China has spent $45 billion to mount an elaborate World Expo, inviting 189 countries to showcase a polished, vibrant Shanghai that it envisions as a financial capital for the region, even the world. A $270 million sports arena and performing arts center is shaped like a flying saucer.
The Expo begins Friday evening with a highly anticipated opening ceremony and fireworks display attended by China’s president, Hu Jintao, and dozens of other world leaders and dignitaries. Visitors took pictures at the Norway pavilion.
The porcupinelike British pavilion — constructed of 60,000 transparent rods and called the “Seed Cathedral” — has already attracted widespread attention.
Denmark’s pavilion is showing off the country’s best-known national emblem: a bronze statue of the “Little Mermaid.”
The $61 million United States pavilion is planning to show a Hollywood-produced film about the environment.
With 25 million tickets sold, city officials are projecting that more than 70 million people could attend the 184-day event. The Netherlands pavilion.
To prepare for the onslaught, Shanghai has trained more than 1.7 million volunteers and adopted Olympic-level security measures, adding metal detectors to subway entrances and screening inbound cars. The South Korea pavilion.
But Expo preparations have not been without embarrassing moments. Journalists have questioned whether the ubiquitous Expo mascot — a cartoonish figure called Haibao — is a copy of Gumby.
W0rkers polished a bench with the Chinese pavilion in the background. When the Expo ends in October, most of the pavilions will be demolished and much of the site will be turned into office and retail space.
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