Shanghai's record-breaking World Expo 2010 draws to a close (Feature)

By Imke Hendrich and Andreas Landwehr Oct 29, 2010, 4:02 GMT

Shanghai - Organizers can reflect on a job well done as China's first World Expo prepares to close in Shanghai - it being the largest event of its kind to date and having the most pavilions of any expo, the most visitors and, some say, the longest queues.

Whether they really constitute a world first is not certain, but the queues, often several hours long, have been a central part of the experience of the Shanghai World Expo 2010 as visitors wait to buy tickets, pass through security, even to walk through the pavilions themselves.

'But it's worth it,' asserted Chen Yun, 35, patiently waiting in line outside the German pavilion for two and a half hours.

People have waited up to nine hours to get into the Saudi Arabian pavilion, the most expensive installation at 150 million dollars of building costs.

But the queues have not kept the crowds away with more than 70 million visitors expected to attend from the expo's opening six months ago to its last day on Sunday.

It would be a record for a World Expo, but the Chinese, who forecast the high attendance rates, were not surprised. 'When the Chinese want to achieve something, they do,' said Dietmar Schmitz, head of the German pavilion.

Six months ago, success was not a foregone conclusion as several pavilions and the expo setup itself were beset by teething problems shortly after opening.

But the appeal of the expo and it being the first to be held outside the industrialized nations, has guaranteed a steady stream of visitors happy to pay the 160-yuan (25-dollar) entrance fee.

'They broke a lot of records,' said Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales, head of the International Exposition Bureau. 'A record number of participants, a record number of visitors - and they built the largest site ever.'

Under the slogan 'Better City, Better Life,' the expo was focused on sustainable urban development.

Many of the pavilions displayed short films or eye-catching presentations while others took a more interactive approach, such as the German exhibition, where guests could grill their own sausages over ceramic hobs or pit their karaoke skills against German folk songs.

The organizers of the German pavilion considered it a successful exercise in relationship-building with China.

The 70 million dollars that it cost were 'very well-invested,' Schmitz said. By feeding visitors the real experience - including 20 tons of sauerkraut - he said he hoped to 'give people something to take home with them, to have an impact on their idea of Germany and its people.'

And many were prepared to brave the two- to six-hour waiting times. 'We Chinese can learn a lot from Germany,' Chen said, 'which is why I want to visit their pavilion first.'

For her, the exposition was 'a chance to travel around the world, which we otherwise wouldn't have.'

Others did not share her enthusiasm. A bit further down the queue, Yong Peng grumbled, 'Actually, I don't particularly want to wait for three hours just to spend 10 minutes inside, but there is no other way.'

He was also at a loss to explain precisely what drove him to visit the expo. 'Well, everyone's going,' he said.

Yong said he was not sure that the expo could bring his country much in the way of lasting benefits, even if it has been lauded as 'successful, splendid and unforgettable' in the words of Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress.

The expo also included thematic pavilions, such as the Urban Planet installation, commissioned by China from the German company Triad.

The large pavilion explored themes surrounding the increasing urbanization of the planet and the rise of mega-cities, including waste, water and traffic management.

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