At the Shanghai World Expo 2010

Shanghai, China: Part of the reason why we are here in Shanghai is the still ongoing Shanghai World Expo 2010. It has brought millions of visitors to Shanghai since it opened this year. The World Expo is always interesting to see as it showcases what the various nations of the world are up to. The first time I traveled to Japan was during the World Expo in Osaka 1970 with my Dad and my brother Bing.

We were just kids then but it gave us an insight that Japan, 30 years after World War II, was going to be an economic giant. At that time, the Philippines wasn’t far away. Forty years later, how times have changed. While Japan is still an economic tiger, China, dubbed as the sleeping dragon, which wasn’t of any interest during the Expo 70, has emerged as the world’s economic tiger beating even the United States in terms of vehicle sales. Who would believe that in a few short years, China would achieve so much. We can see this entire economic powerhouse in the City of Shanghai.

We took the subway from our hotel to the World Expo site for only RMB 4 Yuan fare, which is dirt-cheap! Arriving at the Expo site takes your breath away with the new architecture designs that seem to defy normal convention. Perhaps the most imposing, impressive and the biggest pavilion is the magnificent All Provinces of China Exhibition. It turned out that we needed a reservation and those who did lined up since 4AM, while the Expo opens at 10AM. The biggest number of tourists visiting the Expo are domestic Chinese tourists.

We spent an entire day at the World Expo 2010 as it was so huge, it spans across the Huangpo River and we could only see from one side of it. You can save time by taking a free bus (run by fuel cell technology) or a battery powered stretched golf cart for a RMB 10 Yuan. But you really spend half the time lining up for which pavilions you wanted to visit. The more famous countries like China, the US, Germany or Russia meant a minimum of two hours queuing.

Canada was impressive from the outside as wooden slats wrapped the edifice. But inside we only saw a couple of video presentations of Canada and as you get out, you could take a photo with the Royal Mounties.

Finland used a sphere, so cleverly made, as you get inside, you’d think you wasted your time lining up in those endless queues, but it was surprisingly nice thanks to Nokia technology.

Denmark focused its spiral exhibition hall to get all the visitors to view the Little Mermaid, Denmark’s number one tourist attraction. In a statement about Denmark “We do not pray, because we rely on each other.” So no need to plan a visit to Denmark as they brought along their best tourist drawer.

The Philippine Pavilion wasn’t high tech, but what made our pavilion worth visiting is the song and dance numbers offered compared to many foreign pavilions that were so passive, they merely show a TV documentary of their country. Here you can feel being in the Philippines. We didn’t have the queues, but visitors flocked inside to hear our music and see the videos of the beauty of the Philippines.

Visitors also came to try the “Hilot” massage where five masseuses from the Mactan Island’s Shangri-La Resort and Spa brought in from their Chi Spa that gave a 10-minute sample of what they can experience when they come to Cebu. Mikhail Camacho our Pavilion Guide did not only show Filipino politeness and hospitality, he also showed he can be tough when a big Chinese visitor wanted to jump the line. He put that fellow in his place.

Call it timely that it is also Mid-Autumn Festival in all of China and therefore, it is a famous holiday where people give gifts of moon cakes. That meant, more people literally flooding Nanjing East Road, including all the sites across the Huangpo River called the Pudong District, which across the Peace Hotel where I stayed 21-years ago, there was nothing there. It’s just like looking across Cordova from the Port of Cebu City. Today there are 847 buildings in Shanghai’s Pudong District that is over 30-storeys high.

This brings us to ponder the question, when will the Philippines ever catch up with a country that was considered behind us 21-years ago? All I can say is, everyone must wake up to the reality that our biggest stumbling block is ourselves! From politicians, bureaucrats, the media and everyone should change our ways or we shall forever wallow in stagnation.

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Today’s News Forum is “Your Right to know: The Power of Citizens in the Freedom of Information Act” to be held from 9:30AM to 12:00 noon at the Marcelo B. Fernan Press Center in Sudlon, Cebu City. This forum is sponsored by the Embassy of Canada and aims to advance transparency and accountability during the 16th Press Freedom Week.