One worker said the lineups started at 5 a.m. and I’m sure not going to make that line. The Chinese obviously have their connections or tour guides who get up early and get the tickets for them. No one has volunteered that service for me. It simply means that mainly the Chinese see the pavilion, and the same goes for Taiwan and other Chinese pavilions. One of the Expo hosts even expressed concern that no one other than the Chinese were going to see the China pavilion and yet it was supposed to showcase China to the world.

All I can say is that I hope the Chinese take some time to actually look at the pavilion when they are there. They certainly don’t look at any other pavilion. They line up sometimes for hours at the other pavilions and then rush through, not watching any of the films or looking at any of the displays, just so they can get their passports stamped and literally run to the line for the next pavilion. In some of the pavilions three or four groups rush past me while I’m still watching the movie. Peru, for example, only lets enough people in at once to fill the theatre. The Chinese just ran right through the theatre and out the other side. I stood and watched the whole film and there were 2-3 from my group who also stayed. With the next group there were 5-6 who stuck around and the following group was 2-3 again. Everything is in Chinese so they have the advantage, not the rest of us. However, all they are interested in is getting a stamp in their passport. One of the African countries put up barricades throughout their pavilion to make the people at least walk through it before getting their stamp. The guy said he had never seen anything like it. He thought they might as well have had all the stamps in a separate pavilion at the front of the park so the Chinese could just get their passports stamped all at once and not have to walk so far. They also wouldn’t clog up the lines for others who really wanted to see the pavilions. It really is quite amazing.

There are about half a million visitors here each day right now so lots of people everywhere. I’m glad I’m here this week and not last week, which was their national holiday. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. There are winding lineups to everything and I have to keep telling myself that there were lineups in Montreal and Vancouver as well. And it was hot in those places too but it just seems unbearably hot around here. It was only 22 degrees yesterday but the humidity was almost 90 percent so even with a breeze you just stood in line sweating away. Eventually it rained and that was the best part of the day as far as I was concerned. People were running around with jackets on while I was just feeling comfortable with bare arms. Unfortunately I was waiting around for the parade and with the rain the parade was cancelled. But that just meant there were more pavilions to see.

After wasting an hour or more around the China and Taiwan pavilions before finally realizing I couldn’t get in, I moved to the other end of the site – a really long walk so next time I’ll take the bus. I came down off the elevated walkway at the Caribbean pavilion so that’s where I started. All of the small Caribbean islands were under one roof so it was really easy to walk around and enjoy them all in a nice air conditioned space. When I came out the Mexican mariachi band was performing so I watched that for a while before I decided I could enjoy the music while standing in line at the Canada pavilion so that was next.

The Canada pavilion definitely shows off our natural resources of wood and trees. The outside of the pavilion is all timber and the inside court yard is painted with green trees. The inside had several parts. Now let’s see if I can remember them. Urbancity was done on a large wooden block structure against one wall with blocks of square wood sticking out at all different levels. On it were projections of a large city over a 24-hour time delay. It was pretty neat (if you weren’t running past it!). Then there was a fake waterfall into a lake, which was really only a few inches of water and projections were done on to the water. People did stop at this one, especially the ladies, and they seemed to be fascinated that by touching the water they could affect the projected pictures. They never stayed more than a minute though.

The third part was velocity and there were about 16 high narrow screens with projections on them. There was a bicycle in front of each screen and you had to ride the bicycle to get the projection going. The projection of a bored man tapping his foot would stay in place until someone started peddling and then the man donned a flight suit and flew away to give views of the country – totally animated and complete with moose crossing signs followed by a moose that you almost hit. People definitely stopped at this and it was fun watching them try to peddle faster and faster even though the picture didn’t seem to change speed regardless. The only thing the cycling did was start the projection.

Then there was a movie / projection which you sat on the floor on mats to watch. People seemed to stay around for that as well but certainly not everyone. After that I don’t remember so I’m assuming we were at the end and into the shop or the restaurant. I went to the latter and had some chicken that actually tasted like chicken. It was a nice change. In the open area of the pavilion and in view of those in line, there were “characters” performing: hockey players on roller blades, someone dressed up like a tree, another had butterflies sticking out all over her and fluttering in the breeze, one I think was a moon but I couldn’t quite tell. One was a gardener or father nature or something. He was all green and had a patch of green garden with him. He was great at striking fantastic poses and it was obvious he was having fun so people loved getting their pictures taken with him. I’m not so sure the rest were enjoying the job very much. Oh, there was also a Tom Sawyer like fisherman who sat above the crowds in the lineups and had his fishing pole dangling down into the crowd. If anyone managed to grab his fish, he gave them a Canadian flag. It was corny but cute and certainly helped to pass the time in line.

