Reopening of Fast Admissions to Spain Pavilion Expo 2010

Madrid Case Pavilion stamp

The Spain Pavilion, located in the Pudong section, is a popular attraction in Shanghai Expo 2010. Please refer to my video gallery for its videos. Due to its popularity, the admission queue is always very long. As mentioned in my previous blog dated August 13, 2010, visitors could skip queuing by going through the fast track channel with the required passports. To be eligible for the fast access, visitors have to collect a total of 3 stamps from the Case Pavilions of Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao in the Urban Best Practices Area in Puxi. Stamps have to be chopped on the souvenir passports. Due to the problems of fake stamps and passports, the channel was suspended for a period of 2 weeks starting at the end of August. To cope with the problem, a new set of stamps has been issued. The collection of stamps has now resumed and the fast track channel reopens for the Spain Pavilion.

The Spain Pavilion is one of my favorite programs in Expo 2010 Shanghai. It is worth visiting.  At the time of our visit in May 2010, the fast track channel for Spain Pavilion wasn't yet available. We went through the general admission route and spent 40 minutes on the waiting queue in the peak-time early afternoon. Comparing to many popular pavilions in Expo 2010, the queue-up time was not too bad at all. Although the queue was long, it moved fast.

Update on the Official Expo Online Lucky Draw

Ten visitors who had been to the Italy online tour at http://en.expo2010.cn won a lucky draw of a VIP tour at the real Italy Pavilion on September 9, 2010. Each of them also received a gift set including a flute concert ticket, a bottle of Italian red wine, and a souvenir pavilion pin. For the forthcoming lucky draw from the official Expo online offer, people who visit the virtual Australia online pavilion between 10:00am and 2:00pm Shanghai local time on Monday, September 13, 2010 will have a chance to win one of the 20 fast-access passes to the real Australia Pavilion.

Update on the Visitor Count

Since the opening of the Expo 2010 on May 1, 2010, the visitor count has accumulated a total number of 50 millions on the 133rd day yesterday, September 10, 2010. The Expo 2010 will run through a course of 184 days till October 31, 2010.

Q&A Shanghai 2010 Expo Tickets

Used ticket with embossed words

Since the news release regarding the discontinuation of standard-day ticket sales, people have become anxious about getting Expo admission tickets. Please refer to my previous blogs for the Expo ticketing  policy change and classifications of admission tickets dated August 30, 2010 and May 4, 2010 respectively. In summary, standard-day tickets serve for regular-day admissions. Peak-day tickets are used on a designated date but not limited to regular days. Evening tickets can only be utilized between 5:00pm and 9:00pm for admissions. Peak-day tickets and evening tickets are referred as intraday tickets. To clarify people's concerns, I hereby highlight the key information in answering most common questions appeared on online discussion forums.

Can I still get standard-day tickets?

Information from Expo official website (http://en.expo2010.cn) indicated that standard-day tickets (both single-day and multiple-day) are no more available at official ticket-scales points. However, as far as I know, standard single-day tickets accompanied with round trip transport between hotels and Expo site can still be purchased through some of the appointed travel agents. Prices vary among different agencies in Shanghai. To date, both standard single-day and peak-day tickets are available at the Hong Kong office of the China Travel Service Limited which is an authorized Expo travel agent. One may make inquiries to the authorized agents at his/ her country. For example, Peregrine Travel, Inc. and Tian Bao Travel Ltd. are the authorized agents for the USA and Canada respectively.

Can I buy Expo tickets from the local supermarkets or convenience stores in Shanghai?

As there are no more supplies for standard-day tickets, it is quite a great possibility that tickets have run out in supermarkets and convenience stores.Try you luck. That depends on their stocks.

Can I purchase tickets on Expo site?

Yes, on-site tickets are available for sales at Expo entrances. Statistics revealed that around 25,000 to 32,000 day-tickets were sold each day at entrances in the past week. This represents 11.0% to 12.5% of the total daily admissions to the Exp park. Sales of evening tickets ranged between 10,000 and 16,000 (5% - 6% of the total daily admissions) each day from 4:00pm to 9:00pm.

Where can I get next-day tickets?

People can purchase next-day tickets between 4:00pm and 08:50pm at the Expo entrances of Luban Road, South Xizang Road, Bansongyuan Road, Bailianjing Road, West Gaoke Road, Shangnan Road, Changging Road, Houtan, Madang Road, and Dongchang Road Watergate.

Where can I purchase peak-day tickets?

Peak-day tickets for October are available at authorized ticketing sales points such as Bank of Communications, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Post, as well as authorized travel agents. You have to specify a date for the purchase. For the address of the official point of sales, please refer to my blog dated July 31, 2010.

Can I purchase admission tickets for the last day of the Expo?

To date, ticket sales for admissions to the Expo on the last day, i.e. October 31, 2010, are still available at the China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Ltd. If it is run out at one of the sales points in Shanghai, you may try searching the others. The demand and supply may vary among different ticket sales outlets.

My friends passed a 3-day ticket to me and said it can be used for one more day. How can I find out whether the ticket is still valid?

Used tickets have embossing stamp "Expo 2010 Expo 2010" at both edges of the tickets. See attached photo for a used ticket. These words are pressed on the ticket on the last day passing through the Expo gate.

