Small efforts behind the big expo

Checking the screens

Yang Zhongwei, 31, LED operating manager

Yang Zhongwei, 31, works at Xuchen, a company that manages the 63 LED screens located in the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

"I was among the firsts to know the expo will take place here, and our company added 10 more new screens with higher resolutions last year," Yang, the company's operating manager, said.

The screens, varying from 8 meters to 15 meters wide, display the expo's panda mascot and slogan, as well as various notices.

In case of emergency, they will display important information, such as those showing evacuation directions and medical points, Yang said.

"My job is to ensure information from the expo's organizer be sent correctly and timely to every corner of the venue through our screens," he said, adding that the publishing system was upgraded for safety reasons earlier this year.

During the expo, three teams of people will take shifts to monitor the screens at the master control room around the clock.

"We will handle any emergency within minutes," Yang said. "We have conducted several drills in the past two months."

Since October, Yang and his colleagues have been patrolling around the 63 screens, testing them one by one for any malfunctions.

Yang is a local Shanghainese, and lives a half-an-hour ride from the venue. He started working here two years ago. "I have seen more than a hundred exhibitions taking place in this venue, and the CIIE is the most prominent."

Yang was a college senior when Shanghai hosted the world expo in 2010, another milestone in the history of the city.

"Back then, I was a visitor, but this time, I'm one of the many people putting this huge expo together — it will be a milestone in my life," he said.