From there I went to the Brazil, Peru and Columbia pavilions. All had lineups but only because they were only letting in so many at a time. There were no movies or specific time constraints but definitely lots to look at. Peru and Brazil certainly got me excited about visiting there so I stayed quite a while looking at their videos and playing with their displays. Columbia was equally as fascinating but I had to admit to the person there that I didn’t think it was a planned stop on my next holiday. Perhaps I should rethink that.

From there I went to stand in line for the USA pavilion. Like the Canadian pavilion, it also had several parts. The first part we stood for and it was quite good although I really couldn’t understand much of it. It was of Americans trying to say hello and some other basic things in Chinese. I knew what they were trying to do but I’m not sure what they were actually saying. It got some good laughs from the Chinese who were a captive audience in this holding pen. The same was true for part two which was a theatre with seats and as one group entered the other exited so everyone had to stay. It dealt a lot with children and the future and their hopes and dreams and was in English with Chinese subtitles so that was nice for me for a change. H. Clinton and Obama were both involved.

Their third part was another movie and it was really good. I would love to see it again. It was about dreams and gardens and a young girl wanted to turn an ugly vacant corner lot into a garden. She planted a flower while others looked on skeptically. When she went back to water it someone had trampled it. This happened a couple times and then one lady planted a second flower with her. Then she kept roping in more people and despite many setbacks she did eventually get her garden. It was really well done and very enjoyable. I don’t think there was any language spoken so it worked for everyone. And I don’t remember what came after that but definitely another store and restaurant.

By then I was in need of some nourishment so I had an ice cream cone. I saw a shaded bench to sit on and relax for a few minutes. That happened to be outside one big building that housed the smaller Central and South American countries so I decided to do that next. These countries had small booths within the one larger building but again I was impressed and can hardly wait to visit so many of these places. And in most booths I was the only one inside looking at the exhibits. The stamps were at the front and that’s all my Chinese friends cared about. Lots of pictures were taken in front of the booths but they never really went inside, which was a shame not only because they didn’t learn more about the country but also because most countries have part of their exhibits on Chinese specific interests and these are often quite interesting.

From there I had to head toward the parade route and that took me to Argentina, South Africa and the joint African pavilion that housed many of the smaller African countries. At that stage it was nice to be walking around in that one large pavilion as it was raining quite hard outside. I closed that building out at 10:30 and began my trek home, which is another story all on its own.

Okay, time for the trip home. I left the Expo grounds at 10:30 so should have been home by 11:30 at the latest. Instead it was at least 12:30 before I got back. From the gate I exited, they provide a free shuttle bus to the metro station and I wanted metro line 6. I followed all the signs for the shuttle bus and arrived in a parking lot full of buses. One of them had a 6 on it (I can always identify the numbers but not the words!) so I asked someone if that was the bus to metro line 6 and he said yes. I got in line and then got on. They have a very efficient service so there were about 6 busses lined up at any time and they just keep filling them so everyone gets a seat (no standing) and then they move on to the next one so it’s pretty slick. I was impressed with how easy it was until about 5 minutes into the trip when I thought the bus wasn’t quite going where I expected it to go. Then it kept going. By the time I and another person who spoke Chinese realized we were on the wrong bus it was too late. This was the number 6 express bus to some distant location and couldn’t stop to let us off except at the end. You couldn’t argue much with the driver since he was generally on an expressway and going through tunnels and over overpasses so didn’t really have much choice in the matter of stopping and dropping us off. Anyway, we arrived shortly after 11 p.m. in some foreign location (of course all of China is foreign to me!) where taxis did not exist and rickshaws were the norm. I didn’t actually have enough money for a taxi anyway so that wouldn’t have been much help. There was a small depot where everyone was just finishing for the day. No one really spoke English so I just kept pointing at the map and they just kept shaking their heads. One young female passenger tried to help as she spoke some English. The metro closes at 11:30 so there was no use trying to get me to the nearest metro station. They finally decided I should ride back with one of the bus drivers to the station where the buses get parked overnight and then I would take a taxi from there. As it turned out this was back at the Expo sight so at least I knew where I was. There were mainly only delivery trucks around the Expo sight by the time we got back there but one lonely taxi did appear – perhaps they had called him for me. Anyway, he gave me a ride home and I arrived safe and sound but at least an hour later than expected and about 60 yuan poorer than expected. But at least I made it.

