The world's biggest Expo fan

I have an Expo diary to record my daily trips to the Expo 2010 Shanghai. This is a habit I developed from the Aichi Expo in 2005. I like to write down what I have seen every day and also post some photos. It will be my memorable gift to the Expo.

My health has never been very good and I have had five major surgeries in the past. However, after I attended the Aichi Expo, my physical condition improved. I decided to continue my journey, this time in Shanghai.

I'm impressed with the China Pavilion. There are a lot of performances inside and I don't think anyone should miss it. I haven't been to many places in China, but the Expo provides a great opportunity to know some new places.

One of these places is Heilongjiang, the most northeast province in China. I would never know how people survive in the extremely cold weather if I hadn't seen it at the Expo. I was surprised that there are such beautiful cities that have been built using local resources.

The Expo has made huge progress in emphasizing green concepts, such as cultivating plants on walls. It also highlights the features of the pavilions. At the last Expo in Japan, corporate pavilions were built with different themes and there were more rented pavilions.

I prefer the Puxi side of the Expo Garden rather than the Pudong side because I think the exhibits in Puxi are closer to the main theme of the Expo. For example, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation Pavilion, built from an old factory, was interesting to me, and the Urban Best Practice Area is very interesting too, as it tells us how we may live and work in the future.

Since I have been coming to the Expo Garden every day, I have noticed many changes since the opening. Expo officials have made great progress on security checks, adjusting entry hours to relieve crowd pressure and solving problems with the reservation machines.

However, I think certain jobs still can be done better, such as allowing staff to stand in the queue to keep order instead of standing outside of it. I think this would make visitors feel more comfortable.

I like to take photos around the Expo Garden. My son manages the photos and I pick my favorite one every day to post in my diary to mark my daily trips.

Meanwhile, I have met many new friends in the Expo Garden, and they've written to me to welcome and encourage me.

I need to thank my husband and son for their support. My son, in particular, quit his job in Japan so that we could go to the Expo Garden as visitors.

The author is a 61-year-old Japanese housewife and a huge fan of World Expos. She visited the Aichi 2005 Expo 243 times. She moved to Shanghai so she could visit Expo 2010 Shanghai every day.

(China Daily 06/04/2010 page39)