Cases Joint Pavilion in UBPA Expo 2010 Shanghai

Cases Joint Pavilion 2

Global countries are key participants of world expositions. Worldwide cities start playing an important role in the exhibitions this year. To demonstrate the best practice examples in urban constructions and development, more than 50 represented cities are staging at the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) in Expo 2010 Shanghai. City cases come from Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. In the exhibitions, some cities own individual pavilion buildings while some shares under the same roof in a Cases Joint Pavilion. There are in total 4 Cases Joint Pavilions.

Cases of Montreal, Bremen, Freiburg, Guangzhou, Ahmedabad, and Italian Ministry for Environment, Sea and Land are exhibited in the Cases Joint Pavilion 2 at Central UBPA, Zone E.  The Montreal Case Pavilion of Canada has been reported in my previous blog dated August 29, 2010. The Bremen Case of Germany presents energy efficiency and sustainable transport. The focus of the Guangzhou Case of China is "Green Land Action" for sustainable urban development and water environment management. The Ahmedabad Case of India showcases  a traditional residential mansion, Haveli, with the design for sunshades and  ventilation to relieve heat. The Italian Ministry exhibits sustainable cities. Please see attached videos.


Inside Cases Joint Pavilion 2

Inside the "Italy sustainable cities"

Expo Ticketing Policy Change with Effect from September 1, 2010

Ticket office at entrance Gate 9

According to the experiences of the previous world expositions, the number of visitors dramatically increased in the last 2 months for a last-minute rush. As the Shanghai Expo 2010 is approaching to its end, the Expo organizer has re-arranged the ticketing policy to control huge visitor crowds. Information from the official Shanghai Expo website indicated that the sales of standard-day admission tickets (160 yuan) would cease after August 31, 2010, and the 3-day (400 yuan) and 7-day (900 yuan) tickets had already been sold out. With effect from September 1, 2010, only intraday tickets will be available, and people can purchase them at Expo entrances. To avoid queues, visitors may use ticket vending machines on-site. After 4:00pm each day, visitors can also buy tickets for the following day. Intraday tickets include evening tickets (90 yuan) available from 4:00pm to 9:00pm and peak-day tickets (200 yuan) for the National Day Holiday (Oct 1 to 7, 2010) and the last week of the Expo (Oct 25 to 31, 2010).  (Source: Official Expo website http://en.expo2010.cn). Please refer to my blog dated May 4, 2010 for the classification of admission tickets. Peak day tickets are available at designed ticket sales agent such as Bank of Communications. For the local inquiry hotline on ticketing and the address for the official sales point, please refer to my blog dated July 31, 2010. Please note that there are limited numbers of peak-day ticket sales for a specific day. I heard that the peak-day tickets to be used on October 31, 2010 had already been sold out.

Ticket vending machine at Gate 9

Peak-day tickets should be used on a designed day within the above mentioned peak-day periods. For example, if you purchase a peak-day ticket to be used on October 1, 2010, you have to use it on that day or any day out of the peak-day periods. In other words, you can't use it from October 2 to 7 or 25 to 31, but you can use it from October 8 to 24 or any days in September. (Information sourced from the inquiry at the China Mobile Expo services desk when I was staying in Shanghai in July 2010. I again reconfirmed the information today by making a phone call inquiry to the China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited which is an official travel agent for the sales of Expo tickets in Hong Kong. As to date, standard-day tickets are still available at Hong Kong sales point.

Wisdom of the Montreal Best Practices Case

Montreal Case Pavilion

In writing this blog I would like to express my feelings of thankfulness to the sincere pavilion guides of the Montreal Case Pavilion which is located at the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) in Expo 2010 Shanghai. Montreal, a big city in Canada, hosted the world exposition in 1967. This year it participates in Expo 2010 by demonstrating its outstanding project in sustainable urban development. The project, namely Saint-Michel environmental complex, is Montreal's brilliant achievement in solving environmental problem for a site spoiled by industrial exploitation and later served as garbage landfills in a total years more than a century. In a rehabilitation plan in 1995, the Montreal's municipal government turned this limestone-quarry and landfill site into a large public park. The site's contaminated soil and residual materials were safely managed. The successful rehabilitation of the land has contributed to environmental improvement that brings better quality of city life to the citizens.

Exhibition hall

The story of the Saint-Michel environmental complex is presented with a multimedia projection on a screen which is composed of numerous movable blocks. The screen is set at a 45 degree angle to enhance a special visual effect. During the movie presentation, facets of blocks from the screen gently move up and down to give out a dynamic view. The movie takes visitors onto a vivid journey witnessing the marvelous transformation of a scrappy land into a spectacular complex. The multimedia hall at the Montreal Case Pavilion is not large, but the presentation is unique and outstanding. The design of the projection screen is creative and wonderful. It is impressive to see a screen in motion. How clever the Montrealers are.