Because of the late night and because my feet and legs were so sore from 12-14 hours of walking and standing in the heat, I took it easy most of the day and headed over to the Expo around 4 p.m. to go in for the evening on one of their evening passes. It was a beautiful cool evening as I wandered around in my short sleeves. Everyone else had jackets on. I started off at the same gate and headed to the left on the elevated walkway. I went down at New Zealand and that’s where I started my evening. I stayed in the same area for the entire evening and visited Cambodia, Indonesia, Brunei (which seems to have a longer name now), Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. They were all interesting but I have to say that they definitely are all blending together in my mind at this stage. I know I was interested in the Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore as I will be visiting many of the sights they were describing. I know that a number of these pavilions made you do a lot of walking and they seemed to be almost never ending. They were interesting for sure but around every corner you thought you must be at the end and yet there was another hallway of exhibits. The Australian pavilion had a circular theatre at the end and it was really well done. The stage rotated and at times it was an exhibit on the stage. Then circular walls came up part way or all the way as the story moved along and there were projections on it. It was very effective and even had English subtitles at the top so I knew what was going on.

I definitely have to start making notes because I really can’t remember what was in any of these pavilions but they were all remarkable in some way and I know that several times I thought I’d have to blog about this or that but now I can’t remember what it was! I had a traditional Aussie meat pie at the Australian pavilion for dinner and I finally got to see the parade since it wasn’t raining. The parade was very short with no more than 10 floats and costumed people walking between them. I never quite figured out what the theme of any float was. Sometimes I thought it was a country or an area but then the next one didn’t seem to have any theme. At least I can say I saw it. And that is more than I will be able to say for most of the pavilions. I’m not even going to manage a quarter of them so I’m not sure where to go tomorrow. I’m not going too early in the morning but it will be afternoon and evening at least.

Today (day 3 at Expo) I left the hotel shortly after 12 p.m., took a taxi to the metro station and then the metro to Expo. I should note that I actually managed the same route in reverse last night and again tonight and made it home much earlier than the night before! I can’t believe how hard it is on my feet and legs to stand and walk on cement all day. I need another foot massage but no time for that right now ….

Okay, today I started at the other end of the park. It didn’t bode well when the first pavilion I tried to enter, Qatar, was closed for the day. I still have no idea why but it was indeed closed all day as I passed it several times and it was in total darkness. In no particular order, I visited Lebanon, Iran, Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (as opposed to Republic of Korea which had 2-hour lineups), Vietnam, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Oman, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the joint Asian countries in one big building: Maldives, East Timor, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Bangladesh and Mongolia, and then others in another joint Asian building: Yemen, Bahrain, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Afghanistan, and a third joint pavilion with Miramar, Laos and Iraq. Kazakhstan was also there and there was a two-hour wait for that one. Other pavilions like Japan had a six-hour wait according to the signs and the lineups were huge. They actually had separate areas under the elevated walkway where people started the waiting. Then they were escorted to the main line which wound around seemingly forever and prevented everyone else from getting into the other nearby pavilions. I avoided anything that had over half an hour wait. Otherwise I would only have seen a couple of pavilions.

That may seem like a very long list of countries and it was to the extent that they are all now muddled in my mind. However, some of the smaller ones were really just markets to sell their wares. I didn’t take long in those ones. Others were much more focused on talking about their country and tourism. There were definitely some wonderful sights, which I guess means I must do even more travelling.

One of the pavilions (one of the separate ones, not one of the joint ones) had a 4D movie complete with wind, rain and rumbling seats at the end of their tour. It was very well done and had us jumping several times as objects came flying at us. It also had us getting rained on and windblown and shaken by the thunder. Oh yeah, that’s what was also nice about the USA movie about the girl starting the garden. It had rain, wind and rumbling seats when the storm hit. And in both the USA and this other pavilion you got to sit down to watch the movie which was a real treat.

