Terminou o maior evento realizado na história da humanidade, ao que parece. Os chineses cumpriram as suas metas, como num plano quinquenal. Metas são para ser cumpridas, ao que parece...
Paulo Roberto de Almeida
Shanghai Expo Sets Record With 73 Million Visitors
By DAVID BARBOZA
The New York Times, November 2, 2010
According to tourism experts, state employees and government bureaucrats from virtually every part of the nation were ordered to pile onto buses, trains and planes and head to the Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
SHANGHAI — When city officials here promised the biggest and best World Expo ever, they were not just blowing smoke, as Tao Renran and 60 co-workers at a state-run garment factory found out recently when they were asked to visit this year’s Shanghai World Expo.
That odd request, they said, quickly became a threat. “We were required to come, otherwise, they said, they would cut our wages,” the 46-year-old Ms. Tao said last week, after traveling eight hours by bus to get a one-day glimpse of the Expo.
Ms. Tao and her co-workers had lots of company. According to tourism experts, state employees and government bureaucrats from virtually every part of the nation were ordered to pile onto buses, trains and planes and head to the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, this year’s singular national event, which ended on Sunday.
State-run tourist agencies had travel quotas, and state companies handed out free vouchers good for a one-day visit, all in the hopes of helping pump up the numbers.
“I’m in charge of encouraging 5,000 workers to get on this Expo trip organized by our company,” Chen Hao, 23, deputy chief of the labor union at a state-run steel mill in Shanxi Province in northern China, said last week, after posing for photographs near the China Pavilion. “I got free tickets from the travel agency.”
This government campaign had a simple but noble objective: helping the six-month-long Shanghai Expo reach its target of 70 million visitors, which would shatter Japan’s Expo attendance record of 64 million, set in Osaka in 1970.
Breaking the record was a matter of national pride, and in a country with a history of mass mobilizations and state propaganda, reaching the target was not a question of whether but when.
That day arrived on Oct. 24, when Expo attendance eclipsed the 70 million mark, with a week to go. By the time the Expo closed with a glittery ceremony attended by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, just over 73 million visitors had passed through the Expo turnstiles; it is believed to be one of the biggest events ever staged.
Of course, only 5.8 percent of the visitors — about 4.2 million — were foreigners, according to government data.
Liu Kang, who teaches at Duke University and Jiaotong University in Shanghai, said there was never much doubt Shanghai would meet its target.
“China always has these quotas,” Professor Liu said Monday, as the Expo Park was being dismantled after its 184-day run. “And if they don’t make the numbers, it’s not good for those in power.”
Using state resources to achieve such lofty goals is part of the game.
It is known, for instance, that in 2008 the Beijing Olympic torch relay was masterfully stage-managed for millions of viewers of state-run television here, with crowds bused in to line the relay route and cheer on the torch bearers.
Soon after the torch runner passed by, the cheering crowds were ordered to get back onto their designated buses and head to the next location along the route, where they were expected to cheer for the cameras all over again.
Shanghai officials had even bigger ambitions for the Expo, beginning with the clearing of two square miles for the Expo site by relocating hundreds of factories and moving tens of thousands of families.
When the Expo opened on May 1, a sprawling multibillion-dollar global theme park came to life with hundreds of national pavilions, including Saudi Arabia’s spectacularly expensive IMAX-equipped pavilion and Britain’s design gem, known as the “seed cathedral.”
Long before the Expo got under way, Shanghai authorities predicted that it would largely be attended by a domestic audience. Drawing huge crowds would be easy, organizers said, because only a small percentage of China’s residents get to travel overseas.
But hopes for a record-breaking effort seemed in doubt after visitor numbers dipped to 131,000 a day on May 3. That was far below the 380,000 daily average organizers said was necessary to break the record.
Soon after, Expo officials reminded the media that Shanghai’s 20 million residents would each be given a free one-day Expo pass. The city also started a promotional blitz on the nation’s state-run networks. State travel agencies were pressed to deliver on their Expo quotas. And they did.
“We had to entertain lots of government tourists,” said Ni Ni, a spokeswoman for the Jiangxi International Travel Agency in Jiangxi Province, in western China. “We arranged for a group of 1,000 for our local state-owned company. These kinds of trips are all covered by the government. Each travel agency partnering with the Expo has a quota. As far as I know even the very remote areas like Anhui, Henan and here in Jiangxi Province have all surpassed the quota.”
By early summer, it was clear that Shanghai was on track. Millions of schoolchildren began arriving. And overflow crowds jammed the Expo grounds. Entire villages of farmers, sometimes wearing matching Tang Dynasty-era nylon jackets, camped out.
With long lines at the American, French, German and British pavilions, which were among the most elaborate, many visitors opted for those of Slovakia, the Maldives and North Korea (which featured a fountain, Korean folk songs and an English sign that said “Paradise for People”).
Plastic ferns, artificial flowers and department store mannequins dressed in national garb did not deter visitors from fighting for positions at dozens of smaller pavilions and exhibition halls.
“This place has its own uniqueness,” said Jing Yangfa, a retired Shanghai university professor, while examining carpets at the exhibition hall created for Tajikistan, a country on China’s northwest border. “This is really like a visit to Tajikistan.”
In the sweltering heat of August, and in pouring rain two weeks ago, many queues involved three-hour waits. People lined up for four hours last week to get into Japan’s pavilion, dubbed the “purple silkworm.” And the line snaking around Saudi Arabia’s pavilion was eight hours long.
Some desperate visitors tried to con their way into the special access line of pavilions by pretending to be confined to a wheelchair. And there were reports that elderly women were standing near the entrance gates offering to rent themselves out as Expo escorts for $25 a day — a sure way to pass through the special access line.
Scalpers even began hawking V.I.P. tickets to the Saudi Pavilion for nearly $150.
By then, of course, Shanghai was well on its way to meeting its target. On Oct. 16, a record 1.03 million visitors jammed the Expo park — breaking another Japanese record set in 1970. And two days later, the 70 millionth visitor arrived. Headlines in the state-run news media declared “70 million-plus reasons to celebrate.”
One of the last visitors to the Expo, on the final day, was Zhao Chengui, 55, who works for a state power company in Hubei Province.
He said he was leading a group of homemakers to the China Pavilion.
“Our department arranged for 20 honored wives of pioneering workers in our department to come here,” he said. “Some of them have never been to other cities before. The company pays all the accommodation — everything.”
The day after the conclusion of the so-called Green Expo — as it was called because of its emphasis on sustainable, environmentally friendly cities — something unexpected happened: pollution levels in Shanghai jumped to a near six-month high.
Apparently, the state mandates to close neighboring factories had been lifted, creating a post-Expo haze.
Chen Xiaoduan contributed research.
Showing posts with label Shanghai Expo 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shanghai Expo 2010. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Shanghai Expo 2010 - Washington Post
World Expo 2010: Shanghai
On the world stage
A global showcase of architecture, science and technology opens May 1 in China's financial capital. Tens of millions of people are expected to visit the international exposition in Shanghai, which runs through Oct. 31.
See photos »
Letter from China
Costs and benefits
As China's largest city prepares to open the most expensive world's fair in history, the 2008 Beijing Olympics provides both a model and a cautionary tale. Perhaps mindful of the fact that many of the Beijing Olympic facilities have fallen into disuse, authorities in Shanghai have decided that almost all the World Expo pavilions will be dismantled immediately after the fair.
Read more...
About the World's Fair
The first world's fair took place in London in 1851 and the expos allow people to explore the world outside of their everyday experience —- outside cultures, new scientific advancements, and new inventions.
On the world stage
A global showcase of architecture, science and technology opens May 1 in China's financial capital. Tens of millions of people are expected to visit the international exposition in Shanghai, which runs through Oct. 31.
See photos »
Letter from China
Costs and benefits
As China's largest city prepares to open the most expensive world's fair in history, the 2008 Beijing Olympics provides both a model and a cautionary tale. Perhaps mindful of the fact that many of the Beijing Olympic facilities have fallen into disuse, authorities in Shanghai have decided that almost all the World Expo pavilions will be dismantled immediately after the fair.
Read more...
About the World's Fair
The first world's fair took place in London in 1851 and the expos allow people to explore the world outside of their everyday experience —- outside cultures, new scientific advancements, and new inventions.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Opening of Shanghai Expo - Washington Post
World's fair in Shanghai provides China with another showcase opportunity
By Andrew Higgins
The Washington Post, Saturday, May 1, 2010
Gallery
Expo 2010: Shanghai hosts world's fair
World Expo 2010: Shanghai
PHOTOS: Preparing to host the World's Fair
» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY
A global showcase of architecture, science and technology runs May 1 through Oct. 31 in China's financial capital. Tens of millions of people are expected to visit the exposition in Shanghai.
SHANGHAI -- With a frenzy of fireworks over a metropolis that once symbolized subjugation by the West, China on Friday launched its first world's fair, a jamboree of 189 nations that Communist Party leaders hope will showcase their country as a potent but peaceful world power.
As the Chinese character for peace flashed on a giant screen and Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" boomed from loudspeakers, a flotilla of boats carried the flags of the participating nations down the Huangpu River, a waterway that in the colonial era brought foreign invaders and traders, Western ways and great wealth to China's most cosmopolitan city.
After eight years of preparation, more than $50 billion in state funds and the biggest security operation in China since the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, President Hu Jintao declared Expo 2010 Shanghai open at a ceremony held in a riverfront hall shaped like a flying saucer.
The ceremony, a mix of Sino-Western schmaltz and stiff Chinese ritual, featured the Chinese national anthem, a song by Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan, a rendition of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and mass dance routines.
Police closed streets in wide swaths of the city ahead of the event, which was attended by numerous foreign dignitaries, including North Korea's No. 2 and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The United States did not send a high-level representative.
Tens of thousands of Shanghai residents watched the fireworks show Friday evening. "In the past, foreigners looked down on Chinese," said Jiang Xian, a retired petrochemical worker. "I am now very proud and excited."
This Story
* Expo gives China another showcase opportunity
* In Expo display, China thinks big
* Shanghai launches Expo extravaganza
* Expo 2010: Shanghai hosts world's fair
* Full coverage
View All Items in This Story
View Only Top Items in This Story
By Andrew Higgins
The Washington Post, Saturday, May 1, 2010
Gallery
Expo 2010: Shanghai hosts world's fair
World Expo 2010: Shanghai
PHOTOS: Preparing to host the World's Fair
» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY
A global showcase of architecture, science and technology runs May 1 through Oct. 31 in China's financial capital. Tens of millions of people are expected to visit the exposition in Shanghai.
SHANGHAI -- With a frenzy of fireworks over a metropolis that once symbolized subjugation by the West, China on Friday launched its first world's fair, a jamboree of 189 nations that Communist Party leaders hope will showcase their country as a potent but peaceful world power.
As the Chinese character for peace flashed on a giant screen and Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" boomed from loudspeakers, a flotilla of boats carried the flags of the participating nations down the Huangpu River, a waterway that in the colonial era brought foreign invaders and traders, Western ways and great wealth to China's most cosmopolitan city.
After eight years of preparation, more than $50 billion in state funds and the biggest security operation in China since the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, President Hu Jintao declared Expo 2010 Shanghai open at a ceremony held in a riverfront hall shaped like a flying saucer.
The ceremony, a mix of Sino-Western schmaltz and stiff Chinese ritual, featured the Chinese national anthem, a song by Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan, a rendition of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and mass dance routines.
Police closed streets in wide swaths of the city ahead of the event, which was attended by numerous foreign dignitaries, including North Korea's No. 2 and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The United States did not send a high-level representative.
