Results tagged “expo”

With the Expo approaching, Shanghai is quickly become more and more official, with roads being paved, mandatory uniforms for taxi drivers, and even rules guiding citizens' subway etiquette, just to name a few of the changes. To keep the changes rolling, the names of Shanghai's official top eight scenic spots have been announced by the Shanghai Tourism Administration, selected from over 1500 suggestions from city dwellers.

Seems like taxis in Shanghai have been getting a whole lot of attention lately. Chinese in-taxi media company, Touchmedia, is launching an interactive map in more than 10,000 taxis around Shanghai next month, all in preparation for next year's Expo.

Twenty four provinces and municipalities of China unveiled their plans for the Expo at a meeting yesterday. Now we're sure that each province is going to try and outdo each other, but Shaanxi seems to have already taken the cake: they're building imperial robots!

If you've seen stickers for an English speaking hotline and thought that was cool, you'll be blown away by the new dispatch system: press a button and be connected instantly to a translator. Cool, right? But perhaps better than the added service is the uniform regulations: all 100,000 or so taxi drivers have to dress in blue suits, white shirts and blue ties during the entire span of the expo. Having met many cab drivers we couldn't picture in a suit if we tried, we wonder how exactly the relevant authorities plan to enforce this one.

We love expos, especially when they're in Shanghai, and exceptionally when they involve music. Lucky for us, it's time for the Shanghai Music China 2009 Expo. Since 2002, Music China has been the trade show of choice for musicians, producers, sound/lighting technicians, and just about anyone involved in the production of music, making the expo the biggest annual fair for music products in Asia.

The Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau, which we didn't know existed before today, announced that 2,400 of the city's public toilets are now free of charge in preparation for the Expo. In case you aren't familiar with the numbers, that means all of the downtown public toilets as well as 80 percent of local toilets throughout Shanghai are cost free. We'd make a joke about how we thought all of shanghai was a free public toilet, but that would be too crass, and really not a joke at all. Maybe now people will stop using the street as a free public toilet? We kind of doubt it. Photo by Shanghaidaddy @ flickr

Naturally, we think that Shanghai beats Beijing in the better city competition, but here's some extra reasons why. The UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) has found Shanghai's air quality to be far better than Beijing's, an auspicious ruling ahead of the Expo. The blue sky index shows that Beijing's levels of PM10 particles are twice as high as Shanghai's.

Wouldn't Sting be proud: China's new expo outreach plan is to put bottles with invitations to the expo into the sea, and let them float to neighboring countries where someone might pick them up, and decide to come. We guess this is China's SOS to the world: please, please come to the Expo! But since the message was in English, French and Chinese, and they sent them off towards Japan and South Korea, we have our doubts that it'll work.

• The final Expo participants' meeting was held today in Shanghai, with 800 representatives from the 241 countries confirmed to attend. The results of the meeting: construction, exhibition, management, and planning are progressing nicely. We hope so, with 800 million tickets sold. [People's Daily]
• If wandering around Shanghai as an ex-pat isn't scary enough for you, check out Shanghai's first haunted house! It's set up in a 1902 warehouse and sounds likes it's been pretty well thought out, creepy, and generally kick-ass. [SmartShanghai]
• Shanghai Premier League (SPL) is kicking off a new season, and the deadline for player fees is November 15. So start getting in shape, sign up for a team, cheer on the sidelines, or just come out and support your city's athletes. [Urbanatomy]

Since this news is coming from an official, take it how you will, but apparently the Shanghai World Expo is supposed to break even or even make a profit, despite costing twice as much as the Beijing Olympics. The total budget for the Expo is 28.6 billion RMB, which includes 18 billion RMB for construction and 10.6 billion for five months of running costs. The city expects to recuperate those costs through construction bonds, ticket income and sponsorships, as well as some re-exploitation of Expo land after the event (some of which will turn into low income housing). Though even if it didn't break even, the Expo would be totally worth it, Shanghai party chief Yu Zhengsheng said. "Shanghai can take a big step to settle the traffic problems of local people by holding the Expo," thanks to the 420 km of new metro track it will have installed by next April. Source: Shanghai Daily

    

With less than a year left to the Expo, Shanghai is getting ready to show off its splendor to the expected hordes of visitors. We're sure that no one staying here can have managed to escape the Haibaos that have been popping up all over town, or the many renovations under hand.

