As Shanghai ushered in the seventh anniversary of the opening of the Expo, World Expo Museum (WEM) which is located at the original site of the Shanghai Expo along the bank of the Huangpu River was opened on May 1 st. after more than three years' construction to welcome guests from all over the world.

Among the visitors, there was a cheerful Japanese elderly-- Tomiyo Yamada. As an old friend of Shanghai, Tomiyo Yamada is well known as "Expo Grandma".

Yamada's enthusiasm of Expo could be dated back to Osaka Expo in 1970. During the Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan, Yamada made a record of 243 total attendance. During 2010 Shanghai World Expo, she specially rented an apartment near the Expo Park and set a record of entering the park every day for the total duration of 184 days.

This time, accompanied by her families, she came to Shanghai again to continue her expo footprint. In the seventh hall of the World Expo Museum, a giant screen which showed an animated version of Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, an ancient 25-meter Chinese painting attracted Yamada's attention.

"During the Shanghai World Expo, the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival video was my favorite. World Expo always converges various new ideas like the dynamic Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. It records nice life moments of our ancestors through advanced technology, containing the essence of the tradition."

Watching the scenery along the Huangpu River in the video, Yamada said sentimentally,"I believe that in future Shanghai will be more and more advanced. Activities like World Expo brings people from more countries together."

When Yu Li, who got acquainted with Yamada in 2005 Aichi Expo and was dubbed "Expo Uncle" by her led her to the area which displayed herself's expo story, she couldn't help being excited. "Shanghai World Expo is unique in the world and I am quite moved that I could be one part of that."said Yamada.

As deputy director of the Construction Office of the World Expo Museum, Yu Li believes that World Expo has a meaning of folk communication, "the story of Expo Grandma is the best case."said Yu.

"The title of ‘Expo Grandma' was even officially written into the concluding report of the then Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Since 2006, Yamada has been back and forth between China and Japan and Shanghai citizens have already quite familiar with her." Yu added.

As expected, Yamada was recognized by many visitors, requesting signature and photo taking.

Under the influence of his mother, Kazuhiro Yamada is also fond of World Expo. For this trip to Shanghai, he specially resigned from a school where he often narrated world expo in class.

Talking about his mother's attendance record in Aichi expo, Kazuhiro Yamada explained, "actually before Aichi expo, my mother was diagnosed with a serious disease. She entered the expo park for the purpose of taking exercise but in the end made a record unconsciously." For his mother's enthusiasm for the expo, he claimed that all his families love expo and support her.

Expo Grandma hoped Osaka could host World Expo again. As for this visiting experience in Shanghai, she said the most impressive was the change of expo's theme. "The earliest expo displayed many inventions in the industrial revolution and endowed people with the vision for the future, but current expos begin to reflect on the influence of people's activities on earth and how human harmoniously coexist with the nature."

Recalling the time when she lived in Shanghai, Yamada said with a smile, "at that time, in order to participate in the expo, I rented a house in Pudong New Area. The expo lasted for 184 days, but since the lease term was at least one year, I had to spend much more money. Nevertheless, the period was nice and unforgettable."

"After the expo, I often came back to Shanghai, and there seems to be my second hometown. This is the 31th time that I have been to Shanghai. Apart from taking part in expo related activities, more importantly, I will meet with my friends. During the one year I stayed in Shanghai, I made lots of friends here. We will meet, give presents to each other and talk about the expo."