Tens of thousands of Shanghai residents watched the fireworks show Friday evening. "In the past, foreigners looked down on Chinese," said Jiang Xian, a retired petrochemical worker. "I am now very proud and excited."
This Story
* Expo gives China another showcase opportunity
* In Expo display, China thinks big
* Shanghai launches Expo extravaganza
* Expo 2010: Shanghai hosts world's fair
* Full coverage
View All Items in This Story
View Only Top Items in This Story
416) Shanghai Expo - CNN
Shanghai rolls out record world's expo
From Miranda Leitsinger and Jo Kent, CNN
April 30, 2010 12:49 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Shanghai's World Expo opens Friday night and runs for six months
* The Shanghai expo is seen as part of China's coming-out party as a global player
* Expo is expected to draw 70 million visitors and exhibits from 179 countries
* Carries on the tradition of the world's fair, which first began in 1851 in London
Shanghai, China (CNN) -- Han Guiqun, 91, has seen a lot of history pass in Shanghai: civil war, World War II, the Cultural Revolution and the nation's dramatic economic reform.
Now he is about to witness history again as the largest world expo gets underway Friday in Shanghai.
"I'm so happy we're hosting the Expo," he said. "I've seen so many changes in China and it's a wonderful place now."
Up to $58 billion has been pumped into the local economy in preparations for Expo 2010 Shanghai, which runs from May 1 to October 31, with 70 million visitors expected. According to Chinese state-run media, 179 countries and 57 international organizations are confirmed to participate in the Asian nation's first time hosting the event -- which began in 1851 in London as the first world's fair.
Much like the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Shanghai expo is viewed as part of China's coming out party as a global player.
"Combining this fair with the Olympics of two years ago, I think that China hopes to be regarded more favorably in the rest of the world for its economic and social development, for its hospitality to visitors from overseas, especially, for its efforts to find a congenial place in the community of first-world nations," said John Findling, a historian and co-editor of "Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions."
"In many ways, Expo 2010 in China reminds me a lot of the 1893 Chicago world's fair, the World's Columbian Exposition, which was America's announcement to the world that it had arrived, and it certainly marked a certain period in time," said Urso Chappell, founder of expomuseum.com.
"As far as a direct relationship, I see a lot of parallels between 2010 in Shanghai and Expo 70, which was held in Osaka," Chappell said. "At that time Japan, coming out of WWII, was still building up and basically trying to rebrand itself and show itself to the world, and I see Expo 2010 as very much being the heir to that."
Past expos have created famous landmarks to mark the event, such as the creation of the Eiffel Tower for the 1889 world's fair in Paris and the Space Needle for the 1962 fair in Seattle. The Ferris wheel made its first appearance at the 1893 Chicago fair, the opening of the 1939 New York's World Fair was the first television broadcast event in the U.S., and the first touch-tone phones were displayed at the 1962 Seattle fair.
Countries are also using the Shanghai Expo as a promotion vehicle, with Saudi Arabia reportedly spending $164 million for the most expensive pavilion. A preview of the Japanese pavilion, designed like a giant "silkworm island," uses architectural innovations and recycled water to control the temperature of the building. Inside, the displays included electric cars, singing robots and simulations of traditional and modern Japanese life.
The expo movement, however, has had a checkered past. Most have lost money, according to Findling. The expo has not been in the United States since 1984, when the World Exposition in New Orleans went bankrupt and had to be bailed out by the Louisiana state government. "It was unsuccessful ... and a large reason why there hasn't been another fair in the United States," Findling said.
In 1994, U.S. Congress passed a law saying federal money could not be used for international expositions, so funding for the U.S. participation comes from corporate entities.
The 1998 Lisbon fair lost $1.32 billion, while the Hanover 2000 one lost some $1.2 billion, according to Findling's "Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions." On the flip side, Osaka 1970 brought in $146 million, while the one in Aichi, Japan, in 2005 posted a $109 million profit.
Even before its opening, the Shanghai Expo has not been without controversy. More than 6,000 people were recently detained in a crime crackdown in recent weeks, and 17,000 others have been relocated to make way for the $4 billion expo grounds, which spans over 5-square kilometers on the banks of the Huangpu River.
Resident Zhu Jindi claims she was repeatedly harassed. "The government just took away our home without any compensation," she says, "The Expo is supposed to make people's live better not worse."
The city also has also cracked down on the wearing of pajamas on the streets of Shanghai. "We have to dress in a civilized way," said Zhang Lianfang, a community organizer. "We need to present a tidy image."
From Miranda Leitsinger and Jo Kent, CNN
April 30, 2010 12:49 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Shanghai's World Expo opens Friday night and runs for six months
* The Shanghai expo is seen as part of China's coming-out party as a global player
* Expo is expected to draw 70 million visitors and exhibits from 179 countries
* Carries on the tradition of the world's fair, which first began in 1851 in London
Shanghai, China (CNN) -- Han Guiqun, 91, has seen a lot of history pass in Shanghai: civil war, World War II, the Cultural Revolution and the nation's dramatic economic reform.
Now he is about to witness history again as the largest world expo gets underway Friday in Shanghai.
"I'm so happy we're hosting the Expo," he said. "I've seen so many changes in China and it's a wonderful place now."
Up to $58 billion has been pumped into the local economy in preparations for Expo 2010 Shanghai, which runs from May 1 to October 31, with 70 million visitors expected. According to Chinese state-run media, 179 countries and 57 international organizations are confirmed to participate in the Asian nation's first time hosting the event -- which began in 1851 in London as the first world's fair.
Much like the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Shanghai expo is viewed as part of China's coming out party as a global player.
"Combining this fair with the Olympics of two years ago, I think that China hopes to be regarded more favorably in the rest of the world for its economic and social development, for its hospitality to visitors from overseas, especially, for its efforts to find a congenial place in the community of first-world nations," said John Findling, a historian and co-editor of "Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions."
"In many ways, Expo 2010 in China reminds me a lot of the 1893 Chicago world's fair, the World's Columbian Exposition, which was America's announcement to the world that it had arrived, and it certainly marked a certain period in time," said Urso Chappell, founder of expomuseum.com.
"As far as a direct relationship, I see a lot of parallels between 2010 in Shanghai and Expo 70, which was held in Osaka," Chappell said. "At that time Japan, coming out of WWII, was still building up and basically trying to rebrand itself and show itself to the world, and I see Expo 2010 as very much being the heir to that."
Past expos have created famous landmarks to mark the event, such as the creation of the Eiffel Tower for the 1889 world's fair in Paris and the Space Needle for the 1962 fair in Seattle. The Ferris wheel made its first appearance at the 1893 Chicago fair, the opening of the 1939 New York's World Fair was the first television broadcast event in the U.S., and the first touch-tone phones were displayed at the 1962 Seattle fair.
Countries are also using the Shanghai Expo as a promotion vehicle, with Saudi Arabia reportedly spending $164 million for the most expensive pavilion. A preview of the Japanese pavilion, designed like a giant "silkworm island," uses architectural innovations and recycled water to control the temperature of the building. Inside, the displays included electric cars, singing robots and simulations of traditional and modern Japanese life.
The expo movement, however, has had a checkered past. Most have lost money, according to Findling. The expo has not been in the United States since 1984, when the World Exposition in New Orleans went bankrupt and had to be bailed out by the Louisiana state government. "It was unsuccessful ... and a large reason why there hasn't been another fair in the United States," Findling said.
In 1994, U.S. Congress passed a law saying federal money could not be used for international expositions, so funding for the U.S. participation comes from corporate entities.
The 1998 Lisbon fair lost $1.32 billion, while the Hanover 2000 one lost some $1.2 billion, according to Findling's "Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions." On the flip side, Osaka 1970 brought in $146 million, while the one in Aichi, Japan, in 2005 posted a $109 million profit.
Even before its opening, the Shanghai Expo has not been without controversy. More than 6,000 people were recently detained in a crime crackdown in recent weeks, and 17,000 others have been relocated to make way for the $4 billion expo grounds, which spans over 5-square kilometers on the banks of the Huangpu River.
Resident Zhu Jindi claims she was repeatedly harassed. "The government just took away our home without any compensation," she says, "The Expo is supposed to make people's live better not worse."
The city also has also cracked down on the wearing of pajamas on the streets of Shanghai. "We have to dress in a civilized way," said Zhang Lianfang, a community organizer. "We need to present a tidy image."
Friday, April 30, 2010
415) Shanghai Expo - Washington Post
At Expo 2010 Shanghai, China thinks big
By Andrew Higgins
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, April 30, 2010
A global showcase of architecture, science and technology opens May 1 in China's financial capital. Tens of millions of people are expected to visit the international exposition in Shanghai, which runs through Oct. 31.
» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY
SHANGHAI -- Take the crowd that attended Woodstock in 1969, multiply it by 175 and dump the result in the middle of the world's most populous city. That is, in effect, what China plans to do at Expo 2010 Shanghai, an elephantine world's fair that opens Friday evening on the banks of the Huangpu River.
Everything about the Shanghai jamboree is super-size, most prominently the China Pavilion, a red upside-down pyramid with floor space equivalent to 35 football fields. That makes it about 30 times the size of the Canadian-designed U.S. showcase, which is tucked away in a corner of the main Expo site.
"The obvious conscious message is that China has arrived," said Jose Villarreal, a San Antonio lawyer recruited by the Obama administration in July to salvage floundering U.S. plans for the Shanghai Expo. "We are basically celebrating China's emergence as a world power."
Villarreal, who was named U.S. commissioner general to the event, joined Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in raising $61 million from U.S. companies to finance the American pavilion, which -- to China's dismay -- was nearly abandoned at one point for lack of funds. "We were going through one of the worst financial crises in history, and it was hard to get the attention of corporate leaders," Villarreal said.
On Thursday, China signaled its delight that the United States had finally gotten its act together: President Hu Jintao visited the U.S. exhibit, met with Mandarin-speaking American students who are serving as guides and "congratulated us on completing our pavilion," Villarreal said.
For China, money has been no object. Unlike the United States, which has begged for private money to fund expos since 1991, when Congress made government funding difficult, China dipped into the deep pockets of the state. It is spending $4.2 billion on the six-month Expo -- and 10 times that if new roads, rail lines and other infrastructure projects are included in the bill. (The last world's fair on U.S. soil, held in New Orleans in 1984, went bankrupt.)
One thing that has been scaled back in Shanghai, though, is Friday's opening ceremony. It still features an elaborate fireworks display, but an even grander spectacle was pared down to make sure China's second city didn't eclipse Beijing's opening of the 2008 Olympics.
A dozen boxes of silk
When London hosted the first world's fair in 1851, showcasing Britain as the dominant industrial and imperial power, China's sole contribution was 12 boxes of silk sent by a Shanghai merchant. Karl Marx, who was in London at the time working on theories that would inspire Mao Zedong and which nominally still guide China's ruling Communist Party, deplored the whole affair, known as the Great Exhibition, as an exercise in capitalist excess.
About the only nod in Marx's direction in Shanghai is a second opening ceremony Saturday -- International Workers' Day -- to open the Expo's vast riverside sites to the general public.
U.S. reliance on corporate sponsors has presented "unique difficulties," Villarreal said, noting that all other major countries have full-time government-funded teams that turn up at each world's fair. "We invent the wheel every time," he said.
While throngs of Chinese with advance tickets waited for hours earlier this week to get a sneak preview of China's already operating national exhibit, American contractors were still connecting wires and unpacking boxes inside a hall dominated by the corporate logos of sponsors.
'Rising to the Challenge'
The U.S. pavilion -- motto: "Rising to the Challenge" -- features a movie house, a big room filled with stands promoting the companies that are footing the bill and a fast-food joint run by Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut. The United States has also signed some big-name acts, including musician Herbie Hancock, who will perform next month.