David, a pavilion guide

David, who was one of the pavilion guides, gave us some useful and interesting information regarding the Saint-Michel environmental complex when we were waiting at the entrance of the multimedia hall. We were grateful to his kindness. The written explanation was indeed posted on the wall of the pavilion, but we had missed them. David told us that explanation would be given inside the hall from following weeks onwards. Upon our arrival at the Montreal Case Pavilion, there were only a few visitors. We waited for about 10 minutes to attend the movie presentation. The information given by David contributed to our enjoyment and profound understanding of the Saint-Michel story. Out of the multimedia hall after watching the show, we peeped through the tiny windows to find out the secrets behind the screen. There were a great number of metal rods moving up and down to support the movement of the screen blocks. Please refer to the video below. It was great that the organizer of the pavilion let us watch the back of the screen. Such arrangement stimulated our creative thinking.

Pavilion guides - Marie-Pierre (L), Claire (R)

In the final part of our touring at the Montreal Case Pavilion, we enjoyed chatting with two sweet girls who were also pavilion guides. In a friendly atmosphere, we learned more about Montreal. It was fantastic. By then, I felt that world expositions are international meeting points for global knowledge exchange. I noticed that there was another male pavilion guide giving information to the visitors in Mandarin. I was amazed to see a young Canadian speaking beautiful Mandarin. All of these pavilion guides make the exhibition become interactive and communicative. They have contributed to the promotion in building a good national image for their country. After I had got back to Hong Kong, I searched relevant information regarding the Montreal Case. The pavilion guides whom I met are among the 8 volunteers/ interns selected from 150 applicants to work for the Montreal Case Pavilion, and they are going back to Montreal on August 31, 2010 to continue their student life. There are more information about them from the website of Conseil jeunesse de Montreal (CJM Montreal Council). I saw their pictures and videos. However, I couldn't understand the content because the website is written in French.

With the kind permissions from the young pavilion guides of the Montreal Case Pavilion, I posted their photographs on my blog so as to keep this meaningful memory (See attached images). May I take this opportunity to say "Thank you" to all of them and wish them all the best in future.

Multimedia screen composing of numerous movable blocks

The secret behind the movable screen which is composed of numerous blocks.

Feeling Safe and Comfortable in Shanghai Expo 2010

Cooling mists at Entrance Gate 2

While Expo 2010 was running uneventfully in Shanghai of China, there were two dreadful holiday tragedies occurred in the other part of the world in the past 2 months. The first one was resulted from a chaotic stampede at the world's largest techno music festival in the German City of Duisburg on July 24, 2010. Nineteen concertgoers were crushed to death and 342 more were injured in the overcrowded tunnel that served as the sole entrance to the festival site in where many people came from across Europe. There left many evaluation questions particularly on the risk management. Another incidence was a tour-bus hijacking crisis in the Philippines capital Manila on August 23, 2010. Eight out of 15 Hong Kong tourists were killed and 2 out of the several survivors were critically injured after they had been held hostage for more than 11 hours. These innocent people started their trip from Hong Kong with happiness but ended with tragedy in Manila. How furious we were when following to watch the whole process of the coverage on the live TV. Everybody criticized the way that the siege was dealt with. The Philippine police didn't appear to have well prepared for the rescue. The President of the Philippines said that he didn't expect the hostage-taking situation to turn worse. This showed that the risk had been underestimated. Obviously, there is a lack of crisis management in the Philippine case. I have never been to the Philippines, and there is not any temptation for me to pay it a visit.

Electric fan at Romania Pavilion

On the contrary, I felt safe and comfortable during our visits to Shanghai Expo 2010. I visited the Expo in May and July this year, and still I would like to go again. The Expo 2010 is very impressive and well organized. There are in total 13 entrances/ exits for the site. Things appear to have been well planned to facilitate smooth logistics and high visitor flows. There are in average 400,000 people visiting the Expo each day, and everything is under good control. Lots of improvement are noted when comparing our two visits. For example, cooling mist systems have been increasingly installed at various sites including entrances, rest places, and queue-up areas for popular pavilions. Paper fans are distributed to visitors free of charge. More sunshades have been erected at the site. We occasionally saw people jump the queues during our first visit to the Expo in May. However, no more such situation was detected in our second visit in July. In many occasions, I could see that the Chinese government had put lots of efforts on the prevention of chaos. For risk management, policemen are assigned to stay with the queues at the pavilions with big crowds. People lined up in good order among the metal barriers. Wide gaps are allocated between queues to allow good ventilation, and boxes of ice are placed in these gaps to lower the temperature of the environment. Electric fans are set up at the queue-up area for some pavilions. For the popular pavilion with large amount of visitors, queues are divided into sections. After people have moved forward to the front section, their former space is left empty for about 10 minutes for the clean-up purpose. People from behind can then move forward. Please refer to the attached video. This system makes people feel more comfortable and most important avoid chaos.

Warning notice at Japan Pavilion

When we were lining up at the Japan Pavilion during our latest visit, we did not see any queue. jumping People kept their discipline well even though there were not any police. The notice of discipline warning erecting at the queue-up area seemed to be effective. Some wrote, "Please be patient and do not jump the queue", while others stated, "Polite Sharing and No Challenging".

