Did someone say crowds? With nearly a half-hour to go until opening time, this is the "line" to get through security. Those itty bitty white lights in the distance are the scanner stations.
Let me just say that the Chinese are experts at processing a queue. Americans have no idea. This crowd - 200,000 or so -- got through security in about 45 minutes. Each section was released, ran like sixty, just to wait in another line, was then released again, etc. until we had all gotten through. The kids said it reminded them of waiting in line to get into Obama's innauguaration, except that in that case they were freezing instead of sweating, and it turned out that in Washington, no one actually knew whether the line they were in was a bona-fide entry point (sometimes it wasn't!) This was a picnic by comparison.
Meanwhile, Mark scored his first bargain of the trip, negotiating a price of 10 RMB (about $1.50) for each of these portable stools.
We heard they come in handy when you want to sit down in line.
I can't believe I'm saying this - since I'm really not a big-crowd-event type of person...but I LOVE THE EXPO. I love the lines, I love the heat, I love the food. I love the crazy, absurd architecture. I love the aspirational urban touches - here's a fleet of fuel-cell powered shuttles.
Why can't we have these on Main Street, Middletown, with some weather-friendly sides, of course - and Pratt & Whitney fuel cells!
We spent our first day at the EXPO wandering around exploring different national pavilions. Inside, you might find videos, light shows, kiosks or old-school natural history museum type displays. Since exhibit design is my thing, I have a lot of opinions about all of it, but mostly I'm just really excited to see so many people gathered and pitching their ideas about things like community, culture and sustainability.
Here's a taste of what we saw on our first day:
We stopped at the pavilion for Oman, which looked like a blue ice sculpture on the outside, and a hi-tech cliff dwelling on the inside.
In one section, they're doing some "Sturbridge Village" style re-enactment of traditional craftwork. This girl alternated between basketweaving and texting on her nearby mobile.
Next we stop at one of the hundreds of mist machines at the EXPO. Yes, it's that hot.
Of course, we visit the India building. We think it's one of the most beautiful designs, with a shining filigree dome inlaid with flowers and greenery.
The courtyard at the Indian pavilion is a marketplace of shops where you can haggle for cloth bags and tiny elephants, surrounding a small shrine. We each stop to make a prayer - I'm guessing it was the same one, since we keep running to each other saying "We have to go back to India soon!"
Inside the pavilion, we all sit on bamboo benches around an odd upside-down pyramid of netting. Then the show starts and we realize it's a floating 3D Hologram about the history and future of India. We've never seen anything like it.
We also visited Sri Lanka's pavilion, where we are utterly charmed by the people working there and by the iced sweet tea. Here Kobi watches a rock-polishing demonstration.
Each of these pavilions requires a wait in line - the longest is 45 minutes or so. The lines are covered by tents, which sometimes have their own misting systems, making us feel like supermarket lettuce. There are also helpful signs to keep control:
We pass the time by reading tshirts - the crowd is 99% Chinese, but many wear (slightly nonsensical) English-language tshirts.
The less said about the USA pavilion, the better.
We were mortified. Clearly we aren't the only ones, as the nice American volunteer at the entry said to us, "please don't tell us if you think it stinks - no taxpayer dollars were spent."
The kids posed in front of one of the sponsor displays near the exit.
My favorite exhibit of the day was the tiny Cuba pavilion. It consisted of a bar where you could buy rum, and a platform for dancing and posing in front of a Cuban landscape mural. It was utterly evocative and refreshing. Here, Maggie and Kobi respond to the merengue music.
Everywhere you go at the EXPO, you see the blue smurf-like mascot -- a spinoff on the Chinese character for people. At "Snacko" (think hot dogs and popcorn), we found him rendered in legos...thinking of you, Teddy Hickenlooper!
All in all, it was a terrific day, right up to the end, when the family accidentally got split in two (thankfully with a grown-up in each half) and we spent a few hours wandering around trying to find each other. Alls well that ends well, but if it happens again, we all plan to meet at this scuplture near the China pavilion, which Kobi calls "the crazy baby statue". Right, guys?
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