Advanced Search

Related News

Home » Opinion » Opinion Columns

Exploring new ideas and broader horizons

By Wan Linxin | May 12, 2009, Tuesday | Print Edition

EDITOR'S note: The following is the second of three articles about World Expo 2010 that opens in Shanghai on May 1 next year. The final article will be published tomorrow.

WORLD Expositions have had their share of vicissitudes and the demise of the international extravaganza had been prophesied decades ago.

I first read of the Great Exhibition in 1851 in London - the very first exposition - in an anthology of English literature. The event was cited to suggest the glory of Victorian England, particularly her enterprise, inventions and technology brought about by the Industrial Revolution.

In a world where channels of communications were limited, such an exhibition helped other people learn of the existence of new machines, devices, and products.

Not surprisingly, Karl Marx saw the exhibition as an emblem of the capitalist fetishism of commodities.

Unfortunately, the mention of Expo (shortened in the 1960s) today still raises the specter of "things," leading some to believe that Expo still exists as a showcase of modern wonders.

In the minds of some Chinese, an Expo also brings to mind the image of some products - a branded tea or an artifact.

Legend has it that a bottle of Moutai liquor was broken (accidentally or otherwise) at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Visitors were drawn to the exhibit, intoxicated by the fumes and the taste. Expo exposure helped make Moutai arguably China's best-known brand of liquor today.

Expo does have its detractors.

Some observe that as each succeeding Expo competes for greater size and scale, the behemoth threatens to collapse under its own weight, like the dinosaurs.

Adding to this critique is the plain fact that revolutionary changes in communications and transport are making the exhibition of real objects anachronistic.

Given these considerations, it is intriguing to explore why the World Expo is actually going from strength to strength, especially since the turn of the century, with each new Expo setting records in terms of participants and visitors.

The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai now has 237 confirmed participants, including 189 countries and 48 international organizations. In the six months after its opening on May 1, around 70 million visitors are expected.

One obvious explanation for Expo popularity may be that the exposition has long since ceased to be just a commodities fair - that was no longer the case after the 1939 World's Fair in New York. A Depression-era fair, it opened on the eve of World War II and offered a glimpse into the future.

Since then, Expos are more and more about ideas and concepts of cultural and social significance.

According to an official description, Expo is a "testimony to trust between nations and an important instrument of public and cultural diplomacy."

There has never been more eagerness than today to understand each other in this fast-shrinking and flattening world.

Thus, for participating nations, Expo affords a unique opportunity to project their image and soft power through their national pavilions and the numerous cultural events held during the Expo.

Showcasing lifestyle and national identity to China and the rest of the world in this multicultural gathering is an effective means of national branding.

To ensure that each Expo is unique, which is never easy, each new exhibition initiates a dialogue between citizens and states around a specific theme, and the theme for Expo 2010 is "Better City, Better Life."

Only by involving participating countries and visitors can we be in a position to address one of the most compelling issues confronting the world today: how we should live so that others (including our children and other species) can live as well.

Such discussion always presuppose vision and tolerance that transcends prejudices.

Diversity

There must be a sympathetic understanding of the fact that we are different from each other, and that our differences should be more valued than our commonality.

Ideas and concepts cannot be denominated in money, but are strong catalysts for future changes.

In the clamor for globalization, human lifestyle is fast becoming standardized, with people all over the world demonstrating more and more similarities in the way they live.

The Expo should be a great occasion for celebrating, and taking pride in our differences.

The end of the cold war and political confrontation dampened the enthusiasm of some big powers to participate in the Expo, though some are still eager to regard their own values and institutions as universals.

The current global economic situation may have increased the difficulties of coming up with the always-considerable expenditures for a national and international extravaganza. But the economic downturn might represent another reason to participate.

The 1933 Expo in Chicago, held during the Great Depression, had attracted 38 million visitors and proved a great confidence-booster.

That the Expo will be held in China should be another inducement to participate - the status of the host country has always been a vital consideration.

Although the business nature of Expos has weakened considerably, these world's fairs remain an unrivaled platform for talking business.

Individual visitors come for similar reasons.

There are few events that can rival Expo in terms of its appeal, prestige, scale, or excitement - even given the multiplicity of modern entertainment and theme parks.

With so many participants, and over a century of previous Expos, participants face a challenge to avoid homogeneity and come up with unique and memorable exhibitions.

For any visitor, an Expo is a horizon-broadening experience where new concepts for the future are boldly explored.

Young visitors in particular may get a glimpse of how the world will look in the next 10 years.

Opinion Columns


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend