Expo 2010 Shanghai China (ä¸å›½2010年上海世界åšè§ˆä¼š) is being held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, from May 1 to October 31, 2010. It is a World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions. The theme of the exposition is “Better City – Better Life”. The expo Logo features the Chinese character 世 (‘world’, Chinese “shì”) modified to represent three people together with the 2010 date. It is the most expensive Expo in the history of the world’s fairs. The Shanghai World Expo is also the largest World’s Fair site ever at 5.28 square km.
We had an open Saturday so we decided it was a good day to visit the World Expo as a family. We walked the two blocks to the ferry pier to catch the direct ferry to the Expo. We were on the 9:20am boat to the Expo.
Nepal Pavilion – Our first pavilion was Nepal. We had decided we would spend the day in the smaller pavilions with no lines.
Sri Lanka Pavilion – We left the Nepal pavilion to walk by some good smells in the Sri Lanka pavilion. We grabbed some samosas that were being sold on the outside which were very tasty. We decided we need to visit Sri Lanka and get more samosas. We enjoyed an early lunch of Sri Lanka food.
Pakistan Pavilion – Our next stop was the Pakistan Pavilion. We waited about 10 minutes to enter this one which was our first wait of the day.
Oman Pavilion – Oman Pavilion was shaped like a boat. The Oman was the favorite so far into the day. The pavilion had a cave feeling with a stream running through the floor. The girls loved the stream as they pretended to jump from rock to rock. My friend, Susan, took her family to Oman. She had amazing photos from her trip.
Israel Pavilion – We moved on to the Israel pavilion. The line wasn’t too long, but there were no fences to help people queue properly. The Chinese have no idea about queuing and have no issue with personally space. Therefore, for 20 minutes, we were pushed to the front. New rule, no pavilion without fences. In addition, we were not impressed with the Israel Pavilion. It felt like an advertisement of the technology of Israel.
China Pavilion – We were near the China pavilion, but we didn’t go to it. You need a “pass ticket” to get in line for the China Pavilion.
Qatar pavilion – Qatar Pavilion will rank as the favorite with the girls. The ladies were painting henna tattoos on the arms/hands of people that were interested. The painting is done for weddings and celebrations. The paint is a plant that leaves a “stain” on the skin. It looked like chocolate, but had a very strong smell. The girls had to wait for the base to dry. Once it dried, it flaked off their skin to leave the beautiful dye design on their arms. Elle was given a fancy one down her arm while Emmy was given a simple flower. I have to add that Emmy was very mature about her small design compared to Elle’s design. She accepted the fact that her lady did a faster, smaller design with grace.
Morocco Pavilion – As we got in line for the Morocco Pavilion, Elle was skipping up to the end of the line. The Morocco man managing the line let us go in without waiting…maybe he liked Elle’s skip.
Since we had an early lunch, we needed a snack. There was a Chinese fast-food restaurant so we stopped for a dumpling break. The dumplings were expensive at 10rmb for three – I pay 1rmb for one on the street. They were mama hoo hoo (not the best). I think we will stick with the street dumplings.
We next did the Asian joint pavilions which included the Maldives, Timor-Teste, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Mongolia. We went to them all as we have Expo passports that you stamp for each country.
Maldives Pavilion – I figured this was as close as I would to getting to the beautiful islands of the Maldives.
Timor-Leste Pavilion – Elle enjoyed the traditional boat at Timor-Leste.
Mongolia Pavilion – Mongolia had the Nomadic tent and interesting items from the country.
Turkmenistan Pavilion – The Turkmenistan Pavilion was pretty at night. They had a runway that looked like it was for fashion shows. Elle thought it was perfect for showing off her new arm design.
We took photos with Haibao whenever we saw him. Haibao is the mascot of the Shanghai Expo 2010. It means treasure of the sea. It is based on the Chinese character for man or person, “人”.
We were all getting hungry for dinner. Elle wanted to walk back to Sri Lanka for the samosas and beef rolls. That was a yes vote by the family as the food had a good spice to it. After dinner, we went back to the Qatar pavilion. The girls wanted to add to their designs. This time, the women gave Emmy a fancy design on her hand. She had to hold her hand out until the plant dye dried.
United Arab Emirates Pavilion – We finished the night with the United Arab Emirates Pavilion. The girls had taken photos with the men before dinner. They had said to try back after dinner as the long may be shorter. When we went back, it look like the wait was around 45 minutes. We debated about waiting as the day had cooled off with rain. No one had a jacket and the three girls were a bit cold. As we were deciding, the man we took photos with earlier told us to come with him. He walked us to the front of the line. Once we got in, we were given the VIP treatment – first to enter the shows and move from room to room. The UAE Pavilion had interesting segments of movies in different rooms. It took about 30 minutes to view this pavilion.
After the UAE Pavilion, it was time to go home. It was 9pm, everyone was tired and it began to rain more. We walked out the gates to find a taxi. We were on the Pudong side, therefore, the ride home was short. It was a fun day seeing the Expo as a family.