Queuing gap at Russia Pavilion

The queuing wonder at Saudi Arabia Pavilion - Duty handover of the police

Enjoying the Leisure of Shanghai Expo 2010 without Any Crowds

A garden in UBPA

While hundreds of thousands of people were flooding into the Pudong region where national pavilions of Asia, Middle East, and Europe are located, we explored the peaceful side of the Shanghai World Exposition across the Huangpu River in the Puxi area. And we had achieved enjoying the leisure of the Expo 2010 without any crowds in the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA). The UBPA is an exhibition district for representative cities around the world to showcase their innovative practices in urbanization. The UBPA also acts as a platform to connect cities in sharing their experiences in urban construction and development. Various representative cases are shown via exhibitions, presentations, seminars, workshops, networks, display boards, events, and performances. Showcase portfolios demonstrate a remarkable range of implementations and solutions to improve the quality of city life. Sample displays include low-carbon city, eco-housing, eco-art, sustainable urbanization, utilization of culture heritage, and technological innovations in built environment, etc. Apparently, UBPA is a good place for learning rather than entertainment.

Eco Housing

The UBPA includes a number of case pavilions and four Cases Joint Pavilions. Please refer to the page end of the Site Maps and Pavilions to view a full list of the presenting city cases from various geographical regions. In the northern part of the UBPA, built cases are demonstrated in simulated urban blocks. There are Case Pavilions of Alsace, Chengdu, Hamburg, London, Macau, Madrid, Makkah, Ningbo, Odense, Rhone-Alpes, Shanghai, Vancouver, and Xian. All of these case pavilions are close to each other. Therefore, there is no need for visitors to walk a long distance under the strong sunshine from one pavilion to another. In the central and southern part of the UBPA, several presenting cases are sharing under a large Cases Joint Pavilion. The temperature of Shanghai was as high as 35 degree Celsius at the time of our visit. Fortunately, we escaped from the hot weather by staying indoors to see a great variety of exhibitions in the UBPA.

London low-carbon case pavilion

We enjoyed very much our touring in the UBPA. There were no crowds, and the environment was naturally refreshing. We went straight into almost every pavilion without lining up for admission. When we were seeing a queue of more than 15 people, we returned later to achieve a non-waiting admission. Comparing with our first visit experience to the UBPA in May, there were comparatively more people now in July. It is perhaps due to the fact that more people learn about the fast track system requirement in the visits of the UBPA.

We spent a whole day in the UBPA but still had not yet finished seeing the exhibitions in details. There were lots of information to feed our curious mind. Anyway, I had taken photographs on the display board information and would like to learn about them in the later days. Apart from the knowledge acquisition, we also enjoyed the delicious food in the UBPA. There are many restaurants serving gourmet food from various countries. The restaurants were not crowded at all. We took a Spanish dinner at the Madrid Case Pavilion. The food was absolutely gorgeous. After the dinner, we watched the spectacular lighting show which was run by the Rhone-Alpes Lighting Pavilion. And we watched the entertainment show run by the Bremen Town Musicians. What a wonderful relaxing time we had! If possible, we would like to visit the UBPA again. The UBPA is worth visiting. 

UBPA in the evening
 

Bremen Town Musicians Night Show at the UBPA

 

Tips to Bypass Long Queues at the Popular Pavilions Expo 2010 Shanghai

The sign of reservation machine

The organizer of the Shanghai Expo 2010 has developed a few systems in the effort to cut down long queues at the popular pavilions. The most famous scheme is to make an appointment for the admissions to the China Pavilion and five Theme Pavilions by drawing reservation tickets from the reservation machines. Locations of the reservation machines are marked on the Expo map which will be distributed to visitors at each entrance gate. The attached photograph shows the eight reservation machines between the food mall and Portugal Pavilion in the Europe Square near the Shibo Avenue MTR Station. Machines are protected by green covers in the evening when they are not in use. In the Expo park, signs are posted to show the direction to the reservation spots. Please note that the reservation machines under the elevated pedestrian walkway in South Xizang Road close to Entrance Gate 2 only serve for the Theme Pavilions but not the China Pavilion. One Expo ticket is entitled to book an appointment for one pavilion. Tickets for China Pavilion usually finish within 15 minutes in the early morning once the gates open. Admissions to the China Pavilion could also be arranged by the Shanghai local tour if people join an one-day tour to the Expo at 200 yuan including coach transport. Both the China Pavilion and Theme Pavilions are permanent projects. Their exhibitions, therefore, will be continued even after the closure of the Expo 2010.

Direction to the reservation machine

Appointments for the Pavilions of Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Portugal, and Sweden can be obtained via the pavilion reservation machines. The Macau Pavilion only allows admissions with appointments through their reservation machines. The ordinary queue channel is closed during daytime. People without an appointment voucher should attend the pavilion before 9:00pm when there are no more ticket holders. Reservation tickets for Sweden Pavilion allow attendees to play their huge slide as well. The two reservation machines outside the pavilion hand out tickets twice each day, with 600 at 09:30am and 200 at 5:00pm. If visitors miss the time slot which is issued on the ticket, they are not allowed to play the slide but still can get into the pavilion through the priority entrance.
The fast track system is another scheme to obtain reservation tickets, through the collection of stamps from the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA), for the admissions to some of the popular pavilions. For methods and procedures, please refer to my previous blogs dated June 12 and July 8, 2010. The fast track system was initially set up for the admissions to the China Pavilion and Saudi Arabia Pavilion. It, later on, also applied to the admissions to the Pavilions of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. However, the policy changed very recently. It now only serves for the China and Italy Pavilions. Offers for all other pavilions are suspended. This shows that the policy may change from time to time.

