Article: Costs and benefits
Photos: History of the World's Fair

Complete Coverage

World Expo 2010: Shanghai

Photos: Patrick Zachmann's photo diary | Preparing to host the World's Fair

Expo 2010: Shanghai hosts world's fair

A global showcase of architecture, science and technology ends Oct. 31 in China's financial capital.

Visitors line up to enter a pavilion during the final week of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. More than 70 million people have visited the six-month Expo, exceeding the target set by organizers.

AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 24

Visitors view the Phoenix 1, a backup for the Phoenix 2 capsule that was used to rescue the 33 trapped miners in Chile's San Jose mine, during the Expo.

Eugene Hoshiko-AP

May 3

Visitors explore the Kyrgyzstan Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. Shanghai opened its multi-billion dollar expo to the public on May 1, showcasing China's national pride and the latest green technology from 189 countries.

Str-AP

May 3

A costumed model makes a funny face for the camera. The 2010 Expo is 20 times bigger than the last World Expo held in Spain's Zaragoza in 2008.

Eugene Hoshiko-AP

May 2

Visitors line up outside the France Pavilion on the second day of the Shanghai World Expo. Separate tickets for the most popular pavilions, such as China's, were in short supply.

Feng Li-Getty Images

May 2

Japanese traditional objects are painted on the walls around the escalators at the Japan Pavilion.

May 1

A model walks in front of the logo of Mexico during the opening ceremony of Mexico Pavilion.

Eugene Hoshiko-AP

May 2

Illuminated fountains at the Expo are synchronized to music. China says it has spent $4.2 billion -- double what it spent at the 2008 Beijing Olympics -- to host the world's largest exhibition.

April 30

Fireworks light up the Shanghai skyline during the opening ceremony of the Expo.

Philippe Wojazer-AP

April 30

Fireworks light up the Shanghai skyline during the opening ceremony for the world's fair, a gargantuan event attended by 189 countries that Chinese leaders hopes will showcase their nation as potent but unthreatening world power.

Philippe Wojazer-AP

April 30

Performers dance during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Expo. The opening ceremony, held in a space-age conference hall shaped like a flying saucer, featured a song by Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan, Austrian waltz music, a performance by pianist Lang Lang and a rendition of Puccini's Nessun Dorma by Italian pop tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Nelson Ching-Bloomberg

April 30

Performers participate in the opening ceremony of the expo. Police closed off streets around Shanghai and shut down most of the city's Pudong financial zone ahead of the opening ceremony, which was attended by about 20 foreign leaders, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni.

Aly Song-Reuters

April 30

A boy climbs a flagpole near the China Pavilion, a red upside-down pyramid with floor space equivalent to 35 football fields. That makes it about 30 times the size of the Canadian-designed U.S. showcase, which is tucked away in a corner of the main Expo site.

Feng Li-Getty Images

April 30

Fireworks illuminate the sky over China Pavilion, right, and the Expo Axis during the opening ceremony.

Feng Li-Getty Images

April 30

Fireworks explode above the Expo site during its opening ceremony. China is spending $4.2 billion on the six-month Expo -- and 10 times that if new roads, rail lines and other infrastructure projects are included in the bill.

Alfred Jin-Reuters

April 28

The China Pavilion is among the most comprehensive attractions, highlighting the culture of the country's multiple provinces.

Jianan Yu-Reuters

April 25

A translation in Chinese characters is attached to the U.S. Pavilion. Besides individual country pavilions, world bodies such as the United Nations are represented.

Eugene Hoshiko-AP

April 25

Visitors take photos from outside the Danish Pavilion. Denmark's iconic Little Mermaid statue was unveiled at the Shanghai World Expo site.

Aly Song-Reuters

April 23

A worker arranges the exterior of the Brazil Pavilion on a trial day. The expo is likely to be the largest world's fair ever.

Eugene Hoshiko-AP

April 23

Volunteers get the lay of the land for the expo, expected to draw 70 million visitors.

Qilai Shen-Bloomberg

April 23

The three-story South Korea Pavilion features a design using the 20 basic characters of the Korean language.

Eugene Hoshiko-AP

April 27

A nighttime view underscores the dramatic angles and lighting of the Norway Pavilion.

Shi Tou-Reuters

April 18

Elevated highways are illuminated by LED lights at the Shanghai Expo.

Feng Li-Getty Images

April 20

Visitors walk past the illuminated Expo Axis of Sunshine Valley on the first day of the trial run of the 2010 World Expo.

Qilai Shen-Bloomberg

April 17

An illuminated sign for the World Expo is displayed next to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the Pudong district of Shanghai. The trade show will be themed "Better City -- Better Life."

Feng Li-Getty Images

April 20

Visitors line up to enter the Shanghai World Expo site on the trial opening day.

April 21

A paramilitary policeman takes a photograph of his colleagues in front of the China Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. The expo started trial operations Tuesday with the participation of about 70 percent of the pavilions, Xinhua News reported.

Aly Song-Reuters

April 7

A construction laborer works on the Mexico Pavilion at the Shanghai site. Expo 2010 is due to run from May 1 until Oct. 31.

Aly Song-Reuters

April 7

The Russian Pavilion at the site of Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Hong Hao, director general of the expo, said the two-square-mile venue will see 600,000 to 700,000 visitors each day, perhaps more during peak holiday periods.

Philippe Lopez-AFP/Getty Images

April 7

A man enters a section of the Australian Pavilion at the site of Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Before the start of the World's Fair, the local government has been educating locals about special rules. Residents have been told to be on their best behavior: no jaywalking, no hanging the laundry outside to dry and absolutely no wearing pajamas in public.

