Zhu Yonglei, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

Rendering of the riverfront Expo site. Courtesy of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination

A construction site of the Shanghai World Expo.

The international community has enthusiastically responded to China’s invitation, and 231 countries and international organizations have confirmed that they will attend World Expo 2010,” said Zhu Yonglei, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination (BSWEC). “This once again testifies to the lasting attraction of China.” According to Zhu, China hopes to welcome more than 200 countries and international organizations, so as to break the Expo record for number of attendees, previously set by the Hanover Expo in Germany in 2000. That event was attended by 170-plus countries and international organizations.

World Expo is a pageant of civilization and an arena for participating countries demonstrating their respective accomplishments. The construction of each of the large pavilions will run into the tens of millions of US dollars. As the first Expo to be hosted by a developing country, the Shanghai Expo will particularly value the participation of developing countries and will provide them with positive support in all aspects. As early as when China bid for hosting the event, it pledged to establish a special aid fund, to serve as financial assistance for those countries applying and assessed to be unable to afford the expense of participation. “At present, despite the global economic downturn, the international community remains enthusiastic for the Shanghai Expo, and countries such as Iceland, which is suffering greatly from financial woes, have signed exhibition contracts with the organizer,” Zhu said.

It is forecast that the Shanghai Expo will attract some 70 million visitors, a figure even higher than the record of 60 million visitors set by the Osaka Expo in 1940. During the event, on average some 400,000 people will visit the 3.28-square-kilometer Expo Park each day, suggesting a heavy burden for transportation logistics. Currently, the organizers are developing facilities for the smooth and safe channeling of visitors.

In recent years, according to Zhu, Shanghai has accelerated the pace of road construction. In rail track transportation, now under concurrent development are a hundred railway stations. By the end of 2008, the total span of track reached 234 kilometers, and this figure is expected to reach 400 kilometers by the time the Expo commences, with five rail lines leading to the Expo Park area. Approximately half of the visitors will choose rail transportation, a pleasant and convenient way to ensure the orderly flow of people and exhibits.

The flood of outside visitors to the Expo and Shanghai will result in an enormous rise in demand for accommodations. “We need to combine nationwide intelligence and utilize the geographical advantage of the Yangtze River Delta to ease the pressure,” said Zhu. Currently, Shanghai hotels cannot accommodate all the visitors, and a diversion of some of the visitors to the peripheral areas will not only alleviate the pressure on Shanghai, but will also bring about opportunities for neighboring towns. Organizers are also encouraging alternative forms of accommodation, like homestays.

The development of transportation infrastructures in Shanghai and along the Yangtze River Delta area has been in full swing for the past few years. The Shanghai-Hangzhou intercity railway, now under construction, will shorten transit duration to 38 minutes. The reconstruction of terminals and runways at Shanghai’s Hongqiao and Pudong airports is underway and, when completed, the two airports will be able to collectively handle more than 80 million passengers a year, twice the previous volume. The pace of construction and expansion of large transport nodes like the Hongqiao Transport Hub, which links together land and air transport, and the Shanghai Railway Station has accelerated. During the event, some visitor preliminaries, such as security checks, will be completed prior to entering the Park.

While upholding the principle of hosting a safe, science-based Expo, in preparation, the organizers tried hard to reduce expenses to a minimum. “No matter whether there is a financial storm,” Zhu told China Pictorial, “thrift and controlling costs are important aspects of the process of preparations.” According to this precept, many of the old factory plants within the site have been preserved and utilized. The building where the BSWEC office is located was reconstructed on the site of a printing and dyeing factory plant. As stipulated by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), the discussion and formulation of post-Expo plan is now in progress. It is expected that after the event, the Shanghai Expo Park will be the city’s new destination for cultural events, commercial purposes and leisure activities.

Finally, Mr. Zhu introduced two highlights of the World Expo 2010: a city showcase zone and an online Expo. The city showcase zone, located in the Puxi Expo Park, is devoted to exhibiting the best examples and ideas of city construction and management. To date, the organizers have selected 14 practical examples and 40 exhibition cases in other forms from more than 100 countries. By reproducing and transplanting outstanding city development examples in community architecture, cultural heritage, intercity transportation, and water supply and drainage, the organizers aim to represent these cities’ intelligence and accomplishments in urban construction and create an authentic experience for visitors.

Compared to the Olympic Games, a competition in physical power and speed, World Expo is more like a contest in science, technology, modern concepts and innovation. “Visitors to the Expo will experience the sensation of being in a fantastic movie of light and sound, or entering a theme park full of color and attractions.” Unlike the Olympics, which emphasizes public participation and common experience, World Expo focuses more on individual feelings. The Internet offers an optimal platform for communication and interaction with personal feelings.

The concept of an online Expo was put forward in 2006. Differing from conventional websites, the online Expo features a representation of the event on the Web through multimedia technologies like three-dimensional animation. It will provide people around the world with a vivid overview of the expo’s offerings.

“Like the marvelous Disney website, which can never replace an actual visit to the amusement park to personally experience the joys and thrills, an animated space can hardly match the real-life gala. A visit to the Expo will give you an unparalleled, amazing experience and a beautiful, inerasable memory,” said Zhu.