Countdown to Finale of Expo 2010

The knick-knock sounds of the hammers have stopped and the head-wrenching drilling have stopped. Shanghai is eerily quiet and dust-free. In May, Shanghai unveiled its construction-dust-free face to welcome the world to the 2010 World Expo. Pretty much every country have all kowtowed to the all-mighty Chinese and made an appearance at the expo. Governments who can afford to build their own pavilions have spent incomprehensible amount of $$$$$$$$ to build it for the on-going six months. The result is a big piece of land in the city turned into a surreal, neon-blazing, ginormous artificial world where each country redefines what they want the "world" (= the couple hundred million Chinese) to see them as. With an expected half a million visitors attending the Expo during peak season, how do you navigate expo gracefully and hassle-free?

China, with no doubt, reminds every expo visitors of their almighty powers, hence the humongous Chinese pavilion (above).

What to wear: Keep it simple-comfy shoes, light rain jacket (for fall), messenger bag and bring an umbrella.

Getting there: Take metro line 13 by Madang Road and Jian Guo Road to go into the expo. Visitors can buy the expo tickets at the metro station (RMB 160-day; RMB 90-night) and hop on the metro and get out at Expo Avenue (last stop). This line is only for entering/exiting the expo, so you cannot miss the Expo. A useful interactive city map, metro map and expo map is available on SmartShanghai.

Expo tid-bit: Unless you're head of state or Bill Gates, you won't get all-access VIP treatment. Dealing with the Chinese visitors can be a nightmare and you'll have a much better experience just viewing the exterior and avoid the nuisance of people cutting lines. There is an elevated pedestrian walkway which allows you to duck the crowd and speed to your desired pavilion.

Wow-factor pavilions (architecture & interior design): UK (see below), Saudi Arabia, France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand.

UK Pavilion (exterior)

UK Pavilion-interior

Pavilions that wow-ed me by surprise: Chile (lovely wine bar at the exit), Morocco and Mexico.

Mexican Pavillion at night

Morocco-interior.

Odd pavilions: Pakistan, North Korea

(Pakistan) I'd like to disagree...

(North Korea) It ain't Pyongyang, Kim

Post Expo-therapy: It's hard to duck the 20 million Shanghai residents BUT a few quiet spots do exist:

1) Ferguson Lane on 276 Wukang Rd (near Hunan Rd). There is a chill coffee shop and an yummilicious French bistro & wine bar called Franck.

2) Or stroll on Rockbund, a restoration project occuring behind the Peninsula hotel. Admire Shanghai's colonial buildings set against modern skyscape (below) and then head to Peninsula for some high tea.

3) Best way to remove Expo-related physical pains is to check into a massage parlour and unwind under the masseurs fingertips. Clean and English-speaking massage spots I'd recommend are Green Massage and Dragonfly.

Hope all brave-expo visitors enjoy their trip!