Shanghai Expo 2010 opens today (May 1st)!

Martian

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BBC News - Shanghai Expo is China's new showcase to the world

"Page last updated at 23:21 GMT, Thursday, 29 April 2010 00:21 UK

Shanghai Expo is China's new showcase to the world

By Chris Hogg
BBC News, Shanghai


Millions of visitors are expected at the massive Expo site in Shanghai

The World Expo is opening in the Chinese city of Shanghai - the first time a developing country has hosted the event.

Chinese state media says the country has spent much more on the event than was spent on the Beijing Olympics.

At least 70 million visitors - almost all of them Chinese - are expected to visit pavilions and exhibitions staged by more than 240 countries and organisations from around the world."
 

Martian

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Shanghai World Expo 2010 Video

Shanghai World Expo 2010 Video:

 
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Martian

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"Shanghai Expo a pride of all Chinese"

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90785/6969570.html

"Shanghai Expo a pride of all Chinese, Hu tells Taiwan dignitaries
19:33, April 30, 2010


Shanghai Expo a pride of all Chinese, Hu tells Taiwan dignitaries

Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Taiwan dignitaries in Shanghai Thursday, who are here to attend the World Expo opening ceremony.


Hu Jintao (R), general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Kuomintang (KMT) Honorary Chairman Lien Chan in Shanghai, east China, April 29, 2010. Hu Jintao met with Taiwan dignitaries in Shanghai Thursday, who have been here to attend the World Expo opening ceremony. (Xinhua Photo)

Hu extended his warm welcome to the VIPs and people of various circles from Taiwan, including Kuomintang (KMT) Honorary Chairmen Lien Chan and Wu Poh-hsiung, as well as the People First Party Chairman James Soong.


Hu Jintao (R), general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Kuomintang (KMT) Honorary Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung in Shanghai, east China, April 29, 2010. Hu Jintao met with Taiwan dignitaries in Shanghai Thursday, who have been here to attend the World Expo opening ceremony. (Xinhua Photo)

"Shanghai's hosting of the World Expo is a pride of all Chinese people, including those across the Taiwan Strait," Hu said. "With our joint efforts, the Shanghai World Expo will be a successful, splendid and memorable event."

He said Taiwan's participation in the World Expo is an important result of cross-Strait relationship that has witnessed constant improvement and development over recent years.

"The mainland compatriots will be delighted to see at the Expo the achievements that Taiwan compatriots have made through their hard endeavors," he said.

"I believe the Shanghai World Expo will help boost the mutual understanding of people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait while enhancing exchanges and cooperation between them," he said.

Hu, on behalf of the mainland compatriots and earthquake-stricken people in Qinghai Province in particular, also extended sincere gratitude to Taiwan compatriots for their concern and support to the disaster relief operations in the quake zone."
 

Martian

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"Shanghai stages largest pyrotechnics show of all time to open World Expo"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...nics-show-of-all-time-to-open-World-Expo.html

"Shanghai stages largest pyrotechnics show of all time to open World Expo

Shanghai exploded almost 60,000 fireworks in the largest pyrotechnic show of all time last night to open the World Expo, a six-month show expected to draw 70 million visitors.


By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Published: 6:21PM BST 30 Apr 2010


Spectacular fireworks are fired from the Oriental Pearl Tower during the opening ceremony for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai

Almost two miles of the Huangpu river in the centre of the giant Chinese city was illuminated by a display that rivalled the launch of the Beijing Olympics.

The Expo opens to the public today, with pavilions from almost 200 countries designed to entertain the Chinese people and build business ties.

Shanghai has spent £35 billion on building the site and hugely upgrading its infrastructure."
 

nimo_cn

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some fabulous pictures. What a wonderful firework display!

















 

Martian

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Here is a good night-time helicopter view of the Shanghai Expo.

 
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thakur_ritesh

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what a visual treat the opening ceremony was, very nicely done up, and absolutely beautiful. i saw the opening ceremony on the bbc, they did a fantastic job covering it.

have a grand success!
 

Martian

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High-resolution video of Shanghai Expo 2010 Theme Song

This video features the legendary Jackie Chan, world-famous pianist Lang Lang, and NBA star Yao Ming.



Note: The woman in the blue dress is dancing in the lobby of Jin Mao Tower. The two skyscrapers behind Jackie Chan are the regal Jin Mao Tower and the slender SWFC (i.e. Shanghai World Financial Center).

Jin Mao Tower is on the left:
 
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Martian

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CCTV airs Shanghai Expo 2010 "Fireworks, dancing fountain and laser show"

These videos focus on the "Fireworks, dancing fountain and laser show."







[Note: Thank you to z9-ec for finding videos.]
 
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Martian

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CCTV airs Shanghai Expo 2010 Opening Ceremony

There are no lasers after the first video. However, the artistry is incredible.









[Note: Thank you to z9-ec for finding videos.]
 
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Martian

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nimo_cn

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Japan Pavilion, full of high technology







the face of every visitor in japan pavilion can be displayed on the screen respectively.










 
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Daredevil

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So Shanghai World Expo is an epic failure and 400 million pounds go down the drain. clap

Shanghai Expo faces £400m shortfall as visitors shy away


The Chinese government, which spent at least £35bn preparing Shanghai for the six-month event, confidently predicted that the Shanghai Expo would break all records and attract 70m visitors.

To hit that target, the Expo needed to attract 380,000 visitors a day. However, attendance has been so embarrassingly low that yesterday the government censored the figures.:)

A live graph of visitor numbers on the official website, which was intended to show the soaring success of the Expo, was deleted after it revealed widespread apathy instead.

At the moment it was taken off the website, in the mid-afternoon, it showed that only 69,700 visitors had turned up, less than a fifth of the projected attendance. In the four days that the graph had been active, it showed numbers halving from the opening day total of around 200,000, and then halving again.=xD

"I have no idea what has happened to the graph," said a spokesman for the Expo bureau. Meanwhile, leaked memos from the Central Propaganda department showed the government's sensitivity to any criticism of the Expo.

"In reporting the visit of the leaders to the Expo, all media need to use reports from Xinhua [the state-run news agency]. No other media should do its own reporting. No following or stopping leaders for interviews allowed," said a dispatch from the weekend.

"Media should not follow the Western media in criticising the World Expo, such as over its excessive costs," it added.

The organisers of the Expo have been at a loss to explain the lack of public interest. Hong Hao, the director of the event, said buyers of premium tickets may have "made alternative travel plans" during the holiday weekend and might use the tickets at a later date.

"Some people say the weather is very hot. There has also been a lot of television coverage lately, showing all the Expo pavilions. [Perhaps] a lot of people are watching it on television and not coming to the Expo. There are all sorts of explanations," he said.

If the low attendance continues, Shanghai could struggle to make it into the top ten list of Expos, which is headed by Osaka in 1970 with an estimated 64m guests.

The government is also likely to be hit with a £400m shortfall in its operating revenues. The original budget for the running of the site was 10.7 billion yuan (£1.07bn).

The cost was to be offset by 6 billion yuan of ticket sales as well as 2.9 billion yuan of sponsorship money. Originally, the government estimated it would then have to cover around 1 billion yuan of shortfall. However, if ticket sales are drastically lower, it could leave the Expo as much as 4 billion yuan in the red.

On the upside, visitors to the park yesterday said the experience had been much-improved by the absence of the long queues that were typical of the opening days. "It is a perfect time to go, there were very few people on the site," said Lai Shan, a commenter on KDS, a Shanghai internet forum.
 

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