World Expo, Part III

On our third and last day of the Expo, we decided to visit the European Square even though we were warned of the enormous crowds. On the way there we saw the Malaysia Pavilion and made a pit stop there since the line there was moving rapidly.

However, at 9 AM the pavilion was basically filled to capacity! There was almost no room to stand and enjoy the exhibits because people were rushing in every direction.

Because my little cousin was born in New Zealand, we had to see its pavilion as well.

Then we arrived in Europe! It was a gorgeous day, albeit extremely hot and sunny.

We first went to see the Denmark Pavilion. They focused on the environment. For example, they had bikes that one could ride throughout the pavilion. Also, this pavilion was probably one of the only that was not air-conditioned.

There were so many unique and gorgeous designs for the pavilions. Too bad each one of them had a huge line! I would have loved to visit Switzerland, Germany, France, etc., but I didn't want to wait in the sun for 3+ hours. Seriously, the lines snaked in and around the pavilion and out towards the restrooms and walkways.

My uncle really wanted to visit Spain, which is pictured below. We were pretty lucky - we were told that the wait time was 2-3 hours but somehow the line went fast and we only waited about 1 hour.

One part of Spain's exhibit was this giant interactive baby. This was strange - there was no explanation at all. I must say it was quite an ugly baby - at least compared to my cute little cousins.

Then it was time for lunch! I found a really good place full of Shanghai style snacks. Basically you can pick up whatever food you want from several stations and then you pay at the end, cafeteria style.

My cousin and I both tried a Shanghai specialty, this steamed bun filled with hot soup inside. I also tried tea eggs! They were good, but one of the eggs was rotten inside.

Then we saw the USA pavilion! It was another popular destination for the tourists.

We did not go in but we did stop by this fun little exhibit on the outside.

It was scorching hot so we decided to take cover in one of the larger pavilions, the Central and South America Pavilion. These large pavilions are nice as there usually are no lines because of their enormous size. Then we went to the Africa Pavilion because we heard that it was not as crowded.

It seemed like everyone had the same idea! No matter where you go, you cannot escape the crowds at the Expo.

As it cooled off a bit in the late afternoon, we wandered around and saw the outsides of more pavilions, such as the UK Pavilion.

Also the Netherlands Pavilion.

Then we were tired and lazy, so we paid 10 Yuan each to ride this little sightseeing car around the Expo.

We were dropped off right at a gate next to the USA pavilion. I felt a little nostalgic as we left the Expo, both for the fun times I had during the past few days and for home in the United States.

Overall, the Expo was a great experience! We managed to avoid most of the lines and still see some very creative and unique displays. Still, it would have been nice to have time to slowly observe and enjoy each pavilion and exhibit. I guess that's also the larger story of China - mostly hustle and bustle, crowds and crowds of eager people, and never enough time.

World Expo, Part II

On Thursday we woke up bright and early to hit the Expo. It seemed like everyone else in Shanghai had the same idea! We decided to visit the private enterprises section. First we passed through the Asia Square again and saw some pavilions of smaller countries.

We rode the Expo bus to the other side. The private enterprises section had many pavilions of large companies, both foreign and Chinese. This area was as crowded as the countries section. For example, I wanted to visit Coca Cola's pavilion but the wait-time was over 3 hours.

Fortunately there were many other interesting places to visit. Wanda is a large Chinese company and in the above photo they are located to the left. Their pavilion is all about being environmentally friendly.

This one wall was made entirely of recycled cans.

We visited a really cool factory-built building. It was built in 24 hours and is earthquake safe, efficiently-built, and environmentally friendly. Here are some of its superlatives:

Then we went to the Urban Best Practices Area, which displayed different cities around the world and their innovations which make the more environmentally-friendly, healthy, and livable.

There was Seoul, Korea...

Bologna, Italy...

Izmir, Turkey...

Spain's Barcelona, and many others...

We also saw the Future Pavilion, which showcased new technologies and visions for our future.

Afterwards, we saw some more Urban Best Practices, including Pondicherry, India...

Alsace, France...

Madrid, Spain.

I wish we had more time to browse each pavilion slowly so I could really absorb all the information but since there were so many people, so many pavilions, and so little time, it was all rush rush rush - like a speed-tour of the world. Maybe if I had a month to explore to Expo, I would be able to really explore and understand each country's history, culture, and future.

World Expo, Part I

So, first day at the Expo was a lot of fun! As we walked into the Asian section, we saw the China Pavilion. Even in the late afternoon there were lines and lines of people waiting to get in.

We saw this interesting sculpture on our way in.

Since we didn't want to wait in line for eight hours to see the China Pavilion, we toured the nearby Chinese Provinces Pavilion. This was a huge building with a display room for each of China's provinces and special administrative areas. Each province proudly presented its unique culture and history with a creative performances, models, and interactive displays. Since the place was so large there were barely any lines.

Then we explored some of the "smaller" countries' pavilions in the Asia Square which did not have too many crowds. Inside each pavilion are displays and exhibitions which present the country's unique characteristics and culture. Some of them also have gift shops. Here's Iran.

Oman.

Pakistan.

Lebanon.

Myanmar.

I'm really glad we went at night because it is gorgeous with all the lights!

Here are some of the more popular pavilions that we did not have a hope of getting into without waiting in line for hours. It was still nice to look at them from the outside though - the architecture is so amazing.

Here's UAE.

South Korea.

I'm not sure if Qatar had a line or not but we passed it on the way out and realized we hadn't seen it!

Oh well, there was no way we could have seen everything. It would have taken at least a week - and this was just for the Asia Square!