Transport, parking, food and other essential facts

expolnTransport:
More than 100 free shuttle buses will drive visitors from pavilion to pavilion and 70 ferries will carry them across the Huangpu River. Visitors will be able to find a shuttle bus station every 300 meters and buses will roll by every three minutes. Visitors will be able to stop and board anywhere for a fee on eight-seat, golf cart-like vehicles.

Reservations:
Visitors will be able to reserve a pavilion viewing daily at 22 reservation machines at the Expo Site. A ticket will advise when they are to enter the pavilion and when to leave.

Visitor services:
Fifty-four visitor centers will provide services including information, emergency medical service, baggage checks, lost and found, lost children areas, complaint counters and aid for the physically challenged.

Eating areas:
Forty buildings for restaurants will enable an eating spot within a five-minute walk from anywhere on the site. The restaurants plan to offer more than 300,000 Chinese and Western meals a day. Prices will be no more expensive than those outside the site.

Banned items:
Water and other drinks, lighters and pets will be banned at the entrance. The organizer will issue a notice on any other banned articles before the opening of the Expo.

Parking lots:
The organizer will build 19 parking lots near the Expo entrances, with capacity for 4,000 buses and 1,400 cars.

How to get there:
Visitors will be able to take six Metro lines — No. 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 13, which is known as the Expo Special Line — to the site.

ATM:
Twenty-five ATM machine will be set up. An EFTPOS machine will be available at all the stores.

Post office:
The Expo site will have eight post offices.

A cleaner way

Expo BusPeople will see the world’s most advanced technologies and green ideas in action next year, not only inside the pavilions at the Shanghai World Expo, but also on the roads outside. More than 500 newenergy, zero-emission vehicles will take visitors round the more than 200 pavilions on the 5.28-squaremeter site. The Expo theme is “Better City, Better Life” but some are calling it the “Olympics of Science and Economy.” Today, World Car Free Day, the organizer will officially announce details of plans for Expo transport. Green-energy vehicles to be used at Expo will include zero-emission super-capacitor buses, fuel-cell vehicles and electric buses, said Gan Pin, manager of SAIC’s new energy automobile department, a global partner of the world fair. About 36 super-capacitor buses and 300 electric buses will serve as free shuttle transport for Expo visitors.

The super capacitor buses have advantages in high power output, long lifespan and fast charging. Electricity to power them for 100 kilometers costs just 70 yuan (US$10) compared to more than 200 yuan for conventional fueldriven vehicles. The electric bus features a combination of super capacitors and fuel cells. Buses can change batteries when needed at stations around the Expo site. Mechanical arms at certain stops will change batteries automatically within 10 minutes and visitors will be able to observe the process in action. There will be about 100 hydrogen fuel-cell tour buses with eight seats, rather like large golf carts, which will take visitors on the elevated pedestrian way that links different pavilions. Fees will apply for the tour buses.

Another 90 hydrogen fuel-cell cars will be used at the Expo Site to transport VIP guests. These vehicles are low-noise and free of carbon dioxide. They get their power from the combination of hydrogen and oxygen, and water is the only emission. Five hundred low-emission vehicles, including hybrid buses, will be used in areas surrounding the Expo Site. After the Expo is over, most of the new-energy buses will continue to be used for public transport around the site. In 2018, more than 20 percent of the world’s vehicles will use green energies, said Hu Maiyuan, president of the SAIC.

Most popular
Expo BusHu said the Expo would accelerate the industrialization of new-energy vehicles in China and they would be manufactured on a large scale after the 2010 event. He said electric vehicles would be the most popular of all newenergy vehicles. The biggest problem with the electric bus was its huge cost, he said, with each electric bus costing more than 2 million yuan. “The Expo will also be a trial operation of the buses before being promoted to other areas of the city,” he added. The number of hybrid vehicles will also increase after the Shanghai event, Gan said. Shanghai will have about 4,000 Hybrid Vehicle being used as buses in three years. Apart from the huge boost to the development of new-energy vehicles, the Expo will also upgrade the city’s long-criticized traffic system. With the Expo expecting 70 million visitors, traffic in the city will see a sharp increase.

According to a survey from Australia CPA, a professional accounting body, about 45 percent of experts from various fields from the mainland and Hong Kong think traffic congestion will be the biggest obstacle facing the Expo, followed by 40 percent who saw the environment as the main drawback to a successful event. It will be difficult to adopt the odd-even system of number plates used at last year’s Beijing Olympics to ease traffic congestion during the event, said Lawrence Lau, president of the Australia CPA Shanghai Committee.

