Last Saturday Sean and I decided that it was time to visit the Shanghai World Expo especially because it was one of the last days that it was open. Someone had given us free tickets last year which helped a lot since the price of 160 rmb (about $23) was pretty hefty. We bought train tickets and planned for a day trip only since the cost of places to stay in Shanghai have skyrocketed due to the popularity of the expo.
All week long when I told people I was going to the expo they warned me that it was going to be very busy and that it was going to rain. My spirits started to sag even more because whenever I asked how others' experiences of the expo went the responses went something like this: painful, long lines, boring, impossible to see everything, expensive food, crowded pavilions etc. My students advised me to wear comfortable shoes and bring my own food along with a container for free water provided. Sean was not exactly thrilled about the expo either since it meant he had to get up at 5:30am on a Saturday to wait in long lines to see museum-esque exhibits. I believe his exact words were, "It's like waiting forever at Disney Land but at the end of the line there's no rides . . . just an exhibit."
But it is always fun to do something different and explore a big city and we planned to hang out in Shanghai and avoid the crazy entrance crowds in the morning. Unfortunately, it rained. I mean it really rained; it seemed like typhoon Megi had altered course and hit Shanghai. Downpour and gusty winds blew our umbrellas around like crazy and we were soaked the minute we stepped out of the metro. We were hoping that the rain would deter some of the Chinese tourists but alas, no such luck. Chinese people are tough and resilient and the expo was packed with record numbers in attendance.
After tooling around some bookstores and stopping for a donut we made our way to one of the entrances. The expo is huge; there is way too much to see in one day - in one week even. Our plan was to walk around and look at the outside of the pavilions and maybe stop in one or two that had shorter lines or looked interesting. There were people, puddles and umbrellas everywhere; the only thing worse than a mob of people is a mob of people who are shorter than you with umbrellas. Sean and I were lucky that we escaped without any eyes being poked out.
We started with the USA pavilion because you didn't have to wait in line if you had your passport. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is. The lines for the bigger pavilions (Germany, Mexico, Spain, Canada etc. exceded 6 hours. The smaller pavilions like Hungary were only about 3 hours. The USA pavilion was really cool and included 3 short films: a welcome film with an initial greeting by Kobe Bryant and Barack Obama, a video about the "Spirit of America" and a 4D music video about working with your neighbors to clean up your neighborhood. The "4D" meant that our seats shook when it thundered and it "rained" on us during the part in the video when it stormed. Everybody loved it. Kobe and a 4D movie with special effects: give the people what they want.
After the USA pavilion we slogged our way around the elevated walkway to get a view of all the pavilions from up above. Eventually we chose to stand in line for Brazil and the giant pavilion of Central America. The pavilions were pretty cool though very crowded and full of gift shops but the main attraction for many Chinese tourists seemed to be getting their fake passport stamped. The Expo offered many editions of fake passports that you could get stamped while visiting each country's pavilion. The passports weren't cheap and some countries even charged about a dollar to put a stamp in it. Even so, the lines for the stamps were long and passport sales were booming. I guess when it is difficult to obtain an actual passport in China, using one at the Expo is the next best thing and quite frankly, a genius move in marketing.
No expo in Shanghai is complete without a little Chinglish
Too bad the Chinese didn't view the rain like they do here in Nigeria...when it rains, everyone runs for cover until it stops. No work gets done, people don't show up at the office, etc. You would have had no lines if the same mentality was over there!