Host to the 2010 World Expo, the city embraces a “Better City—Better Life”
Beijing is not the only Chinese city that knows how to host an important international event: Shanghai is currently home to the 2010 World Expo from May through the end of October this year.
Since 1851, World Expositions, or Expos—also known as World’s Fairs—have been international meetings of world leaders celebrating human inspirations and thoughts. This worldwide event is seen as an important venue for open and thoughtful discussions on new ideas in the economic, scientific, technological, and cultural worlds. The official name of this year’s Expo is the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, and Shanghai hopes to push the envelope, just as Beijing did recently for the Olympic Games. This year’s theme is "Better City—Better Life,” which reflects the Expo’s goal of determining how to build a better city for future generations.
Since Shanghai won its bid to host the 2010 Expo, the city has spent more to prepare for this year’s exposition than any other in the history of these international fairs. Almost 200 countries will participate in Shanghai’s event, and the city plans to welcome at least 100 world leaders. Expo planners also expect to welcome more than 75 million visitors—more than 200,000 each day to China.
The 2010 World Expo is located at the Nanpu Bridge-Lupu Bridge region along both sides of the Huangpu River. The city has been working hard to prepare the area for the influx of visitors: opening six new subway lines, providing 4,000 new taxis, and increasing the number of streetlights using LED technology throughout the city.
The main Expo site features five brand new pavilions—called Urban Footprints, Urban Planet, Urban Dwellers, Urban Beings, and Urban Dreams—and each explores a different aspect of urban development. You can also find gardens of sculptures, shops, a sports arena, and a performing arts center as well.
Visitors to the Expo can enjoy more than 20,000 activities throughout the six-month event. Performers include popular Chinese Cantopop stars such as Vincy Chan, Alan Tam, Gigi Leung, and more—and many of these artists have prepared special pieces specifically for the Expo. Most of these live shows are free with an Expo ticket; however, some larger programs and visits to popular pavilions will require reservations, according to Hu Jinjun, Vice Director of Shanghai Expo Bureau.
Celebrate Shanghai’s past and future on the post-trip extension to our Imperial China, Tibet & the Yangtze River Small Ship Adventure.