Expo Shanghai 2010

Expo Shanghai 2010, world exposition in Shanghai, China, that ran between May 1 and October 31, 2010. One of the largest world fairs or expositions ever mounted, it also was the most heavily attended of any such events.

The site

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Shanghai was selected as the host city of the exposition in December 2002 by the Bureau International des Expositions. The site chosen in the city to hold the expo was situated on both sides of the Huangpu River in the southern part of central Shanghai and occupied a total of about 2 square miles (about 5.3 square kilometers). Some three-fourths of the exhibition area was on the eastern (Pudong) side of the river and the remainder on the western (Puxi) side.

Considerable effort was put into preparing the two sites, which included relocating out of the area thousands of residents, more than 200 factories, and a shipyard. In addition, Shanghai’s transportation infrastructure was significantly improved. Among the notable projects completed were those that added new lines to the Shanghai Metro (light rail) system (including a spur to the expo site) and extended existing lines; expanded terminal capacity at both of the city’s international airports; and undertook major road improvements, including a new double-deck bridge over the Huangpu River and a new tunnel under the river leading to the Pudong site.

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The theme

The theme chosen by the event’s organizers was “Better City, Better Life,” which signified the increasingly important role of urbanization in the 21st century and also highlighted and promoted Shanghai as one of the world’s great metropolises. Various aspects of urban life, urbanization’s impact already on the Earth, and urbanization into the future were explored in five “theme” pavilions. In addition, a portion of the Puxi site was designated the Urban Best Practices Area, where different cities could display various innovations in such fields as housing and science and technology to improve urban life and environmental quality.

The main structures

The focal point of the exhibition was Expo Axis, a massive structure some 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) long and 330 feet (100 meters) wide that bisected the Pudong site roughly from north to south and served a wide variety of functions. It consisted of four levels—two aboveground and two below grade—and contained infrastructure components, such as heating and cooling piping and subway stations, as well as space for displays, performances, and concessions. The roof level of Expo Axis served as a broad esplanade and was overtopped with an enormous tented fabric awning, out of which projected, at intervals, several structures in the shape of inverted cones called “sun valleys” that allowed sunlight and fresh air to reach the promenade.

Situated adjacent to the Expo Axis were the other main structures of the exposition. Most prominent among these were the Chinese pavilion complex, just to the west, topped by a red cantilevered roof that evoked the classic Chinese bracket (dougong) construction style; and a large new multipurpose Culture Center, built just to the northwest along the riverbank. The other two main buildings, located on the east side of the Expo Axis, were the Expo Center, a multiple-use venue, and the Theme Pavilion structure, which housed three of the five theme pavilions.

The pavilions

More than 190 countries and some 50 other organizations also constructed pavilions and exhibits of various kinds for the exposition. One of the most striking of these was the national pavilion of the United Kingdom, which was called the “Seed Cathedral.” The creation of British designer Thomas Heatherwick, the 66-foot (20-meter) cubelike structure resembled a dandelion head and was composed of tens of thousands of long thin acrylic rods with plant seeds embedded into the end of each rod. Other notable pavilions included that of Australia, the reddish brown exterior of which evoked the country’s renowned Uluru/Ayers Rock landmark; that of Switzerland, which combined an urban-themed interior with a biodegradable soybean exterior curtain wall studded with photoelectric cells and a pasturelike grass roof; and that of Russia, which consisted of several irregularly shaped towers intended to evoke a fantasy city based on a work of children’s literature by writer Nikolay Nosov.

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Legacy

Expo Shanghai 2010 drew some 73 million visitors—the great bulk of them Chinese—in its six-month run, a record attendance figure that eclipsed the 64 million who visited Expo ’70 in Ōsaka, Japan, in 1970. In addition, the 2010 event established a single-day record of 1.03 million visitors on October 16. Expo Axis, China’s pavilion, the Culture Center (subsequently renamed the Mercedes-Benz Arena), the Expo Center, and the Theme Pavilion were designed to be permanent, while the rest of the buildings were temporary structures for the duration of the exposition and were dismantled after it closed at the end of October.