Early reviews of U.S. efforts from ordinary Chinese have been mostly lukewarm. "There are too many corporate logos," said Sam Feng, a 30-year-old Shanghai resident. "I thought the USA would have some brilliant and exciting stuff. . . . Except for buying some souvenirs, I can't think of anything special about it."
China's pavilion has also stirred some grumbling. There have been complaints that its design was cribbed from a Japanese exhibit in Spain in 1992. The Chinese designer denies this.
Zhou Hanmin, deputy director of the Expo's organizing committee, said China is not trying to show off by building a gigantic national pavilion. It needs the space to house exhibits from 31 provinces and cities, which each have bigger populations than many countries. Moreover, big as it is, the China Pavilion will only be able to accommodate about 8 percent of the expected 70 million visitors, he said.
By Andrew Higgins
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, April 30, 2010
A global showcase of architecture, science and technology opens May 1 in China's financial capital. Tens of millions of people are expected to visit the international exposition in Shanghai, which runs through Oct. 31.
» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY
SHANGHAI -- Take the crowd that attended Woodstock in 1969, multiply it by 175 and dump the result in the middle of the world's most populous city. That is, in effect, what China plans to do at Expo 2010 Shanghai, an elephantine world's fair that opens Friday evening on the banks of the Huangpu River.
Everything about the Shanghai jamboree is super-size, most prominently the China Pavilion, a red upside-down pyramid with floor space equivalent to 35 football fields. That makes it about 30 times the size of the Canadian-designed U.S. showcase, which is tucked away in a corner of the main Expo site.
"The obvious conscious message is that China has arrived," said Jose Villarreal, a San Antonio lawyer recruited by the Obama administration in July to salvage floundering U.S. plans for the Shanghai Expo. "We are basically celebrating China's emergence as a world power."
Villarreal, who was named U.S. commissioner general to the event, joined Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in raising $61 million from U.S. companies to finance the American pavilion, which -- to China's dismay -- was nearly abandoned at one point for lack of funds. "We were going through one of the worst financial crises in history, and it was hard to get the attention of corporate leaders," Villarreal said.
On Thursday, China signaled its delight that the United States had finally gotten its act together: President Hu Jintao visited the U.S. exhibit, met with Mandarin-speaking American students who are serving as guides and "congratulated us on completing our pavilion," Villarreal said.
For China, money has been no object. Unlike the United States, which has begged for private money to fund expos since 1991, when Congress made government funding difficult, China dipped into the deep pockets of the state. It is spending $4.2 billion on the six-month Expo -- and 10 times that if new roads, rail lines and other infrastructure projects are included in the bill. (The last world's fair on U.S. soil, held in New Orleans in 1984, went bankrupt.)
One thing that has been scaled back in Shanghai, though, is Friday's opening ceremony. It still features an elaborate fireworks display, but an even grander spectacle was pared down to make sure China's second city didn't eclipse Beijing's opening of the 2008 Olympics.
A dozen boxes of silk
When London hosted the first world's fair in 1851, showcasing Britain as the dominant industrial and imperial power, China's sole contribution was 12 boxes of silk sent by a Shanghai merchant. Karl Marx, who was in London at the time working on theories that would inspire Mao Zedong and which nominally still guide China's ruling Communist Party, deplored the whole affair, known as the Great Exhibition, as an exercise in capitalist excess.
About the only nod in Marx's direction in Shanghai is a second opening ceremony Saturday -- International Workers' Day -- to open the Expo's vast riverside sites to the general public.
U.S. reliance on corporate sponsors has presented "unique difficulties," Villarreal said, noting that all other major countries have full-time government-funded teams that turn up at each world's fair. "We invent the wheel every time," he said.
While throngs of Chinese with advance tickets waited for hours earlier this week to get a sneak preview of China's already operating national exhibit, American contractors were still connecting wires and unpacking boxes inside a hall dominated by the corporate logos of sponsors.
'Rising to the Challenge'
The U.S. pavilion -- motto: "Rising to the Challenge" -- features a movie house, a big room filled with stands promoting the companies that are footing the bill and a fast-food joint run by Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut. The United States has also signed some big-name acts, including musician Herbie Hancock, who will perform next month.
Early reviews of U.S. efforts from ordinary Chinese have been mostly lukewarm. "There are too many corporate logos," said Sam Feng, a 30-year-old Shanghai resident. "I thought the USA would have some brilliant and exciting stuff. . . . Except for buying some souvenirs, I can't think of anything special about it."
China's pavilion has also stirred some grumbling. There have been complaints that its design was cribbed from a Japanese exhibit in Spain in 1992. The Chinese designer denies this.
Zhou Hanmin, deputy director of the Expo's organizing committee, said China is not trying to show off by building a gigantic national pavilion. It needs the space to house exhibits from 31 provinces and cities, which each have bigger populations than many countries. Moreover, big as it is, the China Pavilion will only be able to accommodate about 8 percent of the expected 70 million visitors, he said.
414) Shanghai Expo - Le Monde
L'Exposition universelle 2010 inaugurée ce vendredi à Shanghaï
Le Monde avec AFP, 30.04.2010
Shanghaï s'apprête à donner le coup d'envoi de l'Exposition universelle la plus grande de tous les temps vendredi soir, en embrasant le ciel sur les rives du fleuve Huangpu avec feux d'artifice et jeux d'eau, en présence d'une vingtaine de dirigeants étrangers. La cérémonie d'ouverture de la première Exposition organisée par un pays émergent débutera vers 20 heures, heure locale (14 heures, heure française), pour environ une heure et demie de chorégraphies, chansons interprétées par des stars internationales et un spectacle de jeux d'eau et de feux d'artifice.
Les journalistes accrédités ne pouvaient en dévoiler davantage après avoir dû signer un accord de confidentialité afin de ne pas gâcher la surprise de la fête, qui marquera l'aboutissement d'années de préparation pour la métropole de 20 millions d'habitants. Le spectacle de vendredi soir sera suivi de l'ouverture officielle samedi matin par le président chinois, Hu Jintao, puis celle au public d'une exposition universelle appelée à battre de nombreux records : taille du site (plus de 5 km2), nombre de pays participant (189) et nombre de visiteurs (jusqu'à 100 millions attendus).
UN DÉFI DE TAILLE
Une vingtaine de chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement doivent assister à la cérémonie de vendredi soir : le président français, Nicolas Sarkozy, qui achève à Shanghaï, avec son épouse, Carla, une visite d'Etat en Chine, le président de la Commission européenne, José Manuel Barroso, plusieurs chefs d'Etat africains, dont le Congolais Denis Sassou Nguesso, le Gabonais Ali Bongo Ondimba. Le président de l'autorité palestinienne, Mahmoud Abbas, le premier ministre des Pays-Bas, Jan Peter Balkenende, ainsi que le numéro deux du régime nord-coréen, Kim Yong-nam, sont également à Shanghaï.
La Chine, qui a retrouvé sa superbe, compte faire de l'événement la vitrine de sa nouvelle puissance, moins de deux ans après avoir organisé avec brio les jeux Olympiques de Pékin. Mais le défi est de taille, notamment pour assurer la sécurité sur six mois d'affilée et pour jusqu'à 100 millions de visiteurs, à 95 % chinois. Un public qui semble acquis d'avance après avoir été matraqué par une intense propagande par les médias chinois depuis des mois.
Au total 189 pays de tous les continents seront présents, avec des pavillons pour lesquels les architectes se sont lâchés et dont certains battent des records d'audace, tel celui de la Grande-Bretagne avec ses tiges d'acrylique qui s'agitent avec le vent et captent la lumière. Dans l'après-midi, M. Sarkozy aura inauguré le pavillon français, consacré à la "ville sensuelle", où la France, en pleine embellie de sa relation avec Pékin, se présente comme le pays de la culture et du romantisme.
En savoir plus :
Consulter le site officiel de l'Exposition universelle 2010, le site officiel du pavillon français, le portail de l'ambassade de France en Chine, et toutes les informations pratiques sur l'exposition.
Le Monde avec AFP, 30.04.2010
Shanghaï s'apprête à donner le coup d'envoi de l'Exposition universelle la plus grande de tous les temps vendredi soir, en embrasant le ciel sur les rives du fleuve Huangpu avec feux d'artifice et jeux d'eau, en présence d'une vingtaine de dirigeants étrangers. La cérémonie d'ouverture de la première Exposition organisée par un pays émergent débutera vers 20 heures, heure locale (14 heures, heure française), pour environ une heure et demie de chorégraphies, chansons interprétées par des stars internationales et un spectacle de jeux d'eau et de feux d'artifice.
Les journalistes accrédités ne pouvaient en dévoiler davantage après avoir dû signer un accord de confidentialité afin de ne pas gâcher la surprise de la fête, qui marquera l'aboutissement d'années de préparation pour la métropole de 20 millions d'habitants. Le spectacle de vendredi soir sera suivi de l'ouverture officielle samedi matin par le président chinois, Hu Jintao, puis celle au public d'une exposition universelle appelée à battre de nombreux records : taille du site (plus de 5 km2), nombre de pays participant (189) et nombre de visiteurs (jusqu'à 100 millions attendus).
UN DÉFI DE TAILLE
Une vingtaine de chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement doivent assister à la cérémonie de vendredi soir : le président français, Nicolas Sarkozy, qui achève à Shanghaï, avec son épouse, Carla, une visite d'Etat en Chine, le président de la Commission européenne, José Manuel Barroso, plusieurs chefs d'Etat africains, dont le Congolais Denis Sassou Nguesso, le Gabonais Ali Bongo Ondimba. Le président de l'autorité palestinienne, Mahmoud Abbas, le premier ministre des Pays-Bas, Jan Peter Balkenende, ainsi que le numéro deux du régime nord-coréen, Kim Yong-nam, sont également à Shanghaï.
La Chine, qui a retrouvé sa superbe, compte faire de l'événement la vitrine de sa nouvelle puissance, moins de deux ans après avoir organisé avec brio les jeux Olympiques de Pékin. Mais le défi est de taille, notamment pour assurer la sécurité sur six mois d'affilée et pour jusqu'à 100 millions de visiteurs, à 95 % chinois. Un public qui semble acquis d'avance après avoir été matraqué par une intense propagande par les médias chinois depuis des mois.
Au total 189 pays de tous les continents seront présents, avec des pavillons pour lesquels les architectes se sont lâchés et dont certains battent des records d'audace, tel celui de la Grande-Bretagne avec ses tiges d'acrylique qui s'agitent avec le vent et captent la lumière. Dans l'après-midi, M. Sarkozy aura inauguré le pavillon français, consacré à la "ville sensuelle", où la France, en pleine embellie de sa relation avec Pékin, se présente comme le pays de la culture et du romantisme.
En savoir plus :
Consulter le site officiel de l'Exposition universelle 2010, le site officiel du pavillon français, le portail de l'ambassade de France en Chine, et toutes les informations pratiques sur l'exposition.
413) Shanghai Expo - Claudia Trevisan, Blog Estadao
China celebra sua emergência global com a Expo Xangai
por Cláudia Trevisan
Blog O Tao da China, 30.abril.2010 12:04:08
Maior aglomerado urbano da China, Xangai vai se transformar a partir do próximo sábado em um enorme centro global de reflexão e troca de experiências sobre as cidades, seus problemas e os caminhos para enfrentá-los. No dia 1º de maio será aberta a edição 2010 da Exposição Mundial, que será a maior já realizada na história, com a participação de 190 países e 50 organizações internacionais e empresas.
Durante seis meses de duração, a Expo 2010 deverá atrair 70 milhões de visitantes _quase 400 mil por dia_ e abrigar 20 mil atividades, entre seminários, debates e performances culturais.
