A Visual Tour of Shanghai World Expo

Targeting to be the most visited World Expo event in history with an ambitious 70 to 100 million visitors, the Shanghai World Expo, is also the most expensive ever held in the history of the world's fairs. Considered to also be the largest (yes, they do love superlatives there!) at 5.28 square km, the World Expo is themed "Better City - Better Life", signifying Shanghai's new status in the 21st century at the "next great world city". More than 190 countries and more than 50 international organisations have participated in the Shanghai World Expo.

Located at downtown Shanghai covering either side of the Huangpu River, the pavilions of the official corporate partners of World Expo (like Coca-Cola) are on the northern bank of the river, along with the Urban Best Practice Area while the south bank of the river are the national pavilions, Chinese pavilion, and the World Expo Park.

Join me for a pictorial journey of the World Expo, beginning with the European pavillions.

P1150974
Free ferry services help to bring visitors across the Huangpu River, making it easy for visitors to get to either banks.

P1150982
Maps like these are everywhere to make it easy for visitors to navigate around the sprawling area.

P1150990
Our first pavillion here belongs to Serbia, with an interesting multi-coloured brick design.

P1150988
Spain's organic looking pavillion was covered in fibrous wicker made claddings.

P1160002
Another highly popular pavillion, this time belonging to France.

P1160009
Norway breaks away from the conventional rectangular shapes with its more outdoor oriented pavillion.

P1160266
One of the hot favourites, the UK pavillion comprises plant seeds in plastic tubes arranged to look like a giant seed.

P1160016
The Danish pavillion had a circular helix shape which provided good vantage points.

P1160021
These bicycles show the significance of the green movement at Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.

P1150994
Along the way, water coolers like these help to provide much needed hydration in case it gets too hot.

P1150995
Both rubbish and recycling bins like these were everywhere too. Surprisingly, the place was spotlessly clean despite the massive crowds.

P1160027
We decided to plunge into a pavillion with no queue, namely that of Estonia.

P1160029
Inside, we were greeted by these huge piggy banks that exhorted people to donate to worthy causes. Hmmm....

P1160033
Our next plunge into the air-conditioned darkness went to Finland, which was shaped like a bowl.

P1160042
These Finnish performers were quite well-received and the Chinese visitors took photographs with them. In fact, I noticed that all Asians have a habit of taking non-stop photographs (myself included)!

P1160050
Inside the pavillion, I was awed by a beautiful artistic video wall which added a surrealistic quality to the experience.

P1160048
On display were also various products of Finnish craftsmanship, like these bags here...

P1160052
...as well as the world-famous Nokia brand of handphones. These mobile phone screens showed the faces of visitors in different hues.

P1160057
The souvenir shop was a popular haunt after the visit. Here's June from Coke striking a hard bargain. :)

P1160065
Our final visit at the European section was to Belarus, a brightly coloured pavillion which caught our attention.

P1160070
Inside, multi-hued displays of architecturally unique buildings and houses provided lots of room for - you guessed it - photographs!

P1160095
From Europe, we made a "trip" across the "Atlantic" to the Canadian pavillion.

P1160097
These long queues, like those to the US Pavillion, were the subject of some jokes among us (like whether they were handing out PR application forms).

P1160109
Inside the sprawling pavillion, we were treated to this spectacular video feature wall which changed every few seconds or so. The entire mood was highly atmospheric, and showcased the multi-ethnicity and diversity of Canada (not just lakes, mountains and blue skies).

P1160122
My friend Motohiko took a ride on one of these bicycles around...

P1160116
...and experienced a 3-D animated video installation wall.

P1160127
A beautifully shot panoramic theatre greeted us next, showing scenes of urban and cosmopolitan chic.

P1160138
After the long walks, we paused for an icy treat.

P1160148
Our next stop was the Brazillian Pavillion, just as World Cup 2010 is around the corner.

P1160153
This was probably the most focused pavillion of all, as everything was about football, soccer heroes, and...

P1160156
...the world famous Carnival (or Carnaval in Portugese), which is a grand and hedonistic party held annually 40 days before Easter.

P1160160
The final room had this moving video wall that made me a little vertiginous and nauseous.

Up next, our visit to Asia and an in-depth look at the Singapore Pavillion!

Acknowledgements: This tour of Shanghai World Expo was made possible by Coca-Cola as part of their recent blogger's tour to the Shanghai World Expo for APAC bloggers.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,