1641 days to go ...

The World Expo Shanghai is almost here! Yes, that's what we'll be saying in December 2009. Until then, we are relying on titbits of information fed to us by the Mayor of Shanghai.

City Government approved the detailed construction plan for Shanghai Expo

Shanghai Municipal Government has approved in principle the detailed construction plan for the red building lines of the Shanghai Expo Site on 31st Oct., revealed Shanghai Mayor Han Zhen at a municipal government’s routine conference.

Seems fair enough. In principle. What has raised our eyebrows to a dangerous height is the claim that the Huang Pu river will be ... d-r-i-n-k-a-b-l-e? ...

Visitors to the city's 2010 World Expo will be surrounded by an eco-friendly system with a natural ventilation system, flowing drinkable water from the Huangpu River and cultural landscape models from all over the world.

Liu Bang Yi, a landscape expert from Tongji University concludes for us with this baffling piece of information:

All we would reflect in the Expo Site soon is almost expected to be helpful to all the cities of the world prospering further and further, especially in ecological system.

Back in 2002, the then President Jiang Zemin promised that the World Expo in Shanghai would be the "best one ever". They have some competition after Aichi, Japan, in 2005, (this picture from Aichi) and the upcoming expo in Zaragoza in 2008. But Jiang wouldn't break a promise, would he?