O grande tema que vai nortear o evento é “Cidade Melhor, Vida Melhor”. Neste século, pela primeira vez na história da humanidade, há mais pessoas vivendo em áreas urbanas do que rurais. Segundo o Bureau International des Expositions, que desde 1928 é responsável pela regulamentação do evento, a principal pergunta que a Expo 2010 deverá responder é: “Como nós podemos explorar o enorme potencial das cidades para o desenvolvimento e, ao mesmo tempo, enfrentar os desafios colocados por elas?”.
A questão será discutida nos pavilhões, em seminários e no fórum que encerrará o evento, em outubro, no qual será aprovada a “Declaração de Xangai”, com os resultados das trocas de experiências dos seis meses anteriores. O fórum será realizado no pavilhão da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) e deverá apresentar uma visão global para o desenvolvimento urbano e a cidade do futuro.
Xangai foi a primeiro centro de um país em desenvolvimento a ser escolhido para sediar uma Exposição Mundial. Desde 2001, quando a decisão foi anunciada, o governo chinês trabalha para que a Expo 2010 seja a maior de todos os tempos, tanto em número de participantes quanto de visitantes.
O parque da exposição foi construído em uma área de 5,28 quilômetros quadrados, onde há 46 pavilhões individuais de países, entre os quais o Brasil, e pavilhões coletivos de regiões que não tinham dinheiro para bancar sua participação, como a África. Além disso, há pavilhões temáticos, de empresas e os que são destinados a atividades específicas, como seminários e apresentações culturais.
A discussão das questões urbanas será concentrada em sete pavilhões dedicados às Melhores Práticas Urbanas, nos quais serão apresentadas experiências bem-sucedidas de todo o mundo.
O tópico também será o centro do gigantesco Pavilhão Temático, que apresentará a relação entre seres humanos e as cidades em todo o planeta em cinco subseções: Cidadãos Urbanos, Seres Urbanos, Planetas Urbanos, Pegadas Urbanas e Sonhos Urbanos.
Nesse mar de construções, será acirrada a concorrência para atrair visitantes, a maioria dos quais será de chineses _a expectativa é que “apenas” quatro milhões dos 70 milhões aguardados sejam estrangeiros.
O Brasil vai lançar mão do futebol, o elemento que os chineses associam imediatamente ao país. Na fachada do pavilhão haverá uma enorme tela interativa na qual os visitantes poderão “jogar” futebol com seus celulares. O local também servirá para exibição de jogos do Brasil na Copa do Mundo, que coincidirá com um período da Expo 2010.
Com o tema “Cidades Pulsantes”, o pavilhão utiliza filmes e painéis digitais interativos para dar um panorama da cultura, da economia, das cidades e dos destinos turísticos brasileiros. “Essa vai ser uma das mais completas participações do Brasil em eventos internacionais de grande porte”, afirma o diretor do pavilhão, Pedro Wendler.
Na sala de entrada, serão projetados vídeos sobre regiões e cidades brasileiras, em uma parede curva que forma uma espécie de semitúnel.
O destino seguinte é a Sala da Alegria Brasileira, onde há uma parede curva de 180 graus, na qual serão mostrados filmes sobre as festas regionais brasileiras, o Carnaval e o futebol, nos estádios que irão sediar a Copa de 2014.
O coração do pavilhão é a Sala das Cidades Pulsantes, na qual os visitantes assistirão simultaneamente a quatro filmes de oito minutos sobre o quotidiano de brasileiros, projetados nas paredes internas de um quadrado suspenso que ocupa o centro da sala.
Os personagens são um engenheiro da Embraer, um trabalhador em plataforma da Petrobras, uma música e um fazendeiro. No piso, são projetadas imagens aéreas de grandes cidades brasileiras.
A participação na Expo 2010 custou ao país R$ 50 milhões, entre recursos públicos e privados. O pavilhão tem 2.000 metros quadrados e uma localização privilegiada: ele está em frente aos dos Estados Unidos, o que mais desperta a curiosidade dos chineses de acordo com pesquisa realizada pelo governo local.
Mas o pavilhão que promete provocar o maior impacto é o da Inglaterra, no centro do qual está a “Catedral de Sementes”, um objeto que tem o formato de um cubo com as bordas arredondadas. Em sua superfície, foram “espetados” 60 mil estreitos tubos transparentes com 7,5 metros de comprimento, dentro dos quais há sementes de milhares de plantas encontradas no planeta. Durante o dia, esses tubos funcionarão como fibras óticas que iluminarão o interior do local. À noite, eles transmitirão luz de dentro para fora do edifício, iluminando o seu exterior.
Desenhado por Thomas Heatherwick, o pavilhão britânico é aberto e se espalha no espaço ao redor da Catedral de Sementes. O formato da área parece um papel de presente aberto e simboliza o fato de que o local é um presente da Inglaterra para a China.
por Cláudia Trevisan
Blog O Tao da China, 30.abril.2010 12:04:08
Maior aglomerado urbano da China, Xangai vai se transformar a partir do próximo sábado em um enorme centro global de reflexão e troca de experiências sobre as cidades, seus problemas e os caminhos para enfrentá-los. No dia 1º de maio será aberta a edição 2010 da Exposição Mundial, que será a maior já realizada na história, com a participação de 190 países e 50 organizações internacionais e empresas.
Durante seis meses de duração, a Expo 2010 deverá atrair 70 milhões de visitantes _quase 400 mil por dia_ e abrigar 20 mil atividades, entre seminários, debates e performances culturais.
O grande tema que vai nortear o evento é “Cidade Melhor, Vida Melhor”. Neste século, pela primeira vez na história da humanidade, há mais pessoas vivendo em áreas urbanas do que rurais. Segundo o Bureau International des Expositions, que desde 1928 é responsável pela regulamentação do evento, a principal pergunta que a Expo 2010 deverá responder é: “Como nós podemos explorar o enorme potencial das cidades para o desenvolvimento e, ao mesmo tempo, enfrentar os desafios colocados por elas?”.
A questão será discutida nos pavilhões, em seminários e no fórum que encerrará o evento, em outubro, no qual será aprovada a “Declaração de Xangai”, com os resultados das trocas de experiências dos seis meses anteriores. O fórum será realizado no pavilhão da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) e deverá apresentar uma visão global para o desenvolvimento urbano e a cidade do futuro.
Xangai foi a primeiro centro de um país em desenvolvimento a ser escolhido para sediar uma Exposição Mundial. Desde 2001, quando a decisão foi anunciada, o governo chinês trabalha para que a Expo 2010 seja a maior de todos os tempos, tanto em número de participantes quanto de visitantes.
O parque da exposição foi construído em uma área de 5,28 quilômetros quadrados, onde há 46 pavilhões individuais de países, entre os quais o Brasil, e pavilhões coletivos de regiões que não tinham dinheiro para bancar sua participação, como a África. Além disso, há pavilhões temáticos, de empresas e os que são destinados a atividades específicas, como seminários e apresentações culturais.
A discussão das questões urbanas será concentrada em sete pavilhões dedicados às Melhores Práticas Urbanas, nos quais serão apresentadas experiências bem-sucedidas de todo o mundo.
O tópico também será o centro do gigantesco Pavilhão Temático, que apresentará a relação entre seres humanos e as cidades em todo o planeta em cinco subseções: Cidadãos Urbanos, Seres Urbanos, Planetas Urbanos, Pegadas Urbanas e Sonhos Urbanos.
Nesse mar de construções, será acirrada a concorrência para atrair visitantes, a maioria dos quais será de chineses _a expectativa é que “apenas” quatro milhões dos 70 milhões aguardados sejam estrangeiros.
O Brasil vai lançar mão do futebol, o elemento que os chineses associam imediatamente ao país. Na fachada do pavilhão haverá uma enorme tela interativa na qual os visitantes poderão “jogar” futebol com seus celulares. O local também servirá para exibição de jogos do Brasil na Copa do Mundo, que coincidirá com um período da Expo 2010.
Com o tema “Cidades Pulsantes”, o pavilhão utiliza filmes e painéis digitais interativos para dar um panorama da cultura, da economia, das cidades e dos destinos turísticos brasileiros. “Essa vai ser uma das mais completas participações do Brasil em eventos internacionais de grande porte”, afirma o diretor do pavilhão, Pedro Wendler.
Na sala de entrada, serão projetados vídeos sobre regiões e cidades brasileiras, em uma parede curva que forma uma espécie de semitúnel.
O destino seguinte é a Sala da Alegria Brasileira, onde há uma parede curva de 180 graus, na qual serão mostrados filmes sobre as festas regionais brasileiras, o Carnaval e o futebol, nos estádios que irão sediar a Copa de 2014.
O coração do pavilhão é a Sala das Cidades Pulsantes, na qual os visitantes assistirão simultaneamente a quatro filmes de oito minutos sobre o quotidiano de brasileiros, projetados nas paredes internas de um quadrado suspenso que ocupa o centro da sala.
Os personagens são um engenheiro da Embraer, um trabalhador em plataforma da Petrobras, uma música e um fazendeiro. No piso, são projetadas imagens aéreas de grandes cidades brasileiras.
A participação na Expo 2010 custou ao país R$ 50 milhões, entre recursos públicos e privados. O pavilhão tem 2.000 metros quadrados e uma localização privilegiada: ele está em frente aos dos Estados Unidos, o que mais desperta a curiosidade dos chineses de acordo com pesquisa realizada pelo governo local.
Mas o pavilhão que promete provocar o maior impacto é o da Inglaterra, no centro do qual está a “Catedral de Sementes”, um objeto que tem o formato de um cubo com as bordas arredondadas. Em sua superfície, foram “espetados” 60 mil estreitos tubos transparentes com 7,5 metros de comprimento, dentro dos quais há sementes de milhares de plantas encontradas no planeta. Durante o dia, esses tubos funcionarão como fibras óticas que iluminarão o interior do local. À noite, eles transmitirão luz de dentro para fora do edifício, iluminando o seu exterior.
Desenhado por Thomas Heatherwick, o pavilhão britânico é aberto e se espalha no espaço ao redor da Catedral de Sementes. O formato da área parece um papel de presente aberto e simboliza o fato de que o local é um presente da Inglaterra para a China.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
411) Shanghai Expo: amazing photos
Shanghai's Expo nearly ready
Boston.Com - The Big Picture, April 28, 2010
Organizers of Shanghai's World Expo have been holding trial runs this week, before the official opening this Saturday, May 1st. About 70 percent of the nearly 200 participants participated in the trials, and visitors were already encountering long lines. Officials now estimate the 6-month event, themed "Better City, Better Life", will attract up to 100 million visitors, 95 percent of them Chinese. Shanghai has spent 400 billion yuan (58.6 billion US dollars) preparing for the Expo, according to state media - more than was spent on the Beijing Olympics. Collected here are photographs of last-minute preparations in Shanghai as they prepare to welcome the world this weekend.
(37 photos total)
See them all!!!
Boston.Com - The Big Picture, April 28, 2010
Organizers of Shanghai's World Expo have been holding trial runs this week, before the official opening this Saturday, May 1st. About 70 percent of the nearly 200 participants participated in the trials, and visitors were already encountering long lines. Officials now estimate the 6-month event, themed "Better City, Better Life", will attract up to 100 million visitors, 95 percent of them Chinese. Shanghai has spent 400 billion yuan (58.6 billion US dollars) preparing for the Expo, according to state media - more than was spent on the Beijing Olympics. Collected here are photographs of last-minute preparations in Shanghai as they prepare to welcome the world this weekend.
(37 photos total)
See them all!!!
