Views to an international arena

Expo 2010 Shanghai has been open for more than 100 days and neither the plum rains or hot weather have stopped visitors coming to the Expo Garden. By the middle of July, the Taiwan Pavilion had welcomed more than 300,000 visitors.

Due to the limited space inside the Taiwan Pavilion, we are only able to accept about 4,000 visitors a day. I must apologize first to those who have a huge interest in the pavilion but have no chances to enter. Meanwhile, I would like to share my personal experiences to those who are planning to visit the Expo Garden.

As far as I know, Shanghai Expo is one of the largest events in recent years. A total of 246 exhibitors are presenting various values and lifestyles in 184 days. Combined with advanced technologies as well as creative thoughts, it is a unique chance for all of us to open our eyes and observe the world.

To me, the Expo Garden is an international arena that can be viewed from different angles. Features such as many cultures, technologies, the concept of low carbon and green energy, and conceptual transportation designed for the future, plus various architectural designs, are the things that caught my attention.

However, lots of pavilions, including Italy, France, Spain and Japan, are so popular that visitors sometimes have to wait as much as four hours to get inside. Thus, I would suggest people plan their visit to the Expo Garden in advance to make better use of their time there.

Visitors who targeted those most popular pavilions such as China need to arrive at the Expo Garden at 5 am or 6 am, which will give them the edge over others.

For those visitors who are afraid of the extreme hot weather, they should come to the Expo Garden in the late afternoon or evening.

It is not necessary to rush into those long queues in front of popular pavilions. The less-popular pavilions sometimes offer visitors a better environment. Just because a pavilion is not as popular, does not mean it is less interesting. Check out the African Joint Pavilion or pop into the Nepal Pavilion when you tire of lining up - you could be in for a big surprise.

The author is the president of the Taiwan Pavilion.

(China Daily 08/13/2010 page)