Shanghai Expo: Puxi Side, part one
This past week we were fortunate to find time to visit Shanghai as a family AND Randy not having to work while we were there. The previous two times we've been in Shanghai Randy's work has taken us there and we just tagged along. Last week, though, we had four days to ourselves in one of my favorite places in China to visit again and again.
(I must note, that as an expat in Beijing, I am not supposed to like Shanghai, or at the very least, not prefer it. I am supposed to revel in all sorts of notions of superiority of Beijing's life and culture over Shanghai's. But then again, the expats that usually embrace this attitude don't live in my part of Beijing. Anytime I can go to Shanghai is a good time.)
The primary focus of our trip this time was to see as much of the Shanghai Expo 2010 as we could in what time we had. As much as I remain a little disappointed that we didn't get to see every.single.thing I had hoped to see, Randy reminds me that we should really focus on what we did get to see, and appreciate that.
The Expo is what we used to call the World's Fair, and many Americans (like me!) have little idea that these things are actually still happening in the world. In fact, they still have been every two or three years. If you are interested in more details about the Shanghai Expo than I can provide, I would recommend checking out what Adam has written about it. He has also investigated some issues surrounding the US Pavilion, and if that is interesting to you, you should definitely see what Adam has on his blog (and in real media) as well.
We prepared Myles for going to the Expo by telling him he would see things that he had never seen before, and he would hopefully remember going for the rest of his life. We prepared Brigid by making sure her diaper was always dry and she had a steady supply of Goldfish crackers and juice. By the time we got through the gate and started to stand in lines, Myles was very excited, and oddly, not impatient. He accepted the short lines and the long lines equally, even the two-hour wait for the GM-SAIC pavilion. Brigid was also uncharacteristically cooperative. Both were wonderful surprises and made the whole experience go so smoothly for us.
Our first evening and day we devoted to the Puxi-side Pavilions which were mainly SOE's and other corporate pavilions. We were able to see the China Railway, State Grid, GM-SAIC, and China Oil Pavilions, as well as the exteriors of the surrounding pavilions which were also interesting. The theme of Expo 2010 is "Better City. Better Life" so most of the exhibits were about urban development.
The first night we were at the Expo, neither the Railway or the State Grid had long lines, so those we saw first. The Railway exhibit included video models of new developments in passenger and cargo rail in China, focusing on the increase of speed of both. China is constructing a new high-speed line that will connect Beijing and Shanghai in about five hours. Being that the flight between the two cities is right now about two hours, my head spins at the thought of travelling on land at a speed to make this happen in so short of time.
Even with all the emphasis on the fantastic new developments in rail in China, the most photographed item when we were there was this early 20th century US-built narrow-gage steam engine and tender that was used in a Kunming rail yard. I probably should have been annoyed? embarrassed? insulted? at the contrast between the ultra-sleek, fast, and exciting future that rail has in China and what was being shown as a US contribution to railways (but what about the Acela? I mean---oh, never mind). However, we long ago ceded that race to the rest of the world.
The second pavilion we saw that night was State Grid, the SOE that runs the power generation and distribution systems in China. There were a few science-museumy displays on how the grid works, but there were mostly lots of lights.
The high point of State Grid is the Magic Box. Unfortunately, photos and video are prohibited during the Magic Box show, so I'll have to describe it. Basically we were lead into a room that all surfaces were part of a large video show. All six interior surfaces of the room, including the entrance and exit doors, were video screens, and the show was mostly bright and noisy.
We walked around a bit more that evening, taking in the light displays on the exteriors, and promised Myles that the very first thing we would do when we arrived early Thursday would be to get in line for GM-SAIC, a pavilion highly recommended by everybody.
Next post, GM-SAIC and Oil Pavilions
(I must note, that as an expat in Beijing, I am not supposed to like Shanghai, or at the very least, not prefer it. I am supposed to revel in all sorts of notions of superiority of Beijing's life and culture over Shanghai's. But then again, the expats that usually embrace this attitude don't live in my part of Beijing. Anytime I can go to Shanghai is a good time.)
The primary focus of our trip this time was to see as much of the Shanghai Expo 2010 as we could in what time we had. As much as I remain a little disappointed that we didn't get to see every.single.thing I had hoped to see, Randy reminds me that we should really focus on what we did get to see, and appreciate that.
The Expo is what we used to call the World's Fair, and many Americans (like me!) have little idea that these things are actually still happening in the world. In fact, they still have been every two or three years. If you are interested in more details about the Shanghai Expo than I can provide, I would recommend checking out what Adam has written about it. He has also investigated some issues surrounding the US Pavilion, and if that is interesting to you, you should definitely see what Adam has on his blog (and in real media) as well.
We prepared Myles for going to the Expo by telling him he would see things that he had never seen before, and he would hopefully remember going for the rest of his life. We prepared Brigid by making sure her diaper was always dry and she had a steady supply of Goldfish crackers and juice. By the time we got through the gate and started to stand in lines, Myles was very excited, and oddly, not impatient. He accepted the short lines and the long lines equally, even the two-hour wait for the GM-SAIC pavilion. Brigid was also uncharacteristically cooperative. Both were wonderful surprises and made the whole experience go so smoothly for us.
Our first evening and day we devoted to the Puxi-side Pavilions which were mainly SOE's and other corporate pavilions. We were able to see the China Railway, State Grid, GM-SAIC, and China Oil Pavilions, as well as the exteriors of the surrounding pavilions which were also interesting. The theme of Expo 2010 is "Better City. Better Life" so most of the exhibits were about urban development.
The first night we were at the Expo, neither the Railway or the State Grid had long lines, so those we saw first. The Railway exhibit included video models of new developments in passenger and cargo rail in China, focusing on the increase of speed of both. China is constructing a new high-speed line that will connect Beijing and Shanghai in about five hours. Being that the flight between the two cities is right now about two hours, my head spins at the thought of travelling on land at a speed to make this happen in so short of time.
Even with all the emphasis on the fantastic new developments in rail in China, the most photographed item when we were there was this early 20th century US-built narrow-gage steam engine and tender that was used in a Kunming rail yard. I probably should have been annoyed? embarrassed? insulted? at the contrast between the ultra-sleek, fast, and exciting future that rail has in China and what was being shown as a US contribution to railways (but what about the Acela? I mean---oh, never mind). However, we long ago ceded that race to the rest of the world.
The second pavilion we saw that night was State Grid, the SOE that runs the power generation and distribution systems in China. There were a few science-museumy displays on how the grid works, but there were mostly lots of lights.
The high point of State Grid is the Magic Box. Unfortunately, photos and video are prohibited during the Magic Box show, so I'll have to describe it. Basically we were lead into a room that all surfaces were part of a large video show. All six interior surfaces of the room, including the entrance and exit doors, were video screens, and the show was mostly bright and noisy.
We walked around a bit more that evening, taking in the light displays on the exteriors, and promised Myles that the very first thing we would do when we arrived early Thursday would be to get in line for GM-SAIC, a pavilion highly recommended by everybody.
Next post, GM-SAIC and Oil Pavilions
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