Monday, April 19, 2010
396) Shanghai Expo costs - Washington Post
Shanghai prepares world's fair while wondering about costs
By Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, April 19, 2010; A08
SHANGHAI -- As China's largest city prepares to open the most expensive world's fair in history, the 2008 Beijing Olympics provides both a model and a cautionary tale.
As with the extravagant Olympics, Chinese officials see the World Expo, which begins next month and runs through October, as another chance to showcase China's rising clout and prosperity to a global audience. Shanghai has been constructing lavishly for the event, including new subway lines and an additional airport terminal.
But more than a year and a half after the Beijing Games awed the world, some of the most iconic venues have fallen into disuse.
The "Bird's Nest" stadium, site of the lavish opening ceremonies, hosted just three concerts and two B-list sporting events last year, and nothing in recent months. The "Water Cube," an engineering marvel where American swimmer Michael Phelps made Olympic history, has not been used for a competition since, and has been closed for renovations since October as officials try to transform it into an entertainment complex.
So far, the huge maintenance costs of those venues is being sustained by Chinese tourists, who pay for tickets to visit them and relive a bit of China's glory. But officials said interest is beginning to wane.
Perhaps mindful of that history, authorities in Shanghai decided that almost all the World Expo pavilions will be dismantled immediately after the fair. The site, an old industrial area that once housed a steel plant and scrap yard, will be used for exhibitions and conferences, a business sector this city is still trying to develop.
Also, officials and Shanghai residents say, the costly infrastructure improvements will continue to benefit locals long after the fair has closed down.
There have been contradictory official statements about the cost of the expo. Officially, the budget is 28.6 billion yuan, or just over $4 billion. But the China Economic Daily reported that the real cost could reach more than 400 billion yuan -- or more than $58 billion -- once all the costs for construction, the rail lines and the airport terminal are factored in. In addition, some 17,000 people were relocated, adding to the costs.
"Shanghai will be more beautiful, cleaner and have better infrastructure," said Hong Hao, the director general of the expo. "All the citizens will benefit from this."
He added, "We never stopped learning from the Beijing Olympics."
Most Shanghainese seem to like the idea of their city being the center of attention. One of the few vocal critics was Han Han, a popular writer, blogger and rally car driver. Invited to an expo forum for celebrities in November, Han Han began by saying the rapid urbanization of Shanghai would "make life worse," and the live video feed of his remarks abruptly stopped. His speech ended up being passed around on Web sites.
With the expo a new point of patriotic pride, such criticism has been rare and largely limited to anonymous postings on Internet sites. On one popular Shanghai discussion forum, some recent posters questioned whether the prestige of the world's fair was worth the high cost. "I am just wondering why they are putting so many resources into Expo," one poster said last week, using the online name Cfxianggang. "What benefits will this bring to the country?"
Another poster, using the name Yi Tao, replied: "All this is for face. No other country would do this like China, and put so many resources into it. But the way China is doing it, it will still end up being regarded as a developing country."
Another area where Shanghai is taking a page from Beijing is security. Metal detectors have been set up at Shanghai's subways and in the lobbies of hotels. A special paper, first used at the Olympics, is being swabbed on baggage and can detect explosives and other prohibited items. Kites and balloons are banned in the expo's vicinity. And volunteers are being enlisted to be on the lookout for troublemakers.
Organizers also say this expo will be the "greenest" world's fair ever. A solar energy system will produce up to 5 megawatts of power -- making it the largest solar plant in China -- and large rooftop canopies will collect rainwater to be purified for drinking. Heating will be provided through underground systems.
Richard Brubaker, an American business consultant who teaches a sustainability course at the China Europe International Business School here, said the green results will be known only after the event has closed. Brubaker said that the design of all the buildings uses energy-efficient technology -- but that afterward it would be better to reuse the pavilions than to disassemble all the glass, wood and steel used to make them.
Also, simply moving 70 million people to Shanghai on planes, trains and automobiles will increase China's energy footprint, even if the expo is self-sustaining.
Hong, the expo official, said it will bring "intangible benefits" to Shanghai -- among other things, teaching residents to be "more civilized." Residents have been ordered not to jaywalk, not to spit on the sidewalks, not to hang their laundry in public, and to be polite to foreigners.
The biggest change is that they are being told not to wear their pajamas in public, a longtime Shanghainese tradition.
Wu Weikang, 67, was standing in his thick green-and-blue plaid pajamas outside his house on a chilly afternoon. Before the coming of the expo, he said, if he needed something at the nearby grocery store, he would just walk there in his pajamas. But no longer.
"Now everybody knows," Wu said. "If I forget and wear my pajamas out on the street, my neighbor will stop me."
Photo Gallery
By Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, April 19, 2010; A08
SHANGHAI -- As China's largest city prepares to open the most expensive world's fair in history, the 2008 Beijing Olympics provides both a model and a cautionary tale.
As with the extravagant Olympics, Chinese officials see the World Expo, which begins next month and runs through October, as another chance to showcase China's rising clout and prosperity to a global audience. Shanghai has been constructing lavishly for the event, including new subway lines and an additional airport terminal.
But more than a year and a half after the Beijing Games awed the world, some of the most iconic venues have fallen into disuse.
The "Bird's Nest" stadium, site of the lavish opening ceremonies, hosted just three concerts and two B-list sporting events last year, and nothing in recent months. The "Water Cube," an engineering marvel where American swimmer Michael Phelps made Olympic history, has not been used for a competition since, and has been closed for renovations since October as officials try to transform it into an entertainment complex.
So far, the huge maintenance costs of those venues is being sustained by Chinese tourists, who pay for tickets to visit them and relive a bit of China's glory. But officials said interest is beginning to wane.
Perhaps mindful of that history, authorities in Shanghai decided that almost all the World Expo pavilions will be dismantled immediately after the fair. The site, an old industrial area that once housed a steel plant and scrap yard, will be used for exhibitions and conferences, a business sector this city is still trying to develop.
Also, officials and Shanghai residents say, the costly infrastructure improvements will continue to benefit locals long after the fair has closed down.
There have been contradictory official statements about the cost of the expo. Officially, the budget is 28.6 billion yuan, or just over $4 billion. But the China Economic Daily reported that the real cost could reach more than 400 billion yuan -- or more than $58 billion -- once all the costs for construction, the rail lines and the airport terminal are factored in. In addition, some 17,000 people were relocated, adding to the costs.
"Shanghai will be more beautiful, cleaner and have better infrastructure," said Hong Hao, the director general of the expo. "All the citizens will benefit from this."
He added, "We never stopped learning from the Beijing Olympics."
Most Shanghainese seem to like the idea of their city being the center of attention. One of the few vocal critics was Han Han, a popular writer, blogger and rally car driver. Invited to an expo forum for celebrities in November, Han Han began by saying the rapid urbanization of Shanghai would "make life worse," and the live video feed of his remarks abruptly stopped. His speech ended up being passed around on Web sites.
With the expo a new point of patriotic pride, such criticism has been rare and largely limited to anonymous postings on Internet sites. On one popular Shanghai discussion forum, some recent posters questioned whether the prestige of the world's fair was worth the high cost. "I am just wondering why they are putting so many resources into Expo," one poster said last week, using the online name Cfxianggang. "What benefits will this bring to the country?"
Another poster, using the name Yi Tao, replied: "All this is for face. No other country would do this like China, and put so many resources into it. But the way China is doing it, it will still end up being regarded as a developing country."
Another area where Shanghai is taking a page from Beijing is security. Metal detectors have been set up at Shanghai's subways and in the lobbies of hotels. A special paper, first used at the Olympics, is being swabbed on baggage and can detect explosives and other prohibited items. Kites and balloons are banned in the expo's vicinity. And volunteers are being enlisted to be on the lookout for troublemakers.
Organizers also say this expo will be the "greenest" world's fair ever. A solar energy system will produce up to 5 megawatts of power -- making it the largest solar plant in China -- and large rooftop canopies will collect rainwater to be purified for drinking. Heating will be provided through underground systems.
Richard Brubaker, an American business consultant who teaches a sustainability course at the China Europe International Business School here, said the green results will be known only after the event has closed. Brubaker said that the design of all the buildings uses energy-efficient technology -- but that afterward it would be better to reuse the pavilions than to disassemble all the glass, wood and steel used to make them.
Also, simply moving 70 million people to Shanghai on planes, trains and automobiles will increase China's energy footprint, even if the expo is self-sustaining.
Hong, the expo official, said it will bring "intangible benefits" to Shanghai -- among other things, teaching residents to be "more civilized." Residents have been ordered not to jaywalk, not to spit on the sidewalks, not to hang their laundry in public, and to be polite to foreigners.
The biggest change is that they are being told not to wear their pajamas in public, a longtime Shanghainese tradition.
Wu Weikang, 67, was standing in his thick green-and-blue plaid pajamas outside his house on a chilly afternoon. Before the coming of the expo, he said, if he needed something at the nearby grocery store, he would just walk there in his pajamas. But no longer.
"Now everybody knows," Wu said. "If I forget and wear my pajamas out on the street, my neighbor will stop me."
Photo Gallery
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
375) Shanghai Expo, selon Le Monde
Pour ne rien manquer de Shanghaï 2010
Martine Picouët
Le Monde, 07.04.2010
En 1910, l'écrivain chinois Lu Shi'e prédit l'organisation de l'Exposition universelle à Shanghaï dans les cent ans à venir. Un siècle plus tard, la capitale économique chinoise et ses 15 millions d'habitants accueillent, à partir du 1er mai, la 73e Exposition universelle sur le thème "Meilleure ville, meilleure vie".
Pour faire partie des quelque 70 millions de visiteurs attendus dans la ville jusqu'au 31 octobre, date de clôture de l'Exposition, il n'est pas encore trop tard pour réserver son voyage.
DES OFFRES ATTRACTIVES
La Maison de la Chine propose un voyage de six jours "Escapade à Shanghaï expo U" au départ de Paris à partir de 1 030 euros TTC du 15 mai au 28 juillet. En version luxe, compter au moins 2 580 euros pour 7 jours et 5 nuits. Voyageurs du monde propose des séjours 6 jours et 4 nuits à Shanghaï à partir de 1 200 euros avec hôtel 3 étoiles. Pour un voyage de 9 jours/6 nuits en 5 étoiles et accompagné d'un guide francophone, le tarif monte à 2 200 euros. Un prix qui varie selon les dates de départ. En plein été, les tarifs peuvent être majorés de 30 % à 50 %.
Le spécialiste de la région, Asia, a construit spécialement trois voyages en solo : "Escapade à Shanghaï", 7 jours/4 nuits jusqu'au 25 juin (839 euros TTC), "Shanghai expo", départ du 1er mai au 26 octobre (1 349 euros TTC) et "Chine des contrastes", avec 3 nuits à Pékin et 4 nuits à Shanghaï, départ entre le 1er mai et le 23 octobre (3 694 euros TTC).
DES CIRCUITS EN CHINE
Pour ceux qui partent plus longtemps, Jetset propose un circuit en Chine, permettant de découvrir Pékin et Shanghaï en 10 jours et 8 nuits à partir de 1 490 euros.
La plupart des opérateurs ont ajouté une ou deux journées à Shanghaï en début ou fin de séjour. Ainsi, Nouvelles Frontières a inclus l'Exposition universelle dans deux de ses circuits traditionnels, "Chine traditionnelle" et "Majestueux Yang-Tsé".
Pour le voyageur qui organise lui-même son séjour en Chine, Air France propose des allers-retours Paris-Shanghaï à partir de 771 euros TTC. China Eastern joue la concurrence avec un tarif à 750 euros en mai. En haute saison, compter au moins 1 000 à 1 100 euros.