So the Shanghai World Expo organizers have set another date for when they will finally say “No way, no how, you're too late to build your pavilion now”: June 30.

• Despite not having discovered any swine flu in the city, Shanghai's taking measures to prevent it. [Shanghai Daily]
• That's Shanghai takes a look at the city during World War II, specifically a little German right-wing group you may have heard of once or twice. [Urbanatomy]
• It's now almost a year to the start of the Expo, and Dongtan - the fabled eco-suburb-city of Shanghai - still lies in a rut. Following the footsteps of the Christian Science Monitor, Yale Environmental 360 and several other news organizations, the Guardian now has its own take on the matter. [The Guardian UK]

• Shall we go for a jaunt in the cemetery, check out celebrity graves and catch a flick? [Shanghai Daily] "Though young people are less fearful than their parents, going to the cemetery is still a grave undertaking, not a walk in the park. So it was a break with tradition when parklike Fushouyuan Cemetery in suburban Qingpu District applied late last year for scenic-site status from the city's tourism commission. Fushouyuan (literally Happiness Longevity Garden) says the process is underway and is making big plans to attract visitors throughout the year... That a cemetery could become a tourist attraction - and investors plan a cinema and a museum - is a sign that China's funereal (meaning sad) culture could slowly be lightening up."
• Enter the bunker of sound - 0093 [Urbanatomy Shanghai] Lisa Movius checks out 0093 - also called Ling Ling - a former bomb shelter turned rehearsal rooms where Shanghai's young bands have begun practicing their music. More than just a place to play, 0093 has become the glue that holds the Shanghai music scene together.
• Man falls onto Metro Line 2 track, killed by passing train [Oriental Morning Post] On Wednesday morning, a man suddenly fell onto the tracks at the Loushanguan Road station and was hit by an oncoming train. He was taken off the tracks immediately afterwards, but had died on impact, according to medical personnel. They could not find any documents on him. The Metro Line 2 train was delayed for 7 minutes.
• Shanghai’s Extreme Expo Makeover [All Roads Lead To China] "Well, you knew it was coming, and if you have been in Shanghai for the last 8 months you will already begun to see the signs of the 2010 Shanghai face lift. Extreme Makeover style. It is a process that will spare few neighborhoods, look for lots of buildings encased in green construction packaging, and the last line of the Shanghai Daily article City to clean up for Expo really says it all: 'Old residential areas, wet markets and small streets are the key targets'."

Not to be outdone by the Danes who've decided to send away their Little Mermaid on a 6 month excursion to Shanghai next year, Singapore is now thinking of sending its Merlion to the 2010 World Expo too.

With the Oasis cancellation and rumors swirling around that 0093 - the underground practice space for most of Shanghai's bands - could possibly be closed down for the Expo, local music fans were in need of some good news.

• Morgan Stanley’s Chinese Land Scandal [NYTimes] "Last month, with property prices here and elsewhere in free fall, the bank dropped a bombshell: in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, it said it had fired an executive in its China real estate division after uncovering evidence that he might have violated the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars American business people from bribing foreign officials."
• U.S. Pavilion at Shanghai Expo to break ground on schedule [Xinhua] "Despite fund raising problems, officials of the U.S. Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010 say they are confident they will break ground to build a national pavilion on schedule this April."
• Premier Wen urges journalists to write "true, accurate" stories [Xinhua] "Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday urged journalists to write 'true and accurate' news stories because it is a fundamental principle and a lifeline for the media. Wen told a group of Xinhua News Agency staff that Xinhua should take the lead in doing so and carry on its tradition of reporting news accurately, effectively and timely."

Can't wait to get your tickets for the World Expo? Neither can we! Luckily for all of us, we now have a couple of dates to look forward to: group tickets will go on sale on March 27 and the public can start lining up on July 1. Basic price will be 160 yuan, three-day passes will be 400 yuan and seven-day passes will be 900. Discounts will be offered to the disabled, seniors, students, Chinese service-people and early birds. Source: Shanghai Daily

So why is it that the United States might risk “global humiliation for the American people” by not showing up at the Shanghai World Expo? Well, partially because they don't really know what a World Expo is... and partially because it's awfully hard to raise $61 million without any government help.

