Shanghai Daily news

The countdown began yesterday, with the opening of the exhibit at the Urban Planning and Exhibition Hall. It will last a month and then tour other cities.

China - actually, just an individual - is officially recorded as having taken part in the first World's Exposition in London in 1851 when Cantonese businessman Xu Rongcun exhibited teas and silks. He was awarded gold and silver medals.

Shanghai Party Secretary Xi Jinping pressed the button and launched the multimedia exhibit - "The Path to World Expo - Retrospective on World Expo 2010 Shanghai China."

The launch of the exhibition, according to Liu Xiuhua, assistant media director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, is to explain World Expos and their history, as well as China's participation in them over the years. The 2010 Expo is the first in a developing country.
The organizers even regard the exhibition as a "small rehearsal," aiming to enhance public's recognition of the Expo. It will move on to Beijing, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou this year, then it will move around the country through 2009.

For the exhibition, organizers have had to turn the abstract into concrete displays.

"Visual elements are very important," Liu said. "This is the way we transfer all the concepts of the event to the audience."

For instance, a path in front of the exhibition hall is made of four materials - tiles, cobblestones, cement and bitumen - to show the evolution of the city roads that lead you from the past into the current Shanghai Expo.

Multimedia display

Multimedia technology highlights the exhibition covering "Shanghai Expo," "China and World Expos" and "The History of World Expos." Two small cinemas, including one surrounded by a 180-degree screen, show promotional videos of Shanghai Expo and a video of World Expo's history.

An installation in the "China and World Expos" section allows visitors to read a virtual book on a flat stone - you turn the pages by touching the stone. It was displayed at the World Expo in Aichi, Japan, in 2005.

Precious exhibits

World Expos, the first in London in 1851, have displayed the world's achievements from industrialization to the space age and information era.

Most of the inventions that debuted in World Expos have penetrated people's daily life, from the great inventions of Thomas Edison to common things like the hotdog and the zipper.

The exhibition not only displays a precious oil painting that depicts a scene of China's participation at the first World Expo in London, but also displays authentic historic inventions from around the world.

Online tour

Besides walking through the exhibition, the official Website of the Expo gives the public another choice - visiting online.
The 2010 World Expo will be the first online Expo. Organizers have also moved all the text introductions, photos and videos in this exhibition to the Website (http://expo1000.eastday.com/index.htm).



Date: through September 9, 9am-5pm (Mondays-Thursdays), 9am-6pm (Fridays-Sundays)

Address: 3/F, 100 People's Ave

Admission: 30 yuan