However, the city government is sparing no efforts. It is constantly improving the public transport network in the city and encouraging people to reduce the use of private cars. “Visitors will be able to reach the Expo Site within one hour from anywhere in the city and gain entry to the Site within 20 seconds using an advanced entry system at the Expo gates,” the city government said in its Environmental Report for Expo 2010 Shanghai released in June. Before Expo 2010 begins, Shanghai will have completed 400 kilometers of Metro lines, 300 kilometers of special public transport lanes and 84 public transport hubs

The Metro lines in the site will take over 50 percent of the passenger flow to the site. Shuttle buses will take 35 percent while 10 percent of passengers will take ferries to enter the site. Metro Line 13 has been designed as a special line for the Expo. Five ferry routes and four surface transport lines have been designed as auxiliary lines. At the same time, many parking lots will be constructed around the Expo Park, especially for local buses, longdistance shuttles and special Expo cars. During parking lot construction, ecological and environmental protection requirements will be adopted and photo-catalyst technology will be adopted to degrade vehicle exhausts. sports car rental Miami

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Muay Thai – History

Muay ThaiAlready in the 13th century. in the territory of present-day Thailand, there art of fighting with bare hands and feet – May B juice. Later, with the establishment of the State Ayutthaya (Siam), a new martial art – pahuyut (literally “multilateral engagement”), which, over time, also known as “Muay Thai.” Muay Thai is widespread in Ayutthaya. Outstanding men enrolled in the Royal Guard and assign a title of nobility. Muay Thai necessarily trained princes of the blood and aristocrats. For a long time, it has evolved as a system of hard-hand combat. Warrior who has mastered techniques of Muay Thai, to successfully continue the fight, even having lost weapons.

Legendary warrior Nai Khanom Tom is considered the “patron” of Thai boxing. During the war with Burma in 1774, he was captured. In Burmese there own martial art – Parma. King of Burma mangroves decided to arrange a duel between Thai boxers and masters of Parma, to find out what art is stronger. Nai Kham Tom fought one by one with ten Burmese craftsmen without interruption. Won all ten bouts, he received his freedom and returned home a national hero. Until now, every year on March 17 in Thailand are “Boxing Night”: across the country are held in honor of the legendary battle of the warrior.

In 1788, representatives of the muay thai thailand first met in the ring with the Europeans. Two masters of French boxing, traveling in Thailand, Thai King asked permission to spend a duel with local fighters. Senior instructor of the Ministry of Defence of Thailand Muen Master Plan to the challenge and defeated two rivals.

Thailand took part in the First World War on the side of the Entente. It was at this time, information about Thai boxing began to penetrate well into Europe. The poorly armed Thai impressed by its European allies physical preparation and excellent skills of unarmed combat.

In 1921, during the reign of King Rama VI, Muay Thai was developed as a sport. General Phraya Nonsen Surendra Pandey on behalf of King organized in one of the colleges of Bangkok Center for Muay Thai. In 1929 he was taken to “modernize” the rules. (Muay Thai and is now considered one of the toughest martial arts at a time when death or serious bodily harm to a soldier during a fight were common.) Excavation site was replaced with a ring size 6ґ6 meters, shielded cables. The match was limited to 5 rounds of 3 minutes with a minute breaks (first match lasted so long until one of the opponents did not lose the ability to continue the fight.) Instead of the traditional leather straps that soldiers bandaged hands, introduced boxing gloves. Foot protection is not provided, but the rules allowed bandaged leg and lifting the foot. Were introduced seven weight classes (before division by weight classes in Muay Thai does not exist).

In the mid-1960s in Europe and the United States began the real boom of Thai boxing. It was then that the representatives of the Muay Thai invite other martial arts fight them. The call was kekushinkay karate master (see karate). The historic match took place February 17, 1966 in Bangkok. On each side participated in 3 athletes. The final score was 2-1 in favor of the masters kekushinkay karate. Nevertheless, they appreciated the Muay Thai and adopted by some of its members.

In 1984 was founded the International Amateur Muay Thai Federation (IAMTF). To date, it includes regional organizations more than 70 countries, is the largest association of amateur Muay Thai. In parallel, there are organizations which are professional fights. With the popularity of Muay Thai all over the world, many professional kickboxing league (see kickboxing) switched to Thai boxing and its European version – taykikboksing.