Reservation machine in Europe Squar

Fast channel admissions to the Spain Pavilion are granted to those who visit the Spanish Cases in the UBPA of Puxi. After the collection of a total of 3 stamps from the Cases of Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao in the UBPA, attendees have a reward to enter the Spain National Pavilion through the priority channel.  Stamps have to be chopped on the souvenir Expo passport. VIP admissions to the Spain Pavilion had once been offered to the customers who took dinners at the restaurant in the Spain Pavilion at Zone C. However, the policy has just been changed. The VIP admission is now granted to those who purchase a bottle of Spanish wine. VIP access to the Finland Pavilion is offered to the customers who hold the Finnair frequent-flyer membership card or a recent Finnair boarding card.

One may bypass the long queues by making online appointments. Online bookings are available for the admissions to the:
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. general Motors (SAIG-GM) Pavilion at Zone E (www.gmexpo2010.com) - available in Chinese language only
State Grid Pavilion at Zone D (www.magicbox2010.com) - available in Chinese language only
Shanghai Corporate Joint Pavilion at Zone D (www.expo2010scp.com)
Requested information for the online form includes Expo ticket numbers and mobile phone numbers.

The Portugal reservation machine

Reservations tickets for the Shanghai Corporate Joint Pavilion can also be obtained via phone booking by sending SMS to 106575255111 or calling (8621) 55356688 during 9 to 5 office hours. The Finland Pavilion allows phone bookings. One should send a text 85401 plus targeted time slot to the number 1066666620 (e.g. 584010930 for the time slot 09:30am.) A return message will tell whether or not the time slot is available for booking. If available, one should send a second message 01 plus time slot (e.g. 01 + 0930 for the time slot 09:30am). A reservation code will be returned upon successful booking.

During the period from August 22 to 28, visitors can cut in line for the admissions to the Netherlands Pavilion if they purchase a special Green Transport Card at 40 yuan (US$5.85). The card is issued by the Expo organizer, and half of the income will be donated for planting trees in an attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The Pavilions of Spain, Norway, Luxembourg, USA, and Brazil now consider offering fast access to the card holders in September. The sale point of the card is at "We are the Family" Pavilion in Zone C.

People who register with the official Expo online visits will automatically enroll in the lucky draw for the admissions to some of the popular pavilions. The assigned pavilions may vary from time to time. For example, those who visit the virtual USA Pavilion online today (August 13, 2010) between 10:00am and 2:00pm will be entered for the lucky draw to win a fast access to the real USA Pavilion with a free meal at the Pavilion's VIP room.

Some of the national pavilions give priorities to their citizens. Priority accesses to the France Pavilion are granted to the visitors holding a valid French passport. Similarly, the Canadian can go straight into the Canada Pavilion through the priority channel. There are many ways that you could bypass the long queues. Keep an eye on the update information from the official Expo website.

Recommended Expo Entrance Route - Less Walking and Less Exposure to Sunlight

Map showing the way to Expo Gate 9

Today, August 8, 2010, marks the 100th day of the World Exposition 2010 since its opening in Shanghai. As to date, the total accumulated numbers of visitors have exceeded 37 millions. With a huge amount of visitor flow each day, many people are keen to identify the easiest route for Expo entries. Which is the easiest access entrance gate? Which gate is the one with the least numbers of people waiting? Which gate saves visitors' energy in walking? Which gate provides more shades? In addition to the entrance gate information that I have written on June 16, 2010, I am going to provide you with the update condition that I have experienced.  

Expo Entrance Gate 9

On the first day of our arrival at Shanghai in the July visit, we planned to go to the Expo in the evening on the same day. We traveled to the Madang Road MTR station via Metro Line 9. To get change to the Metro Line 13 which only serves for the Expo site, we had to go through Expo Entrance Gate 9 on the ground level. Please refer to the map from the attached photo that I had taken from the signboard at the Madang Road Metro Station. After we had got out of the underground, we walked along a street without any shades for about 15 minutes to reach Expo Gate 9. The sunlight was still strong even though it had already been 5 o'clock in the late afternoon. Fortunately, there were only a few visitors waiting for the security check at Gate 9. The waiting area was empty, and there were cooling mists released from the top of the shelters to lower the temperature of the environment. Please refer to the video below. After we had passed Gate 9, we went straight to the underground (Line 13). Getting off the train at the Shibo Avenue Station, we reached Zone C of Expo Pudong section. Due to the distance walk for the link of Metro Line 9 and 13, I personally won't put this route as a first priority for recommendations. However, if people would like to go to the southeast of Zone C or west of Zone B, this route facilitates their traveling. 

The area in front of Entrance Gate 8

As mentioned in my previous blog dated June 16, 2010, the Expo Entrance Gate 8, Houtan Road, receives the greatest number of visitors each day. The distance between the Houtan Metro Station and Expo Entrance Gate 8 is around 20 minutes walk, and there are not any shades. Due to the availability of the free shuttle bus for the connection of the Metro station with the Expo gate, visitors can save their energy for the walk. However, if you go there during peak hours, you may need to spend tremendous time in queuing for the shuttle bus. We didn't meet crowds of people as we reached there at 11:00am. In the waiting area of the gate, there are more shades, and there are more pipes delivering cooling mists. After passing through the gate, visitors need to take a 15-minute walk across a large square to reach the nearest pavilion or shuttle bus stop. There are not any shades in the square.This route may have more chance to expose to sunlight. However, if people will target to go to Zone C for the European National Pavilions, this is the fastest route.

