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BIGGER THAN THE WORLD CUP – BUT WHO KNOWS ABOUT IT? |
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Facts, figures and the excitment of 2010 Shanghai Expo |
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It’s being called the greatest show on earth, a USD$45 billion extravaganza that will draw more than 70 million spectators. The price tag and head count make Shanghai’s World Expo 2010 more expensive and far bigger than Beijing’s 2008 Olympics – and arguably the single biggest event ever staged anywhere on the planet. Shanghai does nothing by halves – and hosting World Expo only confirms its status as China’s most ambitious and audacious city. Branded with the theme of “Better City, Better Life” Shanghai’s World Expo also tackles what is looming as one of China’s – and the world’s greatest challenges – sustainable urban development. So what can visitors to Shanghai expect from Shanghai and World Expo? And outside China who even knows about it? A quick straw poll at several Melbourne events recently revealed a complete blank about World Expo. Different story if you are focused on doing business with China – this is the unmissable last big opportunity to ply your wares.
The Setting – China’s Mega City of Shanghai
Shanghai is arguably Asia’s most dynamic and ambitious mega-city. With almost 20 million people, it is also China’s wealthiest and most cosmopolitan city. For the past twenty years Shanghai’s economy has grown at breakneck speed. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Shanghai has one of the world’s fastest growing economies; between 2000 and 2008 Shanghai’s GDP tripled.
The futuristic skyline of Pudong is the most obvious evidence of Shanghai’s ambitions. If you think the soaring Mori Tower (affectionately dubbed “the bottle opener”) is an impressive super tall building, the nearby Shanghai Tower will be even taller when completed. At 127 storeys the Shanghai Tower will also boast the world’s highest open air observation deck. In 2009 Shanghai’s booming economy was larger than Hong Kong’s and the Shanghai Stock Exchange now challenges Tokyo as the Asian region’s number one bourse. To get the city ready for Expo 2010 the city government outlaid tens of billions on new and upgraded infrastructure, including a massive expansion of the subway and rail network. Once the subway and city rail network is fully completed, it will be larger than London’s, previously the world’s largest. What took London a century took Shanghai a little over a decade. In the past 15 years the urban population has exploded from around 13 million to over 20 million. Booming incomes have fuelled demand for housing and cars, which now choke the streets. According to a BBC report on the city, the urban area of the city increased six-fold in the same time frame, from 100 sq km to 680 sq km, including the rapid expansion of new development areas such as Pudong. The pressures of urbanisation, including serious concerns about air and water quality have influenced Shanghai’s decision to focus Expo 2010 on ways to improve and enhance urban life on a global scale.
Shanghai Expo – Tips for the Visitor
The first thing to be ready for is scale; Expo 2010 is vast and is spread over an enormous area on both sides of the Huangpu River. The site was once home to some of the city’s most outdated and highly polluting industries – now these have been decommissioned or relocated outside the residential area. Some of the old industrial structures have been retained and adapted for new uses, but most of the site has been given over to the world’s national pavilions, new parklands and demonstration sites for the latest in environmental and sustainable design and thinking.
Over 5 square kilometres of the city were consumed for Expo and there are literally hundreds of pavilions to choose from. The Puxi side of the river is devoted to major corporates from China and overseas and The Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) which showcases innovative and sustainable housing and urban design solutions from around the world. On the other side of the river are the national pavilions – all 187 of them. This is where the real action takes place. Getting to see all of Expo – or even most of it – would literally take weeks – so be strategic about choices. The best way to see just how big Expo is from driving across the massive Lupu bridge, the world's second longest steel arch bridge.
The second thing to prepare for is the crowds. Getting into Expo and the pavilions is not for the fainthearted – or the impatient. Unless you have a special VIP pass, are on an organised Mission, or have some other guanxi to get you admitted through a side door, waiting times can be several hours for the popular national pavilions, such as Australia, Japan, the USA, Spain, UAE, Saudi Arabia and the UK. We’ve even had reports of up to 8 hours! Getting into the striking Chinese national pavilion is even more daunting – you have to line up to get a ticket to join another line to gain entry at a designated time on another day. Very few national pavilions have waiting times under an hour (North Korea, Iran, Timor Leste are some of the least crowded options) – and that was on a relatively quiet week day. Come the weekends and national holidays the crowds and the lines will be even more overwhelming. In late May daytime temperatures were warm and mild – but in the sweltering Shanghai summer, standing in the sun for hours will be a real challenge. What drives many of the huge crowds is the system of Expo Passports, which allow holders to collect “stamps” from different countries and which will become high-priced collectors’ items. According to the official website of the Australian Expo Pavilion 50,000 visitors poured through the Australian site on June 6 – with more than 500,000 people visiting the Expo Park.
