Unforgettable Time flies. At the moment last year, I was expecting the beginning of the World Expo Shanghai. Now one year has passed since the curtain of Expo Shanghai rose. During my stay in China, one of the most impressive things for me, I should say, is the Expo Shanghai.
There were just so many things which impressed me. The Expo site was impressive for its size, all the facilities built, the magnificent and creative pavilions, the army of people and volunteers assisting the thousands of visitors, but perhaps the most impressive thing was the will of China to reach the world hosting the Expo and the relevant will of the rest of the world to show China their culture, traditions, history and, above all their people’s way of life, thinking and aspirations.
Even though I had spent more than four years in China when I visited the Expo, the number of people there was also impressive. There were many pavilions I simply could not visit be- cause lines were far too long. I thought that the interest Chinese people had to visit the Expo was greater than the organizers expected.
I tried to visit the China pavilion, but it was not possible. You had to make a reservation and, even having the reservation, the line was too long, but I could visit China’s provinces and regions pavilion. My family and I liked it a lot.
There were some pavilions where technology and investment were huge, but there others where creativity to show the national character, history and culture played a greater role. Those were the ones that impressed me more.
Among the pavilions I visited, the United Arab Emirates Pavilion was the one that allowed the visitors to know more about the country, its history and a very important lesson everybody should remember. No matter how great are you achievements, you should always remember where you come from, especially if you had a humble origin.
After visiting the Expo I realized that there are a lot of things that other countries can learn from each other. The Expo was a great effort from both China and the rest of the world to reduce the gap of knowledge that exists among countries. I think the Expo was one of the greatest opportunities foreign countries had to come to China and show themselves to the Chinese people. It was also a great chance for China to show the rest of the world their capacity to host a major international event and do it really fine.
Is a sense, China is the biggest country in the world, but one of the least known abroad. At the same time many Chinese still think of their country as a world apart. The Expo made a great difference trying to reduce misperceptions and increase mutual knowledge between China and the rest of the world.
There is no denying that there were problems at the Expo Shanghai, but I wouldn’t talk of “shortcomings” of the Expo. Any event has little failures of course. Actually I wish the Expo were more time in Shanghai and it to transform in some kind of permanent exhibition, but this is too good to be possible.
I have been living in China for 5 years and the Expo was a way for me to know more about countries that perhaps I will never be able to visit. I feel gratitude for China hosting the Expo and allowing people like me and my family and giving me the opportunity to see the world through China and China through the world.
Expo Shanghai, really impressive and unforgettable for me!
(Author: Second Secretary of Embassy of Mexico in China, Responsible of Commercial Affairs)