Pedestrian walkway Entrance Gate 2

We have tried various admission routes. Among all, I prefer going via Expo Entrance Gate 2 because it is just located by the side of the South Xizang Road Metro Station. This saves visitors' energy for the walk from the metro station to the Expo entrance. Visitor flow is comparatively small at this entrance as this is the Puxi section of less interest to visitors. When we reached this gate at 09:00am, the peak hour, there were not many people waiting for the security check. Therefore, we quickly passed the gate. After getting into the Expo site, we walked for less than 15 minutes under the shades on the elevated pedestrian walkway to reach the shuttle bus stop. One of the bus routes goes within the area of Puxi. Another bus route goes to Pudong via the cross-river tunnel. We got onto the cross-river bus, and it took 6 minutes to reach the first stop at Pudong. This stop is sited in the area behind the Japan Pavilion. Out of our expectation, this bus route is quick and convenient. If we took the ferry, we would at least wait for half an hour. The bus continues going along the Shibo Avenue in where many popular pavilions can be accessed. I find this route with the least walking distance to reach our targeted pavilions. This route is the one with least exposure to sunlight. Therefore, Expo Entrance Gate 2 is my recommendation.

Expo Entrance Gate 9, Madang Road, with release of cooling mists to lower the temperature of the environment

Flying in the Latvia Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai

Latvia Pavilion night view

Hey! Can you fly? Yes, you may have the chance to fly in the Latvia Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai.Through the glass wall of the vertical wind tunnel of the Latvia Pavilion, I saw two men fly freely and happily (see video below). They looked rather like the astronauts flying, springing, tumbling, looping, and skydiving in the air. It is amazing and fantastic. This is the Technology of Happiness designed in Latvia by Aerodium. It is specifically developed for the Shanghai Expo 2010 with the application of advanced technology. The show of the Technology of Happiness lasts 30 minutes, and the capacity for audience is about 400 persons.

The outlook of the Latvia Pavilion is unique and pretty. The external wall is covered with 100,000 pieces of transparent plastic plates with the size of 15 square centimeters each. When the breeze is blowing, the plates flutter and shimmer. The majority of the plastic plates are in silver color. In between, there are red, yellow, orange, blue, and green plates to symbolize the beautiful nature such as land, wind, sky, forest, and ocean. At the entrance of the pavilion, there is a spiral staircase leading to the top floor. This represents human's continuous effort in moving life to a better level.

Entrance to the Latvia Pavilion

There are three levels in the pavilion. The first floor is a Latvia souvenir shop and cafe. When I was sitting in the cafe to finish my lunch, I on and off heard some vibrating noises coming from the above. It sounded like an airplane engine. At that time, I knew nothing about the pavilion. What was inside? After the pavilion visit, I recognized that it was the engine from the base of the wind tunnel. The second floor of the pavilion is mainly a platform on where the lucky visitors prepare themselves for flying. Here they receive instructions and training, sign the required legal forms, change into Aerodium outfits, put on helmets, and prepare to go upstairs to the wind tunnel. The third floor of the pavilion is the exhibition hall in where the show is conducted. The vertical wind tunnel which is surrounded by circular glass walls stands at the center of the hall. There is a glass door. By the side of the door, there is a control room with machines and buttons.  But we didn't see anybody there throughout the period of the show. In the outer area of the tunnel, there is an one-meter high barrier to avoid visitors getting too close to the glass wall. Outside the glass wall, there is staircase going down to the lower level. This also acts as the entrance from where the performers come up to the stage. On the floor of the tunnel, there is a large cushion for preventions of injuries.

Top of the vertical wind tunnel

Apart from the vertical wind tunnel, there are interactive computers hanging on the walls of the exhibition hall. This allows visitor participation. Visitors can learn something about Latvia from the slide shows. After watching the Technology of Happiness, I continued staying in the hall. Nobody asked me to leave the pavilion. Therefore, I watched the Technology of Happiness again. I took lots of videos. However, the reflected glare, as caused by the afternoon sunshine, on the glass wall had led to a mild defect on the videos.

The Latvia Pavilion is rather small, but its design is unique. I spent half an half in queuing for the Latvia Pavilion during the afternoon peak hours, but I obtained more than I had expected. Not many people would have noticed that such a small pavilion of a small country would give you a stunning reward. After the visit to the Latvia Pavilion, I am interested to learn more about this country which was out of my knowledge. The Latvia Pavilion has successfully built up a good image for its country. I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciations to the Latvia Pavilion. The Technology of Happiness is brilliant and wonderful. Spectators, however, hadn't clapped their hands because everybody was holding a camera or video recorder in hands. Instead, there were excited voices of joy.

Latvia vertical wind tunnel

How can people experience the Technology of Happiness?

