Results tagged “worldexpo”

Making a pit stop during the Obama Administration’s Blonde Ambition tour of Asia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a visit to the 2010 Expo site earlier today. Secretary Clinton addressed a squadron of journalists in front of the site for the future United States pavilion, among other things asking for increased contributions from American businesses, as the U.S. had raised two-thirds of the expo participation cost as of September.

This is an advertisement. The USA Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 is now recruiting! We are offering an exciting number of positions across a variety of teams. Please visit our website at usapavilion2010.com/jobs for the opportunity to be a part of the world’s biggest-ever event! More job ads. Place a job ad.

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We don't know how long our city's mascot has been on the subway etiquette beat, but we were absolutely delighted to catch him at the People's Square station this afternoon, waving to people as two Expo volunteers reminded everyone that, on the escalator, the right side is for standing and the left side is for walking.

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!

We've talked about some of the sillier commercials we've seen on Chinese television, but every now and then, one comes along that actually wows us. This one, by CCTV, is pretty stunning and hopefully will set the bar for tv ads to come. A dollop of ink is dropped into water and transforms into various Chinese painting staples, before moving on to some of the country's achievements and a shot of the Shanghai skyline in watercolor. Cool!

We're hearing rumors that Shanghai's premier street of sleaze may have finally gotten the red stamp. A tipster rode by Tongren Lu earlier today and found that a big Expo wall had been put up in front of it. Simple renovations or did the Jing'an authorities decide that ladies of the night weren't what they wanted the city to sling - even if it's always been a big hit with the foreigners? UPDATE: We went to check it out ourselves last night. It seems that the strip is still alive and well - the Expo work is happening to the building next to it.

While Beijing might be trying to ensure the safety of its huge event with a crackdown on... well, everything, Shanghai's placing its bets on people loving money. The city's police said on Tuesday that it would offer rewards of up to 300,000RMB if people rat out serious crimes. Submit your tip and once it's confirmed as true, the informant will be rewarded based on the value of his information (hmmm, we wonder how they measure that value exactly). Anyone who purposely provides a false tip-off will also be held accountable (hmmm, we wonder how they'll figure out purposeful falsehoods). What they're especially interested in: terrorisms, violent crimes, organized crimes and serious economic crimes. If you know of anyone that might be committing these things during Expo time, dial 110 or send a letter to the police. The policy will be in effect until December 31, 2010. Source: Xinhua Photo from filemagazine

• Discounts! Bargains! Deals! This week there apparently a glut of savings at Plaza 353 where dozens of stores are beginning to offer promotions and steep discounts in anticipation of the impending national holiday [City Weekend]
• We'll need those savings if we're going to enjoy this hairy crab season. Reports have come out that prices will be about 10% higher than last year because of bigger crabs and higher water quality. [Shanghai Daily]
• In the mood for a classy night out living it up with the fashionistas but don't want to spend a lot? The Frau Ana fashion shows combines a party, fashion, and no cover this Friday. Oh, and there is allegedly free cotton candy. Sweet. [Shanghaiist]

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.

Shanghai's on a mission to silence Shanghainese before the World Expo comes to town. According to the South China Morning Post, Shanghai authorities are pushing forth their 12th annual Putonghua Promotional Week, a week-long Mandarin campaign that hopes to stop instances of people talking only in the Shanghainese dialect. Besides the Week, the government has also broadcast tv and radio adverts in recent months that portray Shanghainese as "uncivilized or backward." The Global Times outlines some of the reactions to official efforts to wipe out Shanghainese, pointing out that it's disappearing on its own anyway and that something precious will probably disappear along with it. "Once the dialect is lost," says Ma Lili, deputy chief director of the Hu Opera Theater of Shanghai, "the culture will surely follow."

This is an advertisement. The Australian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 is recruiting now! We have a number of positions across a variety of teams. Please visit our website and the recruitment section at australianpavilion.com for the opportunity to be a part of the biggest event in Shanghai next year. More job ads. Place a job ad.

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?

What's black, crude, and older than even China? Oil! Everyone's favorite spoil of war has a glitzy new pavilion inspired by Beijing's water cube, and funded by China National Petroleum Corp, China Petrochemical Corp and China National Offshore Oil Corp. Highlighting the history, functions, and even odors of the natural resource, the "Oil Cube" is sure to be a major attraction for tourists from oil rich and poor countries alike.

• Ever wanted a ranking of the five sexiest pavilions for the World Expo? Well now you've got it. [Chinatravel.net]
• Speaking of pavilions, Germany's pavilion will guide visitors through its many exhibits with a storyline involving a Chinese woman and her German friend and end with a live performance by the story's characters [China Briefing]
• If you thought that the all the rain this week had something to do with the eclipse, you are wrong [China Daily]

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):

• Be fabulous this Saturday with the opening of The Box, Shanghai's newest gay bar. [Smart Shanghai]
• The World Expo's Finland Pavilion reminds us why we love the Finnish as they build world-class saunas for visitors to use. [People Daily]
• Official ticket prices have not been confirmed yet, but a seat on the upcoming Beijing-Shanghai express rail is estimated to cost around 500 yuan. [China Daily]

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

• Aw, so Harry Potter can't seem to cast a spell over Shanghai, earning barely half of what Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen did. Is it because we didn't organize a movie night around this opening? [Shanghai Daily]
• Reacting to the Stern Hu detained in Shanghai saga, Rio Tinto is now pulling ALL of its foreign staff out of China. Allegedly. [CNN]
• To battle potential traffic jams, Shanghai will be employing an even-odd license plate system for the Expo like Beijing did for the Olympics. [Xinhua]

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!

• Shanghai has decided to stop on-board aircraft passenger temperature checks, to the dismay of budding photographers hoping to document the bizarre hazard suit teams. [Shanghai Daily]
• Mudwrestling at Martini Bar? Those are two things we thought never would really mix, but it somehow happened. [SmartShanghai]
• What a load of bull. Shanghai's planning on building a bigger version of Wall St.'s charging bull statue to be placed on the waterfront. It'll mark the tail end of China's Year of the Ox and... we guess, be auspicious somehow. [The Age]

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.

A flurry of recent activity regarding the US Pavilion at next year's Expo has resulted in US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirming the United States' participation in the Expo after the USA Pavilion organizers announced PepsiCo signing on in a US$5 million deal.

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.

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!

• That pilot scheme for becoming a "real Shanghainese" home-stay guest in time for the World Expo is now kicking off in the Zhabei District. [Shanghai Daily]
• But will this help reverse the trend of less tourists visiting the city thanks to the financial downturn? Who knows! [Shanghai Daily
• If you're a fan of the Simply Life brand, Just a heads up in case you've been eyeing that ceramic dining set - they're hosting sales to celebrate their 10th Anniversary between July 4 and August 2. [Urbanatomy]

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."

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.

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here).