500 000 LITS
Côté hébergement, la ville dispose de plus de 500 000 lits, de l'auberge de jeunesse jusqu'à l'hôtel 5 étoiles sur les toits de la ville. Pour les nostalgiques, l'Astor House, où séjournèrent Joseph Kessel, André Malraux, Albert Einstein et Charlie Chaplin, demeure une référence. La Shanghaï City Tour Card permet de bénéficier de tarifs réduits dans les hôtels mais aussi les agences de voyages, les magasins, les sites touristiques, les restaurants et les transports publics. Elle peut également être utilisée comme moyen de paiement dans le métro, pour l'autobus, le taxi et le ferry. On peut se la procurer dans les agences de la Shanghaï Pudong Development Bank et de l'Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
EVITER L'ÉTÉ
Que ce soit pour des raisons économiques ou climatiques, les meilleures saisons pour voyager sont le printemps et l'automne. Le thermomètre ne dépasse pas les 20 à 25°C contre 35 à 40°C en juillet-aout. Eviter de revenir en France la seconde quinzaine d'août pour ne pas coïncider avec le retour des étudiants chinois dans l'Hexagone. Proscrire également la première semaine d'octobre, date des vacances des Chinois, à l'occasion de la fête nationale, et les dix derniers jours du mois. A l'approche de la cérémonie de clôture de l'Exposition, de nombreux sites seront inaccessibles au public.
L'EXPO ET SES ALENTOURS
L'Exposition regroupe sur un peu plus de 5 km2 une centaine de pavillons nationaux. Le pavillon français, conçu par l'architecte Jacques Ferrier, se présente comme un immense quadrilatère enserré dans une résille de béton léger, flottant au-dessus de l'eau. Sur le toit, le 6e Sens, le restaurant des frères Pourcel, offre une vue imprenable sur les jardins et le fleuve.
Du haut de ses 60 mètres, le pavillon chinois, en forme de pyramide inversée, domine les autres bâtiments. Un gigantisme que représente bien la Shanghaï de 2010 avec Pudong (la nouvelle ville) sur la rive est du Huangpu, et Puxi (la vieille ville) à l'ouest. Deux parties d'une seule ville définitivement tournée vers le futur et que certains surnomment "la New York du XXIe siècle". A l'ouest s'étend le Bund (célèbre boulevard le long du fleuve Huangpu), avec les anciennes concessions étrangères, les monuments néoclassiques des années 1930, le jardin Yu, le Musée de Shanghaï, les rues commerçantes. Mais aussi les bars, les restaurants et les night-clubs branchés.
Les terrasses du Musée de la poste et du Bar Rouge offrent de belles perspectives sur le Bund et sur la ville nouvelle. Parmi les adresses moins connues, on peut essayer le New Eight, au numéro 3 du Bund, intallé au dernier étage d'une ancienne banque. Pas question de quitter Shanghaï sans découvrir la campagne du Jiangnan vers Suzhou et Tongli, les anciennes "Venise" chinoises. Pour ceux qui en douteraient, il existe un proverbe chinois qui dit : "Au ciel il y a un paradis, sur terre il y a Hangzhou, autour du lac de l'Ouest, et Suzhou, la ville des jardins chinois."
Martine Picouët
Article paru dans l'édition du 08.04.10
Y aller: Plusieurs voyagistes proposent des séjours avec vol pour l'Exposition universelle :
Asia.fr, tél. : 0825-897-602 ;
Voyageurs du monde : vdm.com, tél. : 0892-23-79-79 ; Orients.com, tél. : 01-40-51-10-40 ; Maisondelachine.fr, tél. : 01-40-51-95-00.
Anseltravel.com, tél. : 01-45-62-36-47 ; Nouvelles-frontieres.fr, tél. : 0825-000-825 ;
Via-chine.fr, tél. : 01-46-59-03-22 ; Anseltravel.com, tél. : 01-45-62-36-47 ; Agencechinetourisme.fr, tél. : 01-42-78-08-88.
Pratique Décalage horaire : plus six heures. Accès à l'exposition : de 16 à 20 euros selon les jours (gratuit pour les enfants mesurant moins de 1,20 m). En vente à l'Agence Chine Tourisme, à Paris. Pass trois jours (45 €), une semaine (100 €), en vente sur place.Change : le yuan - ou renminbi - (CNY) ne s'achète qu'en Chine. 10 yuans = 1,09 euro environ.
A voir Jusqu'au 11 septembre, exposition de photos, "Shanghaï universelle", de Yann Layma, Chen Haiwen, Cui Xinhua, Kou Shanqin, Yin Liqin, Fang Xiaoming, Yong He, à la Maison de la Chine, à Paris.
A lire Guide du routard Chine, plan de l'expo de Shanghaï, (Hachette, 2010, 700 p., 14,90 €) ; Cartoville Shanghaï (Gallimard, 2009, 48 p., 8,40 €) ; Lonely Planet (2009, 1 048 p., 32 €).
Renseignements Exposition universelle : shanghai2010.fr, expo2010.cn ; Pavillon-France.com ; Office national du tourisme de Chine : Otchine.com
Martine Picouët
Le Monde, 07.04.2010
En 1910, l'écrivain chinois Lu Shi'e prédit l'organisation de l'Exposition universelle à Shanghaï dans les cent ans à venir. Un siècle plus tard, la capitale économique chinoise et ses 15 millions d'habitants accueillent, à partir du 1er mai, la 73e Exposition universelle sur le thème "Meilleure ville, meilleure vie".
Pour faire partie des quelque 70 millions de visiteurs attendus dans la ville jusqu'au 31 octobre, date de clôture de l'Exposition, il n'est pas encore trop tard pour réserver son voyage.
DES OFFRES ATTRACTIVES
La Maison de la Chine propose un voyage de six jours "Escapade à Shanghaï expo U" au départ de Paris à partir de 1 030 euros TTC du 15 mai au 28 juillet. En version luxe, compter au moins 2 580 euros pour 7 jours et 5 nuits. Voyageurs du monde propose des séjours 6 jours et 4 nuits à Shanghaï à partir de 1 200 euros avec hôtel 3 étoiles. Pour un voyage de 9 jours/6 nuits en 5 étoiles et accompagné d'un guide francophone, le tarif monte à 2 200 euros. Un prix qui varie selon les dates de départ. En plein été, les tarifs peuvent être majorés de 30 % à 50 %.
Le spécialiste de la région, Asia, a construit spécialement trois voyages en solo : "Escapade à Shanghaï", 7 jours/4 nuits jusqu'au 25 juin (839 euros TTC), "Shanghai expo", départ du 1er mai au 26 octobre (1 349 euros TTC) et "Chine des contrastes", avec 3 nuits à Pékin et 4 nuits à Shanghaï, départ entre le 1er mai et le 23 octobre (3 694 euros TTC).
DES CIRCUITS EN CHINE
Pour ceux qui partent plus longtemps, Jetset propose un circuit en Chine, permettant de découvrir Pékin et Shanghaï en 10 jours et 8 nuits à partir de 1 490 euros.
La plupart des opérateurs ont ajouté une ou deux journées à Shanghaï en début ou fin de séjour. Ainsi, Nouvelles Frontières a inclus l'Exposition universelle dans deux de ses circuits traditionnels, "Chine traditionnelle" et "Majestueux Yang-Tsé".
Pour le voyageur qui organise lui-même son séjour en Chine, Air France propose des allers-retours Paris-Shanghaï à partir de 771 euros TTC. China Eastern joue la concurrence avec un tarif à 750 euros en mai. En haute saison, compter au moins 1 000 à 1 100 euros.
500 000 LITS
Côté hébergement, la ville dispose de plus de 500 000 lits, de l'auberge de jeunesse jusqu'à l'hôtel 5 étoiles sur les toits de la ville. Pour les nostalgiques, l'Astor House, où séjournèrent Joseph Kessel, André Malraux, Albert Einstein et Charlie Chaplin, demeure une référence. La Shanghaï City Tour Card permet de bénéficier de tarifs réduits dans les hôtels mais aussi les agences de voyages, les magasins, les sites touristiques, les restaurants et les transports publics. Elle peut également être utilisée comme moyen de paiement dans le métro, pour l'autobus, le taxi et le ferry. On peut se la procurer dans les agences de la Shanghaï Pudong Development Bank et de l'Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
EVITER L'ÉTÉ
Que ce soit pour des raisons économiques ou climatiques, les meilleures saisons pour voyager sont le printemps et l'automne. Le thermomètre ne dépasse pas les 20 à 25°C contre 35 à 40°C en juillet-aout. Eviter de revenir en France la seconde quinzaine d'août pour ne pas coïncider avec le retour des étudiants chinois dans l'Hexagone. Proscrire également la première semaine d'octobre, date des vacances des Chinois, à l'occasion de la fête nationale, et les dix derniers jours du mois. A l'approche de la cérémonie de clôture de l'Exposition, de nombreux sites seront inaccessibles au public.
L'EXPO ET SES ALENTOURS
L'Exposition regroupe sur un peu plus de 5 km2 une centaine de pavillons nationaux. Le pavillon français, conçu par l'architecte Jacques Ferrier, se présente comme un immense quadrilatère enserré dans une résille de béton léger, flottant au-dessus de l'eau. Sur le toit, le 6e Sens, le restaurant des frères Pourcel, offre une vue imprenable sur les jardins et le fleuve.
Du haut de ses 60 mètres, le pavillon chinois, en forme de pyramide inversée, domine les autres bâtiments. Un gigantisme que représente bien la Shanghaï de 2010 avec Pudong (la nouvelle ville) sur la rive est du Huangpu, et Puxi (la vieille ville) à l'ouest. Deux parties d'une seule ville définitivement tournée vers le futur et que certains surnomment "la New York du XXIe siècle". A l'ouest s'étend le Bund (célèbre boulevard le long du fleuve Huangpu), avec les anciennes concessions étrangères, les monuments néoclassiques des années 1930, le jardin Yu, le Musée de Shanghaï, les rues commerçantes. Mais aussi les bars, les restaurants et les night-clubs branchés.
Les terrasses du Musée de la poste et du Bar Rouge offrent de belles perspectives sur le Bund et sur la ville nouvelle. Parmi les adresses moins connues, on peut essayer le New Eight, au numéro 3 du Bund, intallé au dernier étage d'une ancienne banque. Pas question de quitter Shanghaï sans découvrir la campagne du Jiangnan vers Suzhou et Tongli, les anciennes "Venise" chinoises. Pour ceux qui en douteraient, il existe un proverbe chinois qui dit : "Au ciel il y a un paradis, sur terre il y a Hangzhou, autour du lac de l'Ouest, et Suzhou, la ville des jardins chinois."
Martine Picouët
Article paru dans l'édition du 08.04.10
Y aller: Plusieurs voyagistes proposent des séjours avec vol pour l'Exposition universelle :
Asia.fr, tél. : 0825-897-602 ;
Voyageurs du monde : vdm.com, tél. : 0892-23-79-79 ; Orients.com, tél. : 01-40-51-10-40 ; Maisondelachine.fr, tél. : 01-40-51-95-00.
Anseltravel.com, tél. : 01-45-62-36-47 ; Nouvelles-frontieres.fr, tél. : 0825-000-825 ;
Via-chine.fr, tél. : 01-46-59-03-22 ; Anseltravel.com, tél. : 01-45-62-36-47 ; Agencechinetourisme.fr, tél. : 01-42-78-08-88.
Pratique Décalage horaire : plus six heures. Accès à l'exposition : de 16 à 20 euros selon les jours (gratuit pour les enfants mesurant moins de 1,20 m). En vente à l'Agence Chine Tourisme, à Paris. Pass trois jours (45 €), une semaine (100 €), en vente sur place.Change : le yuan - ou renminbi - (CNY) ne s'achète qu'en Chine. 10 yuans = 1,09 euro environ.