Go to the third floor of the Latvia Pavilion. Fill out some basic personal data by logging onto the interactive computer. Answer some questions about Latvia. You will immediately find out whether or not you have been chosen to try out the Technology of Happiness. You need a little bit of luck to have the chance to fly in the vertical wind tunnel. I didn't see any visitor participation in the wind tunnel flying during my visit to the Latvia Pavilion. I believe that there are time zone limits for visitor experiences. Furthermore, I don't know whether or not the activity will be suspended due to overcrowd visits during summer holiday.

Latvia's Technology of Happiness

Latvia's Technology of Happiness

Where to buy Shanghai Expo Tickets

Expo Volunteer Service on the street

It is easy to make inquiries about Expo 2010 while staying in Shanghai. Expo information services supported by volunteers are available in high streets, Metro Stations, and China Mobile shops of Shanghai city center. Inquires in English language could be made via the Shanghai Call by dialing 962288 from any landline or local mobile phones in Shanghai. The 24-hour hotline, Shanghai Call, is operated by China Telecom, and staff could handle with ticket sales, licensed products, site tours, and complaints. Besides, inquiry services provided by China Mobile are also available in English language at 12580. The official Expo hotline at +86-21-962010 provides services in 12 languages including English, French, and Japanese, etc.

Expo tickets

Upon arrival at Shanghai city on our first day, we obtained ticketing information from the Expo Volunteer Service Counter (see attached photo). The 3-day admission tickets can only be purchased from the Bank of Communication. Since it was already in the afternoon at the time of our inquiry, the 3-day admission tickets had already been sold out in the nearby branch. We had to travel to the official point of sales running by the Bank of Communication located at Number 80, Nanjing East Road (see attached photo). This is about 10 minutes walk from the Nanjing East Road Metro Station. All sorts of tickets, except the evening tickets, are always available in this sales point with closure at 4:30pm each day. The standard single day admission tickets  are for sale at various places in Shanghai including selective local supermarkets, convenience stores, or on-site sales points. For the evening tickets, people can only obtain them from the sales points at the entrances to the Expo site. For prices and classifications of tickets, please refer to my previous blog dated May 4, 2010. Apart from local sales, overseas visitors can purchase tickets via authorized travel agents in their countries. 

Please be reminded that the Standard Tickets cannot be used during the period between October, 1 and 7, 2010 (National Day Holiday) as well as between  October 25 and 30, 2010 (the last week before the closure of the Expo). People have to use Peak Day Tickets instead. Although it is now more than 2 months before October, sales for the Peak Day tickets are very tight. Admission tickets for the Expo closure on October 31, 2010 have already been sold out. It is not sure whether or not there are any more sales. Tickets for October 30 are temporarily out of stock. There are limited number of tickets left for October 1.

Official point of sales for Expo tickets

 

Shanghai Hotel Accommodations Close to Expo Gate 2

People who would like to visit Expo 2010 always ask questions regarding Shanghai hotel accommodations. Based on my personal experience, I could only tell something about the hotels in where we stayed recently. Please refer to my previous blogs dated July 18 and July 27, 2010. We had been to Shanghai a number of times. For the hotels in where we stayed years ago, I would not mention them because the information might be out of date. In my impression, it is not difficult to get a room reservation. Hotel accommodations seem to be sufficiently supplied during the Expo period in Shanghai. Room charges are reasonable. Hotel accommodations in China are generally inexpensive when comparing to those in many other countries.

We greatly enjoyed our visits to the Expo 2010. When we were passing through Gate 2 of the Expo site, we spotted a few hotels/ motels nearby. They are located opposite to or by the side of Gate 2, South Xizang Road, in Puxi. Please refer to the following photographs of the mentioned hotels. They are estimated to be within 5 to 15 minutes walk from Expo Gate 2 as well as the South Xizang Road Metro Station. It is convenient as of Expo visits. However, I know nothing about the qualities of these hotels.

I believe that there should be more hotels located in the area close to Expo Gate 2, but we didn't see them. If people would like to stay in a hotel within a walking distance to the Expo site, these hotels may be of good choices. Puxi is an old residential area at the west side of the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The gates at the Expo Puxi Section apparently are comparatively close to the residential area than those at the Pudong Section. Pudong is a newly developed area with better city planning. Roads are large and wide. Therefore, the distance between the Expo Pudong Gates and residential areas could be far apart. It may take a long time for travelers to walk from their hotels to the gates, even though the hotels may claim that they are close to the Expo gates. 

We spotted a small hotel outside Expo Gate 2

There is a hotel behind the gate

This is the hotel of the previous photo. The name of the hotel could now be identified.

This is another hotel opposite to Expo Gate 2

The hotel is estimated to be within 15 minutes away from Expo Gate 2

The hotel is estimated to be within 15 minutes away from Expo Gate 2

Note: These hotels may have other branches using the same names located at different sites of Shanghai.

