Results tagged “expo2010”

A Shanghai-based English copywriter has discovered some hilarious Chinglish slogans, including a new one for Haibao that explains the Shanghai Expo mascot's consistently happy visage. Since we've previously determined that Haibao is a boy mascot, all we can think of say to his slogan is... "Really? So soon?"

   

Photos are Bath Time by Elke Martini and World Expo Construction (世博建筑) by Yilong Design

With the expo drawing closer and closer, we were excited to hear that the Hong Kong Pavilion was officially completed on Monday. Adopting the theme of "The Infinite City," the pavilion has three exhibition levels, each "highlighting a different aspect of Hong Kong's connectivity and creativity," says China View. The top level will "showcase Hong Kong's natural heritage and the way in which the compact urban cityscape co-exists sustainably with extensive swathes of greenbelt, wetland and woodland areas," and therefore the entirety of the third floor has been plowed into an indoor wetland park. Hong Kong will also model its multifunctional smart card as an Urban Best Practice Area for the Expo.

Shanghai native Xi Wenlei, or XiZi as he is called on the Net, won the competition for the second month running this September. His winning work, with a composition that suggests a painting, shows a cat sitting next to an open window of an old Shikumen House, which is to be dismantled to make way for the Expo. Not just any window, the one in his photograph is made of multicoloured glass panes, a relic from a soon to be bygone era. XiZi has made nostalgic imagery expression of Shanghai’s old days juxtaposed with the present his signature style.

Continue reading "Shanghai Corporate Pavilion photo competition's September winners"

News on the USA pavilion has been somewhat scarce - at least on this site - since it quit being a joke and turned into something real. But now, as we count down the last 250 days to the Expo, it's somehow made its way back on our radar.

Remember that People's Archive photo competition being hosted by the Shanghai Corporate Pavilion that we told you about way back when? If you submitted something, you might want to check to see if your photo has won.

Haibao, everybody's favorite blue thingamajiggy that somehow represents the Expo, has gained a back story and guess what? He's ~*magic*~!

We think the pictures speaks for itself, but in case you have trouble recognizing this triple threat of Chinese celebrity, that's Lang Lang playing air piano, Jackie Chan giving you the thumbs up and Yao Ming towering above them with a slightly deflated looking Haibao perched on his shoulder. Oh wait, maybe that makes this a fearsome foursome?

Shanghai Daily's recent article about the city starting a new phase in its campaign to wipe out those hilarious Chinglish signs reminded of something: this sign we snapped earlier this year at the Pearl Tower.

This irks us almost as much as that really terrible opinion piece on Xinhua that poked fun at Facebook's "gloomy" status in China without ever mentioning that the service has been blocked. Guess who's on Facebook (and fellow blocked social networking tool Twitter)? The World Expo.

Shanghai art-punk band Top Floor Circus (顶楼马戏团) is out filming a new MV for a song that ought to hit close to home. Called "Shanghai Welcomes You" (上海欢迎你), it's an alternative Expo anthem and a parody of Beijing's Olympic theme 上海欢迎你. Shanghaiist contributor Jake Newby translated some of the lyrics on his new music blog (which, by the way, also features more about what Top Floor Circus is up to in the city):

Remember that Kookaburra naming contest we told you about that the Australian Pavilion was holding? Someone won it. Haibao's new BFF from Down Under is now called Peng Peng (鹏鹏).

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

• Does this mean all the Haibaos we bought were illegal? The first licensed product store for the Shanghai Expo has opened in Beijing. [BJreview]
• Well, at least everyone at the Expo is bound to be smelling nice - Beauty company Shiseido and France (the country) are both producing two unique perfumes based on the scent of white magnolia. [Creative Match]
• Okay, one last bit about the expo: a survey showed that Chinese women love France, which had the second most popular pavilion, and Chinese men love America, the first most popular pavilion despite not even being confirmed a month ago. [Thomas Crampton]

As much as we'll sometimes snark on the World Expo, it's sure to present anyone who displays anything there a crapton of foot traffic. So if you're a photographer, the Shanghai Corporate Pavilion's offer is probably worth considering.

Yes, yes, we all know about the eclipse. Aside from that monumentous occasion, it's an international culture-fest this week in Shanghai, with lots of options to increase your worldliness: watch a Chinese documentary about an Italian filmmaker, catch a Finnish comedy at the German consulate, celebrate Belgian National Day, and enjoy some classical scores by a young Japanese violinist.

The folks at ChinaTravel.net noticed a little (or perhaps not so little) something about a recent image of Haibao:

For those following the will they - won't they debacle regarding the United States pavilion at the 2010 Expo, the latest news is that the US will officially be attending. Not only are plans on track to sign a contract, but -what's this?- fundraising is right on target!

