By Veronika Pozmentier….
The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce is preparing for its Mission to Shanghai China from October 9-16, 2010, to experience the inspiring culture, business opportunities, and distinguished cuisine that China has to offer along with visits to 2010 World Expo and to the port in Shanghai.
Held from May 1 to October 31, 2010 in the megapolis of Shanghai the World Expo 2010 expect in those 6 months more than 70 to 100 millions visitors from all over the world and will be the most visited international fair in history with already 47,134,800 visitors on day 122! The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Mission to China will only add to those numbers of visitors.
It will be also the largest international fair ever with more than 190 countries and 50 international organisations under the theme “Better City – Better Life” representing the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments, displayed around the 5 central theme pavilions exploring aspects of urban development and called Urban Footprints, Urban Planet, Urban Dwellers, Urban Beings, and Urban Dream.
The site of the Expo, along both sides of the Hangpu River, is also the most expensive and largest world’s fair site with 53,819,552 square feet. Shanghai spent more than 48 billion dollars just to prepare the site for the Expo 2010, 6 new subway lines were opened between 2008 and 2010 and 4,000 new taxis were added in the city the month before the opening.
More than 1.7 millions volunteers have been trained to help visitors on site to find their way around the national pavilions, sculpture gardens, shops, sports arena and a performing arts centre shaped like a flying saucer.
Some of those figures looks incredible, the importance of Expo 2010 Shanghai is not only because of the fast growing chinese economy but it is also beyond that meant to define Shanghai‘s new status in the 21th century as a next great world city on the international map and as a symbol of the new China.
Shanghai is the second biggest city in China with a population of over 20 million inhabitants and is the most influential economic, financial, international trade, cultural, science and technology center in East China, no wonder Shanghai was designated for this year World Expo.
Some of the national pavilion in the World Expo 2010 are exceptional pieces of architecture and innovation and the China pavillion is one of the most remarkable. “The Crown of the East” can be and looking like an ancient Chinese crown, it is the largest at the Expo and the most expensive, costing an estimated $220 million.
This unique structural component of interlocking wooden brackets or dougong style is one of the most important elements in traditional Chinese architecture and dates back more than 2,000 years. It will remain on site once the fair is over.
After her visit in May 2010 to the China pavilion State Secretary Hillary Clinton, said that it had been “a wonderful experience”, she will keep “a great souvenir of the Expo” to conclude “the relationship between the United States and China is critical to both our countries and to the future of our world”.
China Pavilion
Everywhere in Shanghai architecture is phenomenal, with hundreds of buildings from every style from the skyscrapers of Pudong and Jing’an in the modern city of Shanghai to the low rise buildings of the former French concession with villas or the Bund with 52 amazing buildings of different architectural styles and an incredible collection of Art Deco buildings.
Like in Miami Beach Shanghai is known worldwide for its high concentration of Art Deco buildings as nowhere else in the world!
Also like Miami Beach, Shanghai shares a close relationship with the city of Basel, Switzerland, which has brought Art Basel to Miami Beach, Shanghai and Basel have been bound by a partnership agreement since 2007.
On August 29, 2010 by 7 pm more that 520,000 visitors had visited the Expo! Almost 6 times the population of Miami Beach: 89,000 in one day! Some 7,324 volunteers worked on the site to make it happenned.
To learn more about the 2010 World Expo please visit http://en.expo2010.cn or call the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce to learn more of the Mission to Shanghai in October 2010.