Comparisons between Shanghai Marvel Hotel and Renaissance Shanghai Putuo Hotel

Shanghai Marvel Hotel room view

We stayed in the Renaissance Shanghai Putuo Hotel in our previous visit to the Expo 2010 in May. The Renaissance is a 5-star grand hotel located in the Putuo district. The room in where we were staying was super deluxe (Please refer to the photographs in my previous blog dated July 18, 2010 entitled "Going to Shanghai Expo again"). The hotel is brand new just opened this May. The Langao  Station of Metro Line 7  is just located opposite to the hotel. This is 9 stops away from the Houtan Station for the access to the Expo site through Gate 8. Metro Line 7 can also take visitors directly to the Changqing Road Station, Yaohua Road Station, and West Gaoke Road Station for the access to the Expo Gate 7, 6, and 5 respectively. The only deficit of the Renaissance Shanghai Putuo Hotel is that there is a lack of shopping facilities nearby.

Shanghai Marvel Hotel room view

This time, we stayed in the Shanghai Marvel Hotel which is located right in the heart of the city, opposite to the People's Square. The hotel is surrounded by many popular shopping arcades and transport links Number 1, 2, and 8 Metro Lines. The Metro station, Daishiji, is just located next to the hotel. Metro Line 8 goes directly to the Expo site stopping either at South Xizang Road Station to reach Expo Gate 2 or Yaohua Road station to reach Expo Gate 6. There are only two stops between Daishiji and South Xizang Road Stations. Starting my journey from the Marvel Hotel at 08:40am, I reached the Expo  Entrance Gate 2 at 09:00am. The Marvel Hotel is close to many famous tourist spots such as the Bund, Yu Garden, and Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street. The hotel is also not far away from the Yan'an Road Sub-River Tunnel going across the river to Pudong.

Shanghai Marvel Hotel bathroom view

The Marvel Hotel previously was the building of YMCA which was built in 1929. Therefore, it is also named as Marvel YMCA Hotel. It is now a heritage building with modern interior facilities. The building was fully renovated early this year. Therefore, we did not feel anything old inside the hotel. The room was quite nice, spacious and comfortable. The bathroom is completely separated from the sitting area (See attached photos and video). Complimentary broadband internet access is available in the room.

When comparing with the Renaissance Shanghai Putuo Hotel, the 4-star Marvel Hotel charges less and is more convenient. Just outside the Marvel Hotel, an Expo Volunteer Counter is available on the street. If you target for the Expo visit, the Marvel Hotel may be a good choice. However, if you would like to enjoy a peaceful and super comfortable environment, you may consider the Renaissance Shanghai Putuo Hotel. We like both of them.

The lobby of Shanghai Marvel Hotel

Shanghai Marvel Hotel - Room view

Hotel Planner

Transportation from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Downtown

Mobile phone vending machine

Many people asked as how to form their own tours to the world exposition in Shanghai. In this post, I am going to write more details about our journey to reach Shanghai city center.

On July 19, 2010, we took Cathay Pacific CX368 which departed Hong Kong at 08:55am and landed Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 11:30am. On arrival, we immediately felt the atmosphere of Expo 2010. There were propaganda and there was an Expo Mascot Haibao cartoon welcoming us. The way getting through the immigration gate was quick as there were quite a large number of check-out points. Disposable mobile phone vending machines, Expo volunteer service, transport information machine, and tourist information center are available in the arrival hall. 

Expo Volunteers

There are several options for visitors to travel from Pudong Airport to Shanghai downtown. Apart from 10 airport bus lines, Maglev Trains and Subway Trains are in services. It takes only 8 minutes for the Meglev Train to run from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Longyang Road station. The service operates at an interval of 15 to 20 minutes starting from 06:45am to 09:40pm every day. The charge is CNY50. From Longyang Road Station, visitors can transfer to Metro Line 2 which passes through many of Shanghai's popular locations (See MTR map below). For a trip from Longyang Road Station to city center, the taxi fare is estimated to be over CNY100. We experienced the Meglev Train ride about 2 years ago, and I forgot the taxi fare for the connection. The fare could be even higher if there is a traffic jam. Traffic jam is common in Shanghai during peak hours.

Apart from the Meglev Train, travelers can also take Metro Line 2 located between Terminal 1 and 2 at the Pudong Airport. The Metro Line service is much cheaper (CNY9 for the entire journey), but it takes longer time, perhaps an hour, to reach downtown hotels.  In addition, it needs to get change to the main branch Metro Line 2 at Guanglan Road Station (See MTR map below).

Shanghai Pudong International Airport

We decided to take taxi for transportation to city center. The taxi stand is just outside the arrival hall of the airport. There were only a few passengers waiting for the taxi at the time of our arrival. Our destination was Marvel Hotel which is located right in the center of Shanghai, opposite to the People's Square. The 35-minutes journey cost us CNY168. On the way, we saw a new railway station under construction, and we spotted the Oriental Pearl Tower in the far distance. The 2010 Expo site then appeared from far to close views. Indeed, we were approaching towards the Expo direction. As our taxi was up on a highway, we could only see the magnificent China Pavilion which was high enough to catch our sights. We also spotted Australia Pavilion because it just sat beside the highway. Indeed, we were on the flyover going across the Expo site. Going ahead, our taxi passed through the Lupu Bridge which connects Pudong and Puxi over the Huangpu River. When we caught sight of the Expo Puxi section, we couldn't identify the pavilions because most pavilions were not very high and the taxi ran very fast. By the time we arrived at Marvel Hotel, it was 12:40pm. 

Shanghai Metro Line Map

(Click to enlarge the map)