So despite the U.S. promising to be at Expo 2010 and Hillary Clinton allegedly confirming its participation, Shanghai World Expo organizers still haven't actually received the letter of confirmation, according to Xinhua. It's only when this letter gets into the Shanghai World Expo's very eager hands that a country's pavilion is truly confirmed, apparently a completely different matter than whether someone has been appointed as Commission General of the pavilion. So why did the U.S. Secretary of State publicly appoint Jose Villarreal to his Commission General position if nobody had yet to actually apply with the Shanghai organizers? It's all too confusing for us so we'll just direct you to the much more capable hands of Shanghai Scrap.

Tickets for the World Expo officially went on sale at 9am yesterday and already, peak-day tickets (tickets for the first three days and for the National Day holidays) had completely sold out.

The Expo 2010 site is hosting an online photography competition whose theme is "Haibao Tour of the World" and its picked some of its favorites amongst the 1,600 or so photos and images of the Gumby-like mascot.

Shanghai Daily first alerted us to the fact that the Oriental Crown, China's pavilion for the World Expo, was given its first test light up yesterday night. The pretty awesome pic they snapped made us curious to see if we could find any slightly bigger ones. Well, turns out World Expo Blog has a couple sweet ones. Looks like that's the place to go for more Oriental Crown previewing!

We guess it couldn't have been long before all that construction and shuffling of residents in the months leading up to the World Expo pissed off some people. 50 Shanghainese whose homes were demolished to make way for the Expo 2010 site are now threatening to sue the event organizer, the International Exhibitions Bureau, according to the South China Morning Post. At a press conference in Hong Kong, League fo Chinese Victims director Sandy Shen Ting said that 18,000 Shanghai households had been affected by the expo since 2002. Allegedly, many homes were razed without compensation, or with not enough compensation to buy a new apartment in the same district. Those who refused to leave have been beatuen or detained by police. The suit, which would be filed in Paris, accuses the IEB of allowing the Shanghai government to stage the event even though it has failed to live up to the slogan "Better City, Better Life."

• China youth market blog enoVation labs went to the Antidote Electronic Music Fest in Zhujiajiao over the weekend... and they loved it! [enoVation]
• The former VP of mega-conglomerate Shanghai Huayi Group is now on trial in Shanghai on charges that he embezzled 57 million RMB, took 8.35 million RMB in bribes and illegally acquired 17.25 million RMB in assets. [Shanghai Daily]
• Several artists teamed up to paint a partially demolished building near the Moganshan Road art district. Unfortunately, as soon as it was done, it got peed on. [56minus1]

Shanghai has had a history of personality cults that permeate the visual landscape of the city. However, today, Mao’s presence, ubiquitous only 40 years ago, has all but faded —though you can still find some reminders that he was once omnipresent, such as the big statue of the Chairman that continues to stand on the East China Normal University and the kitsch items for sale at Shanghai souvenir stalls (though these are aimed largely at foreigners). Even the pervasive symbols of American consumerism Colonel Sanders’ and Ronald McDonald’s are not as common as they once were—though each of them have some statues as well, standing (the Colonel) or sitting (the clown) near the entrances to venues selling buckets of chicken and Big Macs, respectively. Today, the latest personality to overcome Shanghai's visual landscape is quite different, a symbol of neither Communist Revolution nor capitalist consumer culture. His name is Haibao.

Despite stereotypes, it seems like Shanghainese men are less henpecked than you would think: they're less likely to wash their wives' panties than other Chinese. Wait, what?...

"Over the course of time, received feedback from advertisers and readers that they cannot find copies of the newspaper. Then they heard that China Post was shipping the newspapers directly to recycling centers. The newspaper found out that the newspapers were trucked everyday from the post office branches to warehouses and then resold to recycling plants or stations. What is the economic basis? There are 50,000 copies shipped to China Post each day, 312 days per year. China Post pays 32 RMB per copy to the newspaper. Thus, each copy of the newspaper costs China Post only 32 RMB / 312 = 0.10 RMB. Meanwhile, the price for recycled paper is higher than that. So, there you have it." (From ESWN)

From Forbes: "Chinese movie fans will be able to see the newest Hollywood hit, Star Trek, in movie theaters across the country beginning this weekend. They won't have the same opportunity to see the next blockbuster, Angels & Demons, on the big screen-not Friday (when it opens in the U.S.), not soon, maybe not ever."

Australia seems to be taking the early bird proverb pretty seriously these days. It became the first foreign pavilion to finish its outer structure last week, and then revealed its own official mascot for the World Expo - a kookaburra! And now it's looking for the Chinese to give the Ozzie representative a name.