Photo from Laurence&Annie

With just 500 days to the Shanghai World Expo left, the infrastructural mainframe of the expo grounds has been completed and the China pavilion is also taking shape.

by Jeffrey Wasserstrom

Denmark's 95 year old national monument inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the Little Mermaid, is moving to Shanghai to be exhibited for six months in the Danish pavilion at the 2010 World Expo, and Danish lawmakers are not happy. While the government thinks the little mermaid which attracts 3 million visitors annually would be able to give Denmark's brand a push and draw tourism from China, the Right Wing populist Danish People's party, leader of the thid largest faction in parliament will have none of it and has planned to block the trip.

Photo from Lomogirl.

• In a Beijing-inspired move to reduce traffic, Shanghai civil servants will not be allowed to drive their cars on certain days of the week, decided according to their cars' license plate numbers.
• This Tuesday, government officials declared that more than RMB 4 billion will be invested in a move to improve Pudong New Area, the site for the 2010 World Expo. Among other measures, 200 square meters in 25 old neighborhoods will be "reconstructed", ie., torn down and replaced with skyscrapers.
• In a crackdown this Thursday cabbies who refused to drive customers to destinations in the Lujiazui area were named and shamed, as well as fined and cut off from work for 15 days. Some taxi drivers have avoided driving in this area since the distances are considered too short or because traffic is slow.

As part of the preparations for the Shanghai World Expo, the municipal government has marked the 600 day countdown by publishing a report on "uncivilized behavior" among locals. The report is based on an online survey in which over 5,000 Shanghai citizens were polled on what kind of behavior they consider annoying or rude.

Look what we received in the mail today! It seems that Shanghai authorities are taking a creative step forward in helping residents to consume less salt with this nifty package. Encased is a small plastic spoon that holds 2 grams of salt (as seen inverted at the top of the handle) and on the package, it advises residents to consume only 3 spoonfuls of salt a day to prevent high blood pressure. On the flip side, it details suggestions on how to lessen salt consumption when cooking and for residents over 35 years old to test their blood pressure.

Group tickets for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo will go on sale on September 28th for RMB160. [Source]

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200806/20080611/article_362763.htm"> sued for 230,000 RMB for failing to inform a mother of the possibility of a deformed fetus in the city's first lawsuit about a pregnant woman's right to understand her medical condition.

News from the subway in the past couple weeks:
• "Can't the city give some street performers some space?" - Street performers in Shanghai are often lumped together with beggars as public nuisances, but often they are just free spirits chasing a musical dream. One cited example are Tuotuo and A-qing, a couple of guys who play the guitar and sing every evening at the City Plaza Mall in Jing'an, often attracting a crowd of mostly young women and foreigners before being "politely" cut short by the city beat patrol. Street performers are often cited under Article 25 of the "Regulations for the Management of City Appearance & Environmental Sanitation", which assigns fines to and confiscation of the equipment of businesses and individuals obstructing public walkways to set up stalls, sell merchandise, or otherwise affect city's public image. The author of the piece consults sociology Professor Gu at the University of Shanghai, who suggests that the city set aside certain allowed areas for use by street performers.
• "World Expo mascot makes an appearance on escalator handrails" - OK, so we lie. The actual headline names the mascot by his real name, Haibao, but who actually remembers that? (As opposed to the much more clever, literal Sea Baby, or ) Anyhow, he's showing up on escalator handrail covers at Zhongshan Park, which will eventually spread to other stations in the Shanghai Metro.
• "Metro pickpocket team scooped up by police dragnet on a dark and stormy night" - Last week a team of 80 special police agents arrested a team of 20 pickpockets living in homes and hotels near the Zhenping Rd subway station on Line 3. The group targeted mainly young women wearing backpacks on Lines 2 and 3. The police also seized nearly RMB 160 thousand in stolen property, including cash, gold jewelry, digital cameras and MP3 players.