Philippe Lopez-AFP/Getty Images

March 25

A worker adjusts a lighting installation inside the Chinese Pavilion at the Shanghai world expo. The high number of visitors expected during the six-month-long fair has organizers wondering how to move people around. In addition to new subway lines, the city has acquired 20,000 buses and water taxis to ferry visitors to and from the event.

China Daily-Reuters

April 11

The concept vehicle YeZ, developed by SAIC Motor, is displayed at the public debut of the SAIC and General Motors Pavilion at the world expo site in Shanghai. GM expects 3 million people to visit its pavilion at the fair. The chance to lure customers in what has become GM's largest market this year makes being there worthwhile, even as companies such as Google face difficulties operating in China.

Qilai Shen-Bloomberg

March 28

Highways and buildings are illuminated in Shanghai, the venue for the world expo. Organizers say this will be the "greenest" World's Fair ever: Heating will be provided through underground systems, and millions of visitors will be shuttled around the sprawling site in zero-emission electric vehicles.

March 28

The Chinese Pavilion at the expo site. With such a high number of people moving to Shanghai on trains, planes and other vehicles, the expo could increase China's energy footprint, providing a unique chance to raise environmental consciousness.

Reuters

March 25

A security guard watches over the Spain Pavilion at the Shanghai expo site. The fair is China's biggest event since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Security in Shanghai has already been tightened at the ports, on the roads into the city and at airports, and organizers said the site will have 800 security checkpoints.

Eugene Hoshiko-AP

April 14

Farmer Wu Yulu, 48, adjusts his massaging robot at his home in a village at the outskirts of Beijing. The hobby inventor, who started to build robots in 1986, has created 47 robots that can perform functions such as jumping, painting, drinking, pulling carts, massaging and helping with cooking. He will display more than 30 of his robots during Expo 2010, where he hopes to promote their practical uses.

Petar Kujundzic-Reuters

April 10

Performers dressed as terra cotta warriors parade in Shanghai. The performance was organized by the Xi'an government to promote tourism before the Shanghai Expo 2010. Xi'an is home to China's terra cotta army.

Reuters

April 14

Haibao, the expo mascot whose name means "treasure of the sea," is ubiquitous, seen in shopping malls, on streets and here in the Shanghai South Railway Station. The mascot's appearance was created loosely from the Chinese character "ren" for the word "people."

Keith B. Richburg-The Washington Post

April 7

Workers walk past the U.S. Pavilion before a media event at Expo 2010. China has invested more than $4 billion into the host, not including money spent on the new airport and the expanded subway system.

Aly Song-Reuters

March 15

A British flag flies in front of the Seed Cathedral, the centerpiece of the country's pavilion at the world expo site in Shanghai. The 65-foot-high, cubelike cathedral is covered by 60,000 slim, transparent acrylic rods that quiver in the breeze.

Aly Song-Reuters

March 15

Seeds are encased in acrylic poles used for the facade of the Seed Cathedral, the centerpiece of the British Pavilion at the expo.

Aly Song-Reuters

April 11

Employees take pictures inside the theme pavilion of Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Hong Hao, the director of the expo, said, "The most important thing will be to improve Shanghai people's level of civilization." A banner at the expo entrance for workers still readying the site reads: "Don't Disgrace the Mission. Win Honor for the Country."

Reuters

March 28

The world expo site is illuminated in Shanghai. Organizers hope the expo will be a chance to showcase the city's prosperity and newfound global clout.

April 13

Laborers work inside the Brazil Pavilion, preparing for the expo's opening May 1.

Reuters

April 14

Visitors look at a screen in a high-tech showcase at the Shanghai Expo site. Shanghai residents are being told to get into the expo spirit, even if that means changing longtime habits and customs that have defined them as distinctly Shanghainese.

Reuters

March 12

Workers prepare the Australian Pavilion at the site of Expo 2010 in Shanghai. After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China is planning to stage the largest World's Fair yet, the latest demonstration of the nation's growing global clout.

AFP/Getty Images

Gallery Credits:
Photo Editor Heather Farrell Text Editor Coryn Connelly-Cabreros

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This Story For Clinton, fair going in China Article \| SHANGHAI -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton took a few hours off Saturday from her attempts to ensure that war doesn't erupt on the Korean Peninsula and that Iran doesn't get the bomb to bask in one of the singular successes of her 17 months as the nation's top diplomat: the U.S. pavilion... Expo gives China another showcase opportunity In Expo display, China thinks big Shanghai launches Expo extravaganza Expo 2010: Shanghai hosts world's fair Full coverage This Story Shanghai fair offers a world of cost questions Article \| SHANGHAI -- As China's largest city prepares to open the most expensive world's fair in history, the 2008 Beijing Olympics provides both a model and a cautionary tale. As with the extravagant Olympics, Chinese officials see the World Expo, which begins next month and runs through October, as anot... Expo 2010: Shanghai hosts world's fair Full Coverage: Post's latest reports from Asia		Network News X Profile View More Activity TOOLBOX E-Mail This Reprints		More on washingtonpost.com • More Photo News » washingtonpost.com
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Article: Costs and benefits Photos: History of the World's Fair

Complete Coverage

World Expo 2010: Shanghai

Photos: Patrick Zachmann's photo diary | Preparing to host the World's Fair

Expo 2010: Shanghai hosts world's fair

A global showcase of architecture, science and technology ends Oct. 31 in China's financial capital.

Network News

Article: Costs and benefits
Photos: History of the World's Fair