A voir Jusqu'au 11 septembre, exposition de photos, "Shanghaï universelle", de Yann Layma, Chen Haiwen, Cui Xinhua, Kou Shanqin, Yin Liqin, Fang Xiaoming, Yong He, à la Maison de la Chine, à Paris.
A lire Guide du routard Chine, plan de l'expo de Shanghaï, (Hachette, 2010, 700 p., 14,90 €) ; Cartoville Shanghaï (Gallimard, 2009, 48 p., 8,40 €) ; Lonely Planet (2009, 1 048 p., 32 €).
Renseignements Exposition universelle : shanghai2010.fr, expo2010.cn ; Pavillon-France.com ; Office national du tourisme de Chine : Otchine.com
Friday, March 26, 2010
363) Shanghai gets ready for the Expo...
Shanghai’s Coming Out Party
By Anna Greenspan
The Globalist - Analysis, Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Shanghai, China's biggest and most cosmopolitan metropolis, is currently putting the final touches on its preparations to host the World Expo 2010 from May to October. Anna Greenspan explores how the local authorities are changing the entire make-up of the city in preparation for this milestone event.
I have been living in the same apartment in downtown Shanghai for over two years, but in the last few weeks my neighborhood has been radically transformed.
Suddenly, across the street a new subway hub emerged. The street itself is constantly mutating. Teams of workers are busy planting full-grown trees that have just been shipped in.
Surprisingly, for a city as vain as Shanghai, there are no superstar architects involved in the World Expo plans. There is no "Birdsnest" or "Watercube" in the works.
Welcome to Shanghai circa 2010. Here, if you want to change your surroundings, it’s best simply to stay still.
Since 2002, when the city won the right to host the World Expo, it was clear that 2010 would be the year that Shanghai would stage its coming out party.
In the long rivalry between China’s two great cities, this is Shanghai’s time. While it has yet to make headlines elsewhere, preparations for the Expo, billed here as the "cultural Olympics," match — or even exceed — the build up to the Beijing Games.
Amazingly, almost every project announced in the city during the last few years had the same completion date. It almost became a joke.
Now as the big moment finally approaches — the official opening is set for May 1, 2010 — the countdown is relentless and inescapable.
Walk through an alleyway, wait to cross a main intersection, go to the library to check out a book — and somewhere, everywhere, a sign seems to be screaming out at you — 40, 39, 38 days left.
Without any doubt, the city has gone into a frenzy of construction that is unlike anything any city has ever seen.
Having lived here for most of the decade, I have certainly grown accustomed to expecting high-speed growth. I have seen entire neighborhoods vanish — and parks and skyscrapers magically appear.
Yet, nothing has prepared me for the mind-boggling change currently underway. The entire megalopolis is now being given a final push in the form of a major spruce-up.
In the long rivalry between China’s two great cities, this is Shanghai’s time.
Teams of migrant workers are everywhere — hanging from ladders, dangling from ropes. Brick by brick, they are replacing almost every sidewalk, painting almost every wall and fence, recovering every grid, retouching every facade.
Scaffolding is all around. Roads are dug up, piles of rubble block key passageways. Walking or cycling is often hazardous. Step out of a restaurant, gallery or club — however glamorous — and there they are, hard at work.
From the streets of Shanghai it is no surprise that China has been barely touched by the recession. Its biggest city is one gigantic stimulus machine.
Those zones that are truly impossible to "repair" are being covered up. For example, a huge block at Ulumuqi road and Wuyuan road — one that is filled with crumbling buildings and overgrown vegetation — is still up for rent. Recently a team of workers hid the entire block behind a massive billboard advertising — you guessed it — Expo 2010.
These "minor repairs" are overshadowed by the mega-projects that are currently underway. A few years ago I heard about a plan to bury some of the traffic lanes along the Bund, Shanghai’s iconic waterfront strip.
Accustomed to a Western sense of caution and the slow pace of deliberated change, I naively thought it was just a suggestion — something that might be nice some day. But about eight months ago, the barricades went up and the tunnel was dug. The newly renovated Bund is due to reopen this month.
True to Shanghai style, the 2010 World Expo's clear aim is to reanimate the Great Exhibitions of a previous age.
Every district, every major thoroughfare, is due for a similar makeover. Projects that have long seemed dead or stalled have been suddenly set into high-speed motion.
In Lujiazui, a pedestrian skyway is in the works, in Hongkou district a new waterfront, on Huaihai road, a string of new mega malls, on Nanjing road, a cluster of new super towers. All are due to open by May.
On Jumen road, which leads directly into the expo site, a once-seedy street of disused factories has been transformed into a vast "creative cluster" — one of more than 80 already in the city. It too will be ready for the Expo.
Long-term residents who have suffered from the seas of bulldozers, the near-constant sound of jackhammers and massive bouts of cough that inevitably arise when living in a film of dust, now have the pleasure of witnessing the city gradually unveil.
A major corner at Huaihai road and Changshu road — for months concealed by construction — was, just a few weeks ago, uncovered to reveal a subway stop with a small park on top.
At first, the trees were bare and there was nothing but mud. A few days later, however, everything was fully in bloom. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, even the trees are made to keep up with Shanghai time.
Surprisingly, for a city that is otherwise as vain as Shanghai, there are no superstar architects involved in the World Expo plans. In sharp contrast to Beijing, there is no "Birdsnest" or "Watercube" in the works.
At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, even the trees are made to keep up with Shanghai time.
Instead, the focus has been underground. In fact, the construction of the subway has been the most astonishing development of all. The network’s vast and high-speed expansion is rapidly making Shanghai’s subway system one of the most extensive in the world.
Subway stops are sprouting all over town, revolutionizing everyday life for millions of the city’s residents. In December, two new lines — No. 7 and No. 9 — opened across the street. In another few weeks, line No. 10 is set to open with a stop only blocks away. When I first arrived in Shanghai in 2002, there were only three lines — and by the time the expo begins, there will be 13.
All this says nothing of the Expo site itself, a vast area straddling both sides of the river that divides Shanghai. This long-neglected zone — with its factories, warehouses and giant shipyard — belonged, up until about a year ago, to the city’s industrial past.
Yet, it enjoys a surprisingly central location. Once developed, it has the potential to reorient the entire urban landscape of Shanghai.
Despite the fact that little is known about what will happen to the site once the Expo is over, the new high-rises that are being built nearby are rumored to be retailing at the exorbitant price of 80,000 RMB ($11,715/€8,122) per square meter.
Shanghai has gone into a frenzy of construction that is unlike anything any city has ever seen.
True to Shanghai style, the 2010 World Expo is set to dwarf all other World Fairs in every conceivable way. It has an unprecedented budget, the largest area, the most participants and the biggest projected audience (the government claims 70 million visitors over the course of six months). Its clear aim is to reanimate the Great Exhibitions of a previous age.
Where all this will ultimately lead is still unknown. How the surface spectacle of a future metropolis will mesh with the city’s complex reality is impossible to predict.
This much, however, is certain: If you want to know what to watch for in 2010, keep your eye on Shanghai.
By Anna Greenspan
The Globalist - Analysis, Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Shanghai, China's biggest and most cosmopolitan metropolis, is currently putting the final touches on its preparations to host the World Expo 2010 from May to October. Anna Greenspan explores how the local authorities are changing the entire make-up of the city in preparation for this milestone event.
I have been living in the same apartment in downtown Shanghai for over two years, but in the last few weeks my neighborhood has been radically transformed.
Suddenly, across the street a new subway hub emerged. The street itself is constantly mutating. Teams of workers are busy planting full-grown trees that have just been shipped in.
Surprisingly, for a city as vain as Shanghai, there are no superstar architects involved in the World Expo plans. There is no "Birdsnest" or "Watercube" in the works.
Welcome to Shanghai circa 2010. Here, if you want to change your surroundings, it’s best simply to stay still.
Since 2002, when the city won the right to host the World Expo, it was clear that 2010 would be the year that Shanghai would stage its coming out party.
In the long rivalry between China’s two great cities, this is Shanghai’s time. While it has yet to make headlines elsewhere, preparations for the Expo, billed here as the "cultural Olympics," match — or even exceed — the build up to the Beijing Games.
Amazingly, almost every project announced in the city during the last few years had the same completion date. It almost became a joke.
Now as the big moment finally approaches — the official opening is set for May 1, 2010 — the countdown is relentless and inescapable.
Walk through an alleyway, wait to cross a main intersection, go to the library to check out a book — and somewhere, everywhere, a sign seems to be screaming out at you — 40, 39, 38 days left.
Without any doubt, the city has gone into a frenzy of construction that is unlike anything any city has ever seen.
Having lived here for most of the decade, I have certainly grown accustomed to expecting high-speed growth. I have seen entire neighborhoods vanish — and parks and skyscrapers magically appear.
Yet, nothing has prepared me for the mind-boggling change currently underway. The entire megalopolis is now being given a final push in the form of a major spruce-up.
In the long rivalry between China’s two great cities, this is Shanghai’s time.
Teams of migrant workers are everywhere — hanging from ladders, dangling from ropes. Brick by brick, they are replacing almost every sidewalk, painting almost every wall and fence, recovering every grid, retouching every facade.
Scaffolding is all around. Roads are dug up, piles of rubble block key passageways. Walking or cycling is often hazardous. Step out of a restaurant, gallery or club — however glamorous — and there they are, hard at work.
From the streets of Shanghai it is no surprise that China has been barely touched by the recession. Its biggest city is one gigantic stimulus machine.
Those zones that are truly impossible to "repair" are being covered up. For example, a huge block at Ulumuqi road and Wuyuan road — one that is filled with crumbling buildings and overgrown vegetation — is still up for rent. Recently a team of workers hid the entire block behind a massive billboard advertising — you guessed it — Expo 2010.
These "minor repairs" are overshadowed by the mega-projects that are currently underway. A few years ago I heard about a plan to bury some of the traffic lanes along the Bund, Shanghai’s iconic waterfront strip.
Accustomed to a Western sense of caution and the slow pace of deliberated change, I naively thought it was just a suggestion — something that might be nice some day. But about eight months ago, the barricades went up and the tunnel was dug. The newly renovated Bund is due to reopen this month.
True to Shanghai style, the 2010 World Expo's clear aim is to reanimate the Great Exhibitions of a previous age.
Every district, every major thoroughfare, is due for a similar makeover. Projects that have long seemed dead or stalled have been suddenly set into high-speed motion.
In Lujiazui, a pedestrian skyway is in the works, in Hongkou district a new waterfront, on Huaihai road, a string of new mega malls, on Nanjing road, a cluster of new super towers. All are due to open by May.
On Jumen road, which leads directly into the expo site, a once-seedy street of disused factories has been transformed into a vast "creative cluster" — one of more than 80 already in the city. It too will be ready for the Expo.
Long-term residents who have suffered from the seas of bulldozers, the near-constant sound of jackhammers and massive bouts of cough that inevitably arise when living in a film of dust, now have the pleasure of witnessing the city gradually unveil.
A major corner at Huaihai road and Changshu road — for months concealed by construction — was, just a few weeks ago, uncovered to reveal a subway stop with a small park on top.
At first, the trees were bare and there was nothing but mud. A few days later, however, everything was fully in bloom. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, even the trees are made to keep up with Shanghai time.
Surprisingly, for a city that is otherwise as vain as Shanghai, there are no superstar architects involved in the World Expo plans. In sharp contrast to Beijing, there is no "Birdsnest" or "Watercube" in the works.
At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, even the trees are made to keep up with Shanghai time.