It’s sad that I don’t remember which pavilion it was. I really can’t tell who had what. Maybe the Chinese have the right idea in that at least the passport stamp will always be with you even if the memory of the pavilion isn’t. In my case I don’t even have the passport stamp to help me out. I do know I liked Jordan’s displays and thought of my friend, Randy, enjoying himself there right now. Vietnam was a bamboo structure and the inside was also done in bamboo, which was very unique. Morocco had an authentic market upstairs, so they said. Having actually been to one of their large markets I can tell you the pathways in the Expo version were too wide and the noise level was too low. Otherwise, the wares were pretty authentic.

Near the end of the evening I went over to see the musical fountain show in Celebration Square. It is out over the river at the end of the Expo Axis with the background being the buildings on the other side of the river that are still part of the Expo grounds so very colourful. The display was quite wonderful with not just water and music but also fire, lasers and lights for special emphasis. It was very enjoyable even if we did get rather wet several times from the spray. At one point an ocean liner went past on the river and I wondered what the view was from their angle.

After the musical fountain show I went into the World Expo Culture Centre to see what it was all about. Apparently it is just a big performance centre most of the time. The reason people were going into it at Expo was for the observation deck around the top. There were some good views of the city and the Expo so certainly worth the trip, especially since there were escalators and elevators to get up and down from the observation deck.

The really exciting news is that I left there and headed toward the exit and decided to stop by the China pavilion to see what the line ups were like. There were very few people there and it was obvious they were closing. However, one of the guards waved me in so I got past the first check point without a reservation. At the second spot I just stood silently while they were turning away a wife because her husband’s reservation was single entry only and turning away another lady who was arguing quite vehemently. Eventually when I caught his attention he waved me through and I was clear from there on. I guess they decided some non-Chinese should see the pavilion too. It took well over an hour to see the pavilion with no line ups or crowds at all. It has several different sections and all of them were quite unique and enjoyable. We didn’t spend any time in the waiting hall as there was no one waiting but that had videos playing on the walls and ceilings. Then we had a movie which was three panels over 180 degrees. The sound was in Chinese and I didn’t realize until later that there were English words at the bottom of the screen but I couldn’t see them from my seat anyway. It was about spring but not necessarily the season. It was just about new beginnings and at the end focused on the tragic earthquake a few years ago and how they had rebuilt the area and everyone was moving on.

There was a reminiscence hall which showed a typical living room at 10 year intervals over the last 60 years or so. It reminded me of one of the pavilions at Disney World which does the same thing. At one point there while you were climbing a ramp there were hundreds of drawings by school students about their imagined city. The theme of the Expo is something like Better Cities Better Lives so this fit the theme. Some of the pictures were really quite amazing. The average age group was 8 to 12. At one point you could go in the National Treasure, which was very well guarded, but most people didn’t go there. I did and it was really just one thing and I’m not sure I really got the significance of it. It was a carriage with driver pulled by four horses. It was a gold colour so perhaps that was the treasure part. I believe it was old and perhaps an archeological find. I found it! They were “color-painted bronze chariot and horses in Qin Shihuang’s tomb” from 2000 years ago. They were life size and quite impressive.

One of rooms had a giant scroll in it that looked like a beautiful oriental painting in subdued colours. Then as you watched it more closely you realized it was going from day to night and in fact there were characters all through the picture that were moving. There was a town scene and all of the people in the town were doing their business as usual. There were people and animals always passing over the bridge. People were suddenly coming and going all the way along the scroll, either by boat on the river or by horse or by foot on land. The whole thing was incredibly beautiful to look at in general and almost mesmerizing to see in detail as you watched the people coming and going.

There were some neat tunnels or passageways that were all decorated differently and worked around a theme to tie the whole building together. And then we came to the dialogue section which was actually a ride that toured you through some pretty fascinating areas with neat structures and/or great pictures. And it all ended in the vision which dealt with environmental issues and how they were being addressed in China. At various points you had to choose which route to take and as you made your choice the results were tallied. For example you had to choose which type of light bulb you use in your home or what type of car you drive. Alternative sources of energy were definitely highlighted and of course gardens were again a theme. It was very well done. I’m not sure why I was allowed into the pavilion while others were being turned away but I really appreciate the opportunity. The pavilion is huge and all of the exhibits were great. I really enjoyed it and it was a great way to end my visit to Expo.

Okay, that was way too long for one post so I apologize. However, it covers three very busy days – but less than a quarter of what there was to see at the Shanghai China World Expo 2010.

Now, as I’m about to start my China tour, will I ever get the blogs for Taiwan and Dalian done? I doubt it but you never know.