Seven-time world champion in full contact and renowned actor Chuck Norris calls the Muay Thai “sport of the 21st century.” Currently taking steps to recognize it an Olympic sport.

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Business brisk for sellers of fake Haibaos and souvenirs

fake haibaosI know I bought a fake Haibao, but I don’t care, it’s just a souvenir and is much cheaper,” a tourist surnamed Wang from China’s Sichuan Province said. She just paid 15 yuan (US$2.19) to buy a 30-centimeter-tall Haibao doll, the mascot of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, in a store in the city’s Yuyuan Garden for her son. An authentic Haibao doll of thesame size is 95 yuan in the official Expo souvenir shops and the price is the same across the country. The woman’s five year old son held the big doll with a smile on his face. He shouted “Haibao, Haibao,” but he might not know that it’s not really the Expo 2010 mascot. It is a lighter blue in color and fatter than the real mascot.

More people, especially children, have come to recognize the mascot and tourists buy Haibao toys as souvenirs. But an increasingly number of stores are selling counterfeit Haibao dolls. On Nanjing Road Pedestr ian Mall, one of the most crowded commercial areas of the city, street peddlers brazenly lay out their stalls selling fake Haibao toys in front of the largest licensed Expo souvenir flagship store of the city. In People’s Square, peddlers divide their fake Expo products into two parts and tell passers by seriously. “The five-yuan Haibao doll is fake, don’t buy them , but the 15 yuan one is absolut elyauthentic. ”Yuyuan Garden area, a tourist destination as well as one of the largest small commodity whole saling markets in the city, has the largest number of stores selling fake Haibao toys.

Almost one in every two stores displays Haibao dolls hanging in the shop fronts. The fake Haibao dolls are quite popular. About 1,000 dolls can be sold on average every day, a store keeper near the garden said proudly. But when being asked where the dolls come from, she became cautious and refused to answer. Her store is only 10 square meters but within three minutes, she solda 15-yuan Haibao doll and a thre eyuan Haibao key ring.

But the licensed stores in the same area can only sell no more than 100 Haibao dolls every day, said Zhang Mingyi, manager of a licensed Expo souvenir shop in the garden. The fake item stores have great Business brisk for sellers of fake Haibaos and souvenirs Expopedia Expopedia impact on the business of the licensed shops. Zhang said his store opened in May and was the first store selling Expo products in the Yuyuan Garden area. The sales volume was about 10,000 yuan every day at that time, but dropped dramatically to only 3,000 yuan as more and more fake Haibao stores showed up. A sales woman surnamed Shi in Expo’s Nanjing Road flagship store said sales had decreased by more than 30 percent because of the peddlers in front of their store. “The city’s departments should crack down on these stores, not only to protect us but also to avoid buyers being fooled,” Zhang said. Continue reading

Expo! Expo! See all about it!

expo2010The city’s exhibition center for World Expo Shanghai 2010 has opened on Huaihai Road M., featuring frequent updates in Expo preparation during the two-year countdown. It will be running until the six month Expo opens on May 1,2010. Organizers expect more than 1 million people to visit the 1,000 square meter display on the third floor ofthe Hong Kong New World Tower. It opens daily from 9am to 6pm. Reservations are required at least three days in advance. Tours will be conducted in both Chinese and English. To date, 205 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the Expo 22 of them have signed formal contracts. The new Expo display, which opened on May 1, features the history of World Expos, international and China memorabilia from Expos and updates on participants, pavilions, planning and infrastructure.

The designs for national pavilions will be displayed as they are released. One of the oldest bricks from the Great Wall, from Hebei Province, is displayed it was first exhibited with nine others at the 1982 World Expo in Knoxville in the southern US state of Tennessee. A replica of a famous Maotai liquor bottle will be displayed. The original was smashed in 1915 in San Francisco at the Panama Pacific International Exposition to attract drinkers with its powerful fumes. It worked. That Guizhou Province liquor is internationally renowned today and won a gold medal at the exhibit. The Shanghai show is similar to, but more extensive and richer than, the Expo touring exhibition that opened at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center to markthe 1,000 day countdown last August. It is filled with multimedia information and interactive displays. National flags line the walkway to the entrance. “The colorful entrance marks a grand gathering of all nations. Perhaps only at the United Nations can we see a similar scene, ” said Yu Li, chief planner of the exhibition. He praised Hebei and Guizhou provinces for their brick and Maotai contributions.