Instead, the focus has been underground. In fact, the construction of the subway has been the most astonishing development of all. The network’s vast and high-speed expansion is rapidly making Shanghai’s subway system one of the most extensive in the world.
Subway stops are sprouting all over town, revolutionizing everyday life for millions of the city’s residents. In December, two new lines — No. 7 and No. 9 — opened across the street. In another few weeks, line No. 10 is set to open with a stop only blocks away. When I first arrived in Shanghai in 2002, there were only three lines — and by the time the expo begins, there will be 13.
All this says nothing of the Expo site itself, a vast area straddling both sides of the river that divides Shanghai. This long-neglected zone — with its factories, warehouses and giant shipyard — belonged, up until about a year ago, to the city’s industrial past.
Yet, it enjoys a surprisingly central location. Once developed, it has the potential to reorient the entire urban landscape of Shanghai.
Despite the fact that little is known about what will happen to the site once the Expo is over, the new high-rises that are being built nearby are rumored to be retailing at the exorbitant price of 80,000 RMB ($11,715/€8,122) per square meter.
Shanghai has gone into a frenzy of construction that is unlike anything any city has ever seen.
True to Shanghai style, the 2010 World Expo is set to dwarf all other World Fairs in every conceivable way. It has an unprecedented budget, the largest area, the most participants and the biggest projected audience (the government claims 70 million visitors over the course of six months). Its clear aim is to reanimate the Great Exhibitions of a previous age.
Where all this will ultimately lead is still unknown. How the surface spectacle of a future metropolis will mesh with the city’s complex reality is impossible to predict.
This much, however, is certain: If you want to know what to watch for in 2010, keep your eye on Shanghai.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
317) Minhas expectativas para a Shanghai Expo 2010
Dentro de menos de um mês, vou estar morando na principal cidade chinesa, Shanghai, visualmente uma mistura de Manhattan (com seus enormes edifícios envidraçados, prédios moderníssimos, sobretudo no financial district of Pudong), de Los Angeles (com suas vias expressas elevadas) e de São Paulo (pelo seu trânsito caótico, ainda mais que em SP: os motoristas de taxi, bem como o do Consulado, simplesmente ignoram sinais, de qualquer cor, vão passando em cima dos pedestres, e virando para qualquer lado, independente do trânsito que também pode vir de qualquer lado).
Estou agora mesmo tratando da minha futura residência, um flat mobiliado, no Citadines, rede que eu já conheço de Paris, no lindo Quai des Augustins).
Bem, eu tenho muitos planos para minha estada na China: alem de aproveitar esta oportunidade única de ficar numa exposição universal durante todo o período de sua realização (seis meses, de maio a outubro), pretendo viajar muito pela China (aproveitando os fins de semana para escapadas em todas as direções da bússola, aliás um objeto que foi inventado, ao que parece, pelos próprios chineses), e escrever dois livros, um sobre a China contemporânea, um outro sobre a política externa brasileira (isto se eu conseguir manter o meu ritmo de trabalho, o que espero sinceramente).
As autoridades chinesas estão esperando mais de 70 milhões de visitantes, e acho que vai ser dificil relaxar, se sentir tranquilo e sozinho, neste mundareu de gente. Dificil se esconder por aqui, nessas condições.
Mas, vai ser uma boa aventura em minha vida já razoavelmente aventurosa.
Ainda bem que minha mulher, Carmen Lícia, está aprendendo mandarim, muito bem por sinal, tanto que acho que vou ter de pagar-lhe a tarifa da ONU para interpretação simultânea (merecida, reconheço).
Bem, talvez ela aceite o pagamento em livros, roupas e restaurantes...
Vai ser divertido...
Paulo Roberto de Almeida (Shanghai, 9 de março de 2010)
Estou agora mesmo tratando da minha futura residência, um flat mobiliado, no Citadines, rede que eu já conheço de Paris, no lindo Quai des Augustins).
Bem, eu tenho muitos planos para minha estada na China: alem de aproveitar esta oportunidade única de ficar numa exposição universal durante todo o período de sua realização (seis meses, de maio a outubro), pretendo viajar muito pela China (aproveitando os fins de semana para escapadas em todas as direções da bússola, aliás um objeto que foi inventado, ao que parece, pelos próprios chineses), e escrever dois livros, um sobre a China contemporânea, um outro sobre a política externa brasileira (isto se eu conseguir manter o meu ritmo de trabalho, o que espero sinceramente).
As autoridades chinesas estão esperando mais de 70 milhões de visitantes, e acho que vai ser dificil relaxar, se sentir tranquilo e sozinho, neste mundareu de gente. Dificil se esconder por aqui, nessas condições.
Mas, vai ser uma boa aventura em minha vida já razoavelmente aventurosa.
Ainda bem que minha mulher, Carmen Lícia, está aprendendo mandarim, muito bem por sinal, tanto que acho que vou ter de pagar-lhe a tarifa da ONU para interpretação simultânea (merecida, reconheço).
Bem, talvez ela aceite o pagamento em livros, roupas e restaurantes...
Vai ser divertido...
Paulo Roberto de Almeida (Shanghai, 9 de março de 2010)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
309) Back to Shanghai, for another week...
Acabo de ingressar no Portman Ritz-Carlton Hotel de Shanghai, para mais uma semana de contatos e trabalho em torno do pavilhão do Brasil na Shanghai Expo 2010, do qual serei o Comissário Geral Adjunto.
Meus contatos aqui na cidade serão através de meu site (www.pralmeida.org), de meus e-mails (paulo.almeida@itamaraty.gov.br e pralmeida@me.com), ou diretamente no Hotel:
Tel.: (86.21) 6279-8888, quarto 1509
(até sábado 13/03 pela manhã, quando viajo de volta ao Brasil).
Paulo Roberto de Almeida
Meus contatos aqui na cidade serão através de meu site (www.pralmeida.org), de meus e-mails (paulo.almeida@itamaraty.gov.br e pralmeida@me.com), ou diretamente no Hotel:
Tel.: (86.21) 6279-8888, quarto 1509
(até sábado 13/03 pela manhã, quando viajo de volta ao Brasil).
Paulo Roberto de Almeida
Sunday, January 3, 2010
147) US: For Shanghai Fair, a Famous Fund-Raiser Delivers
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in November in Shanghai, site of the next world's fair.
For Shanghai Fair, a Famous Fund-Raiser Delivers
By MARK LANDLER and DAVID BARBOZA
The New York Times, January 2, 2010
WASHINGTON — In the hectic last week before she became secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton squeezed in a Bon Jovi benefit concert in New York, part of a frantic effort to pay off the debt from her presidential campaign. No sooner had she arrived at the State Department than Mrs. Clinton discovered she needed to start raising money all over again.
This time, the cash-starved beneficiary was not her own campaign but the United States, which needed $61 million to finance the construction of a national pavilion at a world’s fair in Shanghai. Under federal law, no public money could be used for the project. And Mrs. Clinton, as a federal official, could no longer solicit private financial donations herself.
So she turned to her well-established network of Clinton fund-raisers, and after negotiating with the State Department’s lawyers about what she could legally do herself to support the project, she mounted an ambitious fund-raising campaign that has netted close to $54 million in barely nine months.
With multimillion-dollar pledges from PepsiCo, General Electric, Chevron and other American corporations, the United States is on track to open a sleek, 60,000-square-foot pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010, which runs from May through October.
The prospect of the nation’s chief diplomat asking for money worried government lawyers, according to officials. Referring to the first secretary of state, one lawyer asked, “Would Thomas Jefferson do this?” They imposed strict limits on the kinds of calls or other contacts she could make, allowing her to promote the pavilion but prohibiting any one-on-one appeals for cash.
Despite those restrictions, and a dismal economy, Mrs. Clinton is closing in on her $61 million goal. She is clearly proud of the effort, which staved off what could have been a rupture in American-Chinese relations. In a year in which she has mostly worked to prove herself a loyal member of the Obama team, the campaign also showcases her enduring political drawing power.
“The idea, for many people, of raising more than $50 million would seem really daunting,” Mrs. Clinton said in an interview. “Maybe because I had participated in raising so much money in the past, I wasn’t daunted by it. I knew it was going to be hard under the circumstances.”
By all accounts, the effort to build a national pavilion was near death at the end of the Bush administration. The near-collapse of the global economy, the proximity of the expo to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the general ambivalence of the State Department had left U.S.A. Pavilion, the nonprofit group in charge of the project, with little support or money.
“There is a sense in the U.S. that Americans got disenchanted” with world’s fairs, said Nick Winslow, a former Warner Brothers executive who is the president of U.S.A. Pavilion.
With deadlines passing, the Chinese advanced the Americans money to conduct technical work for the pavilion. They raised the issue with former President Jimmy Carter when he visited China last January.
Enter Mrs. Clinton, who made her first trip as secretary of state to Beijing in February and was eager to talk about trade, climate change and the North Korean nuclear threat. Instead, she got an earful about how bad it would be if the United States did not have a presence at the Shanghai Expo.
For the Chinese, the expo is a bookend to the Olympics. Shanghai is spending $45 billion to transform the city, even more than Beijing spent preparing for the Games. Nearly 200 countries have signed on to take part, leaving only the United States and minuscule Andorra as potential no-shows.
“I was dumbfounded that so little attention had been paid to it,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Everyone knows China is going to be an enormously powerful player in the 21st century. They have an expo, which is a kind of rite of passage that countries like to do to show they have arrived. We’re not there? What does that say?”
She said she did not relish the prospect of more fund-raising — “When would it ever end?” she recalled asking herself — but she promised Chinese officials that she would try to raise the money.
There was little support within the State Department. So Mrs. Clinton turned to two major fund-raisers with long ties to the Clinton family: Elizabeth F. Bagley and Jose H. Villarreal.
Mrs. Bagley, who is married to Smith Bagley, an heir to the R. J. Reynolds fortune, was ambassador to Portugal under President Bill Clinton. Mrs. Clinton appointed her to be the department’s special representative for global partnerships, a job that involves rounding up private support for public projects.
Mr. Villarreal, a well-connected San Antonio lawyer, has raised money for Mrs. Clinton as well as for Mr. Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore and Senator John Kerry. In July, Mrs. Clinton named him the commissioner general to the expo.
To kick off the effort, Mrs. Clinton held a conference call with 10 prominent chief executives. Chevron, PepsiCo and General Electric each pledged $5 million. Indra K. Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo, made calls to other chief executives. Mrs. Bagley and Mr. Villarreal also opened their Rolodexes, calling companies with operations in China. Some obvious prospects, like banks, were off limits because they were receiving federal bailout money.
“In the beginning, we had to use a patriotism argument,” said Kris M. Balderston, Mrs. Bagley’s deputy. “The second wave of argument was commercial diplomacy. All of a sudden the companies understood it would be good for them.”
Although Mrs. Bagley is a State Department employee, she said she was advised that she could solicit contributions. She noted that every would-be donor also had to be vetted by lawyers.
Fred Wertheimer, an advocate for stricter regulations for campaign fund-raising, said he was satisfied that the State Department had handled a difficult situation properly.
“It would have been far better if the U.S. government was able to pay for the activity involved, but that does not appear to have been the case,” he said.
While Mrs. Clinton was barred from soliciting individuals, she met with corporate sponsors in Shanghai in November, when she visited the expo site.
Her experience in the political trenches made a difference, Mr. Villarreal said. “Any other diplomat would not have had the broad base of contacts,” he said.
Mrs. Clinton said it was easier raising funds for this project than to pay off campaign debt. “I’m much better at raising money for other people and other causes than I am for myself anyway,” she said, adding, “Even though I’ve obviously raised a lot of money.”
Mark Landler reported from Washington, and David Barboza from Shanghai.
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