Expo passes first day of trial opening

A panorama photo shows the crowds of visitors at the Shanghai World Expo on its first test opening on Tuesday. [An Xudong/ China Daily]

Crowds test security, put pressure on restaurants, favorite pavilions

SHANGHAI -- The Shanghai World Expo passed its first test on Tuesday as 200,000 enthusiastic visitors flocked to the site for a glance at the cultural gala.

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But so many visitors crowded into the site that pressure was put on the security system, restaurants were crowded and long lines formed at almost every pavilion.

To test Expo's capabilities of handling ticketing, security, parking, traffic, dining and sanitary facilities, the event opened to around 200,000 tourists on Tuesday, half the amount expected to visit the site on a typical day once it is formally up and running.

The exhibition, which celebrates its formal opening on May 1, will draw an estimated 70 million visitors, including around four million from overseas. Weekends and holidays are expected to be most crowded.

Organizers said 70 percent of Expo pavilions and facilities participated in Tuesday's trial opening.

Yet without any previous guidance or advice, Tuesday's soft opening started with a large number of visitors - most of them ordinary people - cramming into the Expo site on Tuesday morning via the main entrances on Yaohua Road in Pudong.

Security checks at the entrances had to be canceled to disperse the long lines of visitors, who might otherwise have had to wait hours to pass through X-ray scans of their hand luggage.

Overcrowding also affected pavilions in the Pudong section of Expo garden. Pavilions for the UK, Australia and Germany were forced to close around noon due to the congestion.

The China pavilion, the host country's public face at the gala and the only structure requiring reservations for visits on Tuesday, shut its booking system around 10:30 am, one and a half hours after the opening of the Expo garden.

"I never expected it to be so crowded today," said Gabriel Castelo Branco from Brazil. Due to the huge crowds, dining became an unpleasant experience, though many found the menu not as costly as expected. For instance, a 600-ml coke costs 4 yuan, (58 cents) or 1.1 yuan more than in convenience stores in Shanghai.

But due to huge demand, some restaurants had run out of food before lunch time ended. "I had to wait in line for 15 minutes," said Wu Shengjie, 21, who spent 25 yuan on a package meal. "I believe the test run will help organizers do better."

Despite some disorder on the first day of the soft opening, the public showed great interest and enthusiasm in the pavilions, a key component of the 184-day show.

The USA pavilion, the most anticipated foreign structure according to a recent poll, attracted tens of thousands of visitors though it only opened its first section, where screens showed Americans from all walks of life addressing visitors in Chinese.

Tuesday's trial run also attracted people with babies in arms or those confined in wheelchairs.

Cao Lei, 74, who arrived in her wheelchair, said the Expo site needs to improve its services for the disabled and aged. Not all barrier-free elevators were functional and bumpy steps are not clearly marked for those in wheelchairs, she added.

In the Puxi section of the Expo garden, visitors were enjoying a more relaxed touring experience.

"There's no need to hurry because today is just our first visit," said young mom Wang Ping, resting with her two little girls. "We'll be visiting the site again after the garden officially opens."

Puxi's most popular pavilions on the first day of the test run were the China Aviation pavilion, Oil Pavilion and Japanese Industry Pavilion - visiting each required waiting in line an average of 30 minutes.

Wu Chuanlin, 64, and his wife could hardly calm down after watching the 4-D movie in the Oil pavilion. "It was really exciting as there was water spraying and the chair was shaking when we watched the movie," said a thrilled Wu. "I thought I'd have a heart attack but it was totally worth it."

Wu spent 15 minutes passing the security check when entering the garden from Luban Road on 9:30 am. The check was so strict that even his heart disease pills were spotted and carefully inspected. But according to Wu, the smile on the staff's face made the process much easier.

The Urban Best Practice Area might have seen the least tension, as there was no queuing at any pavilion. A 15-minute quick walk could wrap up a tour of the entire area.