We’ve prepared a special guide to Expo and visiting Shanghai: chincommunications.com.au/registrationform.php
Pavilions of Note
Australia’s ochre tinted steel pavilion is suggestive of Uluru and the tones of the Australian outback. The pavilion's bold sculptural form was designed by leading Australian architectural firm Wood Marsh in conjunction with creative design firm Think!OTS and the weathered steel is from Australian steel maker Bluescope Steel. The total cost of the Australian pavilion is reported to be in the region of $AUD85 million – and comes with numerous eco friendly features such as solar heating and water recycling, the striking Australian structure looks like it will be ‘purchased’ by one of the provinces at the end of Expo. Australia has one of the busiest and most popular pavilions and the showpiece is the central auditorium which presents a multimedia show of modern Australian life in Chinese.
Australian design firm, Urban Art Projects, which specialises in large-scale site-specific artwork for architectural and landscape environments, beat off over 100 tenders to deliver eight main entrance sculptures for Shanghai World Expo 2010 in China.
Just some of the standout national pavilions include; the United Arab Emirates stunning gold and silver tinted sand dune, designed by Sir Norman Foster (while many other pavilions will be demolished after Expo concludes, the UAE’s will be dismantled and shipped back to the Emirates and rebuilt as a tourist attraction); the Chinese national pavilion, which has been called the Oriental Crown, and which is one of 5 buildings that will remain at the expo site permanently and which will be converted into a history museum; the United Kingdom’s Seed Cathedral by Thomas Heatherwick with 60,000 acrylic rods (each of the swaying rods contains a seed from Kew Gardens Millennium Seed Bank) which draw light into the structure during the day, and the Spanish “Basket” , which features an outer shell of 8,000 hand woven baskets.
Inside, the pavilions offer very different approaches to showcasing their respective countries, culture and identity; Cuba offers its guests the choice of fine Cuban cigars, iced daiquiris and little more; Qatar showcases traditional crafts, music and desert lifestyles, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea boasts of a “People’s Paradise, while Spain’s hand assembled wicker basket pavilion, greets visitors with an extravagant projection of images onto walls of a cavern like entrance and a Flamenco dancer performing in the midst of the crowd, while Denmark has transported the city’s iconic Little Mermaid all the way to Shanghai for the duration of Expo 2010. Saudi Arabia has a 1600 square metre screen – one of the largest in the world – bringing Saudi’s incredible beauty to life … there’s a lot to see and plenty of people to see it with.
Getting There
Travelling to and from Expo has been managed well. The city’s extensive subway lines are linked to the sites, and a designated army of Expo taxis ferry passengers around Shanghai. The cab ranks at the Expo site are orderly and well managed. City hotels seem well prepared to assist visitors, and many of the larger hotels sell day tickets and also assist with transport, directions, maps and helpful instructions. You can also pick up Expo tickets at any China Mobile office – or outside the gates at vending machines. A single day ticket costs Y150. An army of volunteers are stationed all over the city and are friendly, helpful and usually equipped with good English language skills. The city taxi drivers all know exactly what Expo means – but make sure you clear about which side of the River you want to visit. A regular ferry service runs between the two sites and is well worth taking, if only for a great view of Expo by night and of Shanghai’s bustling river life. The influx of domestic and international visitors is putting the city transport system to the test at peak hour – and hotel accommodation is tight, with most visitors facing steeply increased tariffs during Expo.
What the tens of millions of visitors – many from far flung regions – will ultimately make of Expo 2010 is hard to predict. If nothing else they will come away with an image of Shanghai as a city to be reckoned with.
Make a lasting impression on your Business Mission
If you are planning a visit to World Expo to pursue business opportunities, there are a number of government and organisation-led delegations that can pave the way and get you into VIP areas and functions and the all-important and targetted networking. Whatever you do, be well-prepared with materials translated correctly in Chinese, your Chinese business cards stocked up – check your names and title are appropriate, and be ready with a few polite words in Chinese. If you are presenting, get your presentation and speech sent to the organisers well in advance to assist interpreter preparation. When working with an interpreter (if consecutive), make sure you pause frequently to enable the interpreter to keep up. This will double the time of your presentation – so if you are allocated 20 minutes and an interpreter is beside you – you’ll only be able to speak for 10 minutes.
We’ve been lucky to work on a number of business missions on subjects as broad as food and beverages, ICT and biotechnology and with careful planning some big deals have materialised at Expo – putting your compelling case in Chinese is very important. To help you, we’ve written a new book on etiquette – getting the meetings and greetings right – contact us for a copy and give your proposition the best chance. And of course, we’re ready to help you get your translated materials in best order.
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