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Chinese Pavilion

Well, off I went to Shanghai for my last weekend getawaybefore I leave China.  I had made arrangements for the weekend, booking my hotel and asking the local travel agency to book my train tickets when I learned that the college would be cancelling classes on June 14,15 due to Dragon Boat Festival, which was to be celebrated on June 16.  This meant that all classes for those days would have to be made up over the weekend of the 12,13 – my weekend in Shanghai.  I did not want to give up the weekend in my favorite Chinese city, and if I went later, the cost of my hotel room increased by 25%.  So, the college told me if I wanted to be paid for the 12 hours of classes I would have to make them up prior to the weekend.  And I did, teaching 32 hours of classes in 4 days…on two of the days I taught from 8am to 5pm with only a 30 minute break.  Needless to say I was exhausted by the time Friday arrived and was thrilled to board the train to head to the Four Seasons, my home away from home. 

I have come to know several members of the Four Seasons staff over the course of the year and they have become like family.  Willis, Lynn, Jason, Peter in the concierge department have answered every question, written out directions for me, booked lunch and dinner reservations, etc., which is what the concierge desk is supposed to do, but each of them addresses me by my name now when I arrive at the hotel and always ask how things are going in Nanjing.  I have met a lovely young woman who has now been promoted to Lounge Manager, Shirley Xu, and we spend time talking – as much as we can while she is on duty.  She has worked at the hotel for 8 years and is certainly an asset for them.  I wrote a note to the Four Seasons after my third stay, commenting on various elements of my hotel experience and went into detail about Shirley and how well she performs her job, and that her friendliness and professionalism is a reflection of the Four Seasons philosophy.  If my letter helped her with this latest promotion, then I am thrilled. 

I had mixed feelings about going to Expo as I loathe being in crowded places, and I knew it would be hot, humid, cloudy, and filled with 350 – 400,000 people, mostly Chinese who have no sense of manners.  However, I put all those thoughts behind me, and proffered up my 160 yuan for the Expo ticket to the hotel concierge and off I went by taxi to the underground station.  Taking the underground is the best way to get to the site and they have built a special line (#13) to move people from Madang Rd. to the Expo site, stopping at two locations.  The taxi ride was 17 yuan, the metro – free.  The lines were long at 9:10am, but I found more metro entrance sites  around the back side of the station and found a shorter line that seemed to be moving more quickly than the others.  I was through security, which is comparable to an airline security check, minus the removal of shoes, in about 7 minutes and on my way down the steeply banked escalator, along with hundreds of others, stuffed together like a hotdog in a bun.  Many of them had their lunches packed into plastic bags – containers of suspicious looking concoctions, with smells to rival that of the durian fruit.  The metro ride to Shibo Rd. stop took only 5 minutes.  Finally, freedom from the metal cage, packed with people so tightly that one could hardly breathe.  Luckily, I had a seat and so only had to sit there and smell the nastiness of the food contained in the tote bag that was shoved into my face. 

I began my journey through the “city of pavilions” in Zone C – countries of Europe and the Americas.  My first glimpse at these “temporary” structures was the Portuguese pavilion.  It was built with a material that resembles cork, one of the most famous products of Portugal.  From there I walked to the Finnish Pavilion, a supurb structure of what appears to be white tiles, surrounded by a shallow pool.  It emotes a feeling of calm and coolness.  The Spanish Pavilion looked like a giant basket that somehow lost its shape and evolved into a free form structure with no beginning or end. 

Spanish Pavilion "the basket"

Finnish Pavilion

Portugal Pavilion

 It was about 9:45 am and the lines to enter pavilions were already several hundreds of people long, and in a few cases, well over a thousand.  Needless to say, I wanted no part of that and so I wandered from Zone to Zone, taking photos of the buildings I thought were the most interesting.  I spent 3.5 hours at Expo and was ready to leave by 1pm.  One could barely navigate through the hoards of people who all at the same time, walked, stopped, ran, and slithered their way along the pathways.  Yes, run.  I am not sure why some elected to run but they did, and to what purpose?  They could not get into a pavilion more quickly as the lines were already at a 3-4 hour wait. 

I went to the US pavilion and it was okay.  The architecture was not especially interesting, although the designers claimed it was to resemble an eagle in flight.  I missed that part, but then, there were thousands of Chinese lined up to get in and so maybe I did not see the bigger picture.  I did visit the USA Diner, and bought a $5 hotdog, complete with French’s mustard.  It was the best part of my day and the first hot dog I have eaten since a Yankee’s game in 2000 at the old stadium. 

After walking for two hours I discovered that there was a bus that could take me from Zone C to Zone A where the Asian pavilions were located.  The buses are free but as time goes on in the day, the lines to board them can take up to an hour.  TIC….The Chinese Pavilion was nice – what else can I say. 

Chinese Pavilion, from the back

 It was typical of the architecture and the color of course – red.  By now the temperature had risen to the mid-80′s and the humidity was well over that.  Fortunately, I discovered an elevated pedestrian walkway that had a canvas covering, that would lead you around the the various pavilions, removing you from the masses of humanity that were undulating and pulsing at ground level.  From this level I could take some interesting photos as I did with India, Nepal, China, UAE, etc.  By now I am hot, tired and in need of a cool place to rest and have something cold to drink.  I sprinted through the Asian section, found a bus line and traveled back to the European section.  I had thought about having lunch at Sens, the French restaurant operated by the Pourcel brothers but the wait was over an hour – ding!  So I headed towards the subway and suddenly found the Expo parade traveling down the main boulevard, preventing me from crossing over and so I watched and shot photos.  Countries represented in this parade included Japan, Macau, and Eastern Europe.  It was not especially exciting or interesting – the women’s orchestra from Heilongjiang marched with faces that looked bored, empty of feeling or tired.  Not one of them had a smile….

The parade ended and I found the Porterhouse Pub on my walk back to the metro station – a cool place to enjoy a lager, engage in friendly conversation with staff from Ireland, Australia, America, and of course – China.  The beer was ice cold and the commaderie warm – a perfect combination.  Since the crowds had seemed to have multiplied by a factor of 1000, I knew it was time to leave and that I did! 

So, my Expo experience?  Well, personally I think it was a huge waste of money, as once the Expo ends all the buildings will be torn down.  A few can be salvaged and re-built in another location in China, but most will be destroyed.  The site will become a business industrial park.  Most of the visitors are native Chinese who do not spend money and so they are not purchasing food, nor many souvenirs save for the stuffed Haibao dolls, and those can be purchased in the black market throughout Shanghai for 75% less.  During my 3.5 hours there, I saw perhaps 50 caucasians…I was definitely the minority here.  For the Chinese who have the propensity to wait forever, it is their opportunity to see what other countries might be like, although it is not so much of a tourist attraction, but rather a business venture.  Belgium is all about chocolate and diamonds, Portugal is about the cork industry, etc.  So will the Chinese learn anything about the rest of the world?  Well, all I can say is this.  One of my students attended Expo with her family a month ago.  They drove to Shanghai, leaving at 4 am as it is a 5 hour drive from Nanjing.  Once there, they lined up to see the Germany pavilion which portrays a new city environment.  They waited for over 2 hours.  When asked what she thought, she could not tell me what it was about, but only she likes Germany.  She thought the inside of the pavilion was interesting but did not know what she was seeing…..TIC    Unless the Chinese are given a roadmap or a book, explicitly telling them what to believe, to see, to know, they are lost.  Independent thoughts are not taught, nor encouraