I snuck away to Shanghai this weekend to visit Krisanna, my dear friend. Although I was upset that the Expo had not begun and I would probably have to (want to) make another trip up there for the Expo, I did not realize how much the Expo was changing the city. With the Expo becoming the focus of China's financial city, several things are taking place. Constant construction. HaiBao overload. and De-china-ing of the streets. The construction of the various world pavilions as pictured below will be amazing once finished. And the dental propaganda character Hai Bao is actually the mascot for the Expo as he resembles the Chinese character, which means people. But the most shocking was the de-China-ing that was going on. Red light districts were dismantled, the fake DVD market had to put its American films in the secret backroom for the Expo and several shady businesses were non-existent due to the pressures of the Expo. I found it special that I visited Shanghai before the World Expo (true only 40 days before) but still, the Expo will change Shanghai forever. The migration numbers are absurd for the amount of Chinese that will travel to Shanghai and even the Little Mermaid is coming across the sea.
China's Pavilion
- Catherine
