Shanghai World Expo 2010

[PJ]

So, has anyone been to it? Feel free to share tips for future travelers.

I went for one evening. I believe after dark is the best time to see the grounds, as the lights displays are fantastic. It's extremely modern and digital with big LCD screens being the prominent method of information display.

The most popular pavilion seems to be Saudi Arabia. Up to 8 hours of wait and thousands people in line at any given time.

Anyone been to the China pavilion? Was it the best?

I recommend the "China provinces" pavilion, near the China pavilion. It's huge, features highlights of every region in China, and had no wait when I went.

p.s.
When I went in early June, it was very crowded. Even the least crowded pavilions were full of people. Every pavilion was like Times Square, and you have to push your way to move around, which can greatly hinder your enjoyment. I don't even want to imagine what the more crowded pavilions are like. I don't recommend going now; wait till the summer peak time is over. September or October might be good time to go.

Cheap tickets: Shanghai residents and many nearby city residents were given free Expo tickets by the government and their company, but have no interest in attending. They will sell their tickets to you for cheaper. You can save money buying from local residents.

[Lady Zhuge]

I'm going in October, though certain times during that month are also expected to be crowded (during National Day break and right before the Expo ends).

[PJ]

By the way, I think the American pavilion is one of the WORST, if not the relative worst, this year. Do see it for a laugh.

I heard America even didn't have the $$ to pay for their pavilion due to economic crisis, so China paid for them. !!!!

[yittz]

I've been about 1 month ago. 400,000/day = waiting lines.

My suggestion: fk Saudi Arabia it's a waste of time. China Pavilion and Taiwan pavilion worth the wait.

Personally I recommend nearly all the ones on PuXi, ie the west side with all the corporate ones - the corporate and city cases. I would also try and see all the theme ones too. They have shorter waiting times, and better things to show case.

If I was to do it again, I would wake up really early on one of the days, go get china pavilion tickets and collect taiwan tickets. Spend the rest of the day on the 3 theme pavilions there, see China Taiwan and the provinces, and squeeze in a cultural centre performance. Day 2 and 3 I would spend purely on the west side, do the two themes. Corporate pavilions I recommend are Petroleum, Ship, Japan, Air, State grid, Car, telecommunications. Except for aurora, all is pretty good. City cases I would visit if you have time.

Do not waste time lining up for a 15min movie with Saudi Arabia.

[PJ]

I've been about 1 month ago.

I also went a month ago. We could have brushed shoulders!!

[yittz]

which pavilions did you see?

btw no amount of planning will guarantee you will see the pavilions you want to see

[PJ]

I went inside Iraq, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and China Provinces. I spent most time walking and enjoying the outside atmosphere.

[milKBoi]

My parents went.

[Guo Xiang]

I wish I could go. :O

I also heard that Singapore's mascot is a durian (wtf)...

[Ho_Nam]

I went inside Iraq, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and China Provinces. I spent most time walking and enjoying the outside atmosphere.

Man...how the heck did you get to travel to so many different places? I'm jealous.

I would love to visit Shanghai and hopefully get to see "The Bund" lol

[Lady Zhuge]

I went to the Expo for 3 days very recently. The major pavilions I visited included China, Japan, and Korea. I also went inside most of the South and Central America pavilions. If I had one more day, I would have tried to see more of Europe and Africa. Surprisingly, Saudi Arabia consistently had one of the longest wait times - someone told us one of the reasons is because you get a free Rubik's Cube. Seriously?! But honestly, the long lines were so not worth it - we learned that lesson on day one after waiting for hours and hours to see Japan and Korea. On the second and third days, we just visited the pavilions with no or very short lines and walked around the Expo site, enjoying the environment and architecture. Checking out the various crafts for sale from different countries was also pretty fun.

[mi do ri]

I wish I have the money to go there and see it without having to sacrifice something else. So are they planning to keep the expo for as long as they could like the Eiffel tower or just this year?

[Lady Zhuge]

I wish I have the money to go there and see it without having to sacrifice something else. So are they planning to keep the expo for as long as they could like the Eiffel tower or just this year?

This Expo will wrap up at the end of October (only one more week to go!), but the China Pavilion will remain a permanent fixture in Shanghai. The next Expo will be in Yeosu, Korea in 2012.