The Thomas Edison gramophone that was unveiled at the 1989 World’s Fair in Paris will be on display. “People had to wait three hours to see the gramophone almost 120 years ago, now it’s just a touch away, ” said Yu.A 180 degree screen shows promotional videos for the event. Vicente Loscertales, secretary general of the International Expositions Bureau, congratulated organizers in a letter, saying “Shanghai organizers are marking an important step in the communication process and significantly contributing to one of the main objectives of the exhibition, education of the public.” “This exhibition center will create the necessary bridge between 2010 Expo Shanghai and civil society, ”he said. “It will constitute an important platform for communication. Continue reading

Wisdom of the ancient

wisdom of ancientsWhen people see thei conic China Pavilion draped in red cloth and formed in the ancient Chinese dougong architectural style at the Shanghai World Expo site, most will be curious about what will be exhibited inside the huge and fancy structure. The pavilion is at first glance a very obviously Chinese structure. When the Chinese red veil is lifted, it will reveal a complex structure that celebrates a diverse range of traditional Chinese elements, including architecture, calligraphy, gardening and urban planning. However, the inside will be full of modern elements. Visitors will be able to ride in a cable car, watch a movie directed by young Chinese director Lu Chuan and view a multimedia display of a top national treasure painting. The exhibition will tell a Chinese story about a “city” and a “search.” The theme will be the “Search ofthe East” looking for the wisdom that the ancient Chinese used to tackle urban problems, the design team for the inner exhibition of the pavilion revealed when it unveiled the exhibition plan in Shanghai last Thursday. The three story China Pavilion will have a “Footprint of the East” main section on the top story, a “Journey of Wisdom” area on the second story and a “Blossoming City” area on the ground. The main exhibition area will be its upper section. Visitors will first be taken to the 8,500 squaremeter section on top of the pavilion by lifts

They will watch a film directed by Lu, a 10-minute movie displaying the evolution of Chinese cities, especially in the past 30 years. It will be shown in a 600 seat theater. “The movie will be edited to create some scenery that could notbe seen in reality, just like a magic world,” director Lu says. He isfamous for his 2004 award winning film “Kekexili: Mountain Patrol.” Visitors will then be led to another highlight a massive projection of the painting “Along the River During the Qingming Festival,” considered a national treasure. The painting, depicting life in Bianjing (today’s Kaifeng, Henan Province), the largest city in the world more than 1,000 years ago, will be projected on a 100 meter long wall. Multimedia technologies will be used to make the more than 1,500 characters in the painting walk and move.

Great inventions

The original painting is on display at the Palace Museum in Beijing although the designers say it could be exhibited at some point during the Expo. Cable cars will be used in the “Journey of Wisdom” section. China’s four great inventions the compass, paper, printing and gunpowder along with stone bridges, Jiangnan (region south of the Yangtze River) gardens and wooden constructions will be exhibited in this part of the journey. The 3,400 squaremeter ground section will be simply decorated for visitors to relax. The walls will be painted white and illuminations will showcase the scenery of future cities.

Water will be a big feature in the pavilion. Brooks and waterfalls will link the three exhibitions. Water was chosen to represent the wisdom in Chinese culture. Most of the important cities are located along rivers, says YaoKai-yang, creative director of the Taiwan YAOX Edutainment Co and creative director of the pavilion. The exhibition will showcase how to use Chinese wisdom to tackle current and future urban problems, according to Pan Gongkai, president of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and chief designer of the exhibition.

The urban population in China has increased to 45.79 percent in 2008 from 10 percent in 1949, while Chinese society has remained stable and in harmony. It proved that China has the wisdom worth sharing with other countries on the subject of urban development, Pansays. It will take 45 minutes to finish a visit to the pavilion. The organizer expects 50,000 people to visit everyday. Main construction and the facade has been completed. The exhibition areas will be finished in March next year.

Expo venues sculpted in golden sand

china pavilion sandFrom the beaches of the Zhoushan Archipelago in the East China Sea, people can view mountains draped in clouds and mist, listen to the voice of the sea and enjoy a bounty of seafood. Now they can also get a glimpse of Shanghai World Expo from about 250 kilometers away. It’s all in the sand. The annual Sand Sculpture Festival is underway on Zhujiajian, an island southeast of Zhoushan Island in Zhejiang Province. Until it closes on November 30, local people and visitors will be able to marvel at sand replicas of many of the Expo pavilions and exhibits that are on display at the Shanghai Expo Exhibition Hall on Huaihai Road M.

The Expo sand reproductions are part of a broader beach exhibition entitled “Future Ocean City.” More than 40 sand sculptors from China and abroad spent about two weeks carving the sculptures. They also include buildings of the ancient fabled island of Atlantis and of modern-day Venice. A sand gate encloses all the sculptures, giving visitors the impression of entering a city in adesert. And, surprising to the touch, the sand has a cement-like hardness to it because sculptors spray a kind of glue to make them waterproof. In fact, there wasa heavy rain the day before the beginning of the exhibition, but no sculptures were ruined.

The town of sand sculptures even includes a pond to bring seawater in around the various works, which are linked by wooden bridges. Visitors first enter the “Legendary City,” replicating parts of Atlantis, an island said by Plato to have sunk beneath the sea during an earthquake. On a 10 meterlong relief sculpture sit palaces and temples, with fish swimmingin and out. The urban scenery of Amsterdam and Venice are showcased in the next section. A windmill, tulips and wooden shoes a recarved along with beaches and quaint Dutch houses. Another work exhibits the scenery of the Venice Carnival, a traditional festival that began 1,700 years ago. Bulls fight and pigs run along a street filled with dancing people in masks and traditional costumes. In the Expo Venues section, the splendid red China Pavilionis carved on a relief structure, which may be disappointing to visitors hoping to see it in three dimensions.

Power of nature behind Norway Pavilion

Norway has never failed to attract tourists with its spectacular and charming landscape of forests, fjords, mountains and coastline. And for World Expo 2010, Norwegians promise visitors to its national pavilion a full experience of all these. The pavilion of the Scandinavian country will be constructed around 15 model trees made of wood and bamboo. The trees will be arranged in such a way as to present a clear interpretation of Norway’s varied landscapes. All the model trees will becovered by a semi-transparent roof and when the sun shines through the roof, it will create the effect of shade or blue skies.

norway pavilionThe roof will also be able to collect solar energy to make the entire pavilion self-sufficient. It will house the Fjord Restaurant which will serves Norwegian food and a business center for conferences and forums, creating special experiences of eating near a fjord or having a meeting in a forest. Visitors will enjoy a “powerful sensory experience,” said Arild Blixrud, Norway’s acting commissioner general for the Expo. Designers got the idea for the pavilion when walking through a forest in Norway, said Siv Helen Stangeland, one of the chief designers. “Through this innovative design, Norway wanted to present its concepts in resource and energy conservation with the theme ‘Norway Powered by Nature’,” said Oyvind Slaake, Norway’s viceminister of trade and industry.

Most Norwegian cities are closer to the sea, forests or mountains, and Norway will show the world“ how we invite nature into the city and use nature to improve the quality of life,” said Philip Lote, communications director of Norway’s Expo delegation. The country signed its participation contract with the Expo organizers on October 16. So far ,225 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the Expo, with 108 have signed participation contracts. The US $22.8 million NorwayPavilion will not be constructed from scratch, but assembled using prefabricated laminated wood building kits and bamboo which will be shipped from Norway. But the stability of the pavilion will not be a concern as Blixrud says it will be able to withstand even the most powerful typhoon.

Wood is widely used as a construction material in Norway while bamboo is the traditional construction material in China. The pavilion will also aim to present a combination of Norwegian and Chinese cultures, said the commissioner general. Another highlight will be the Norwegian government’s post Expo plan for the “trees pavilion.”“ The government hopes to leavethe 15 trees in China after Expo as a symbol of friendly relations between the two countries,” Blixrud said. They could be split into single trees and moved to different areas of China and used as restaurants or conference halls or located in local parks for people to enjoy.

Metro set to become a moving art experience

metro-shanghaiWhat’s your impression of Shanghai’s Metro?Brighter than Paris’ and cleaner than Beijing’s? Regardless of other comparisons, it shares one thing withmost other subway systems in major cities around theworld: It is extremely crowded during rush hours. Millions of people in Shanghai take the Metro to work. After a long tiring day in the office, the stuffy crowded metro carriages can be depressing. Imagine if you could hear birds singing, read beautiful poems and look at colorful pictures would that brighten the trip?

Shanghai’s Metro may start using public spaces in metro lines to display arts and fashions. The Metro company has decided to turn Metro Line No. 13, the future Shanghai Expo line running to the Expo site, into another “exhibition hall” forthe event.Shanghai will have 11 Metro lines in 2010, totalling 400 kilometers, in which five lines, No. 4, 6, 7,8 and 13, will have stops in the 5.28-square kilometer World Expo site. The mini-line No. 13, with only four stations, is set to be the main transportation tool for the Expo site and will travel between the two sides of Huangpu River.

The metro stations of line No. 13 will have special “Expo direction” signs, Ying Minghong, chairman of the Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, told a forum on Metro and Expo.“Also, we will use Expo related colors and patterns in the 14 stations of the five metro lines running through the Expo site,” said Ying.“ Even if the visitors can’t read any Chinese or English, they will know which lines will take them to the Expo site. ”“The daily capacity of Shanghai’s Metro lines is estimated to reach six million by 2010,” said Hu Jingjun, deputy director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.“About half of the daily 400,000 passengers visiting during the Expo period from May 1 to October 31 are expected to take Metrolines to the site,” said Hu. “The Metro is no longer a simple transport tool.

With lighting boxes and LCD screens, the trains could also be used in public promotion,” he added. Shanghai has already carried out a joint trial art project with Britain :Shanghai trains displayed some British poems on the Metro lines, while trains on London’s underground displayed Chinese ones. In Lisbon, Portugal, the total metro network covers only 19 kilometers, but the entire system doubles as an huge underground art gallery: Each station is decorated with artworks made from different tiles.

Local elements “Shanghai could invite young calligraphers to inscribe the names of metrostations,” suggested Albert Asseraf, director of strategy, research and marketing at JCDecaux, at the forum. “Also, the stations could have more Chinese traditional elements, such as tiles with papercut patterns on them,” said Asseraf. “And the stations on Huaihai Road, which symbolizes fashion in Shanghai, could display some of the city’s popular garments from different eras, such as the qipao, the traditional woman’s costume.

”Li Tiangang, a professor at Fudan University, suggested showcasing more of Shanghai’s history at the stations. Li said the Metro stations in the former Nanshi District (now part of Huangpu District), where people can see the original look of old Shanghai, could display some of its rich legacies from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. “For Xujiahui,” Li said,“ some elements of latter day culture could be displayed, such as images of the city’s first observatory and the Xujiahui Cathedral, one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia.

South Pacific nations to showcase island beauty

south-pacificTwelve countries and two international organizations from Oceania will build an 8,100 square meter joint pavilion at World Expo 2010. The South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) signed a participation contract with Expo organizers last Tuesday on behalf of the Pacific blockin Suva, the capital of Fiji. A total of 42 countries and international organization shave signed participationcontracts.The Oceania Pavilion willshowcase the beauty of thePacific Ocean nations, their unique culture and sustainable lifestyle through the theme “Pacific Ocean —Spring of Inspiration.”The island nations of Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Tonga, Micronesia, Samoa, Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, as well as the Pacific Islands Forum, authorized the SPTO to organize and coordinate their Expo 2010 participation. Since this showcase will provide a dynamic view of the culture and lifestyle, you will have a better idea of what to do when you book your flights to one of these beautiful islands. The SPTO pavilion is said to be one of the most anticipated features of this convention.

Zhou Hanmin, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai WorldExpo Coordination, signedthe contract on behalf of organizers, and noted that the joint pavilion would be aboost to relations between China and the Pacificnations. Peter Vincent, board chairman of SPTO, said the joint effort underlined the unity of the island countries .Last Wednesday, the United Republic of Tanzania also signed a participation contract with organizers. The east African country will take part in the exhibition ofthe 31,000 square meter African joint pavilion to show case their achievements in city planning, such as inits capital Dar es Salaam. Also last week, Sri Lanka and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies signed World Expo 2010 contracts and unveiled their themes for the exhibition.The Red Cross chose thetheme “City Life, Humanity Without Borders” for its 500 square meter lease pavilion. The Red Cross Society of China will be in charge of exhibition planning and preparation work. Sri Lanka will choose five cities to display its development during its 3,000 year history, said Hubert Jayakody, commissioner general of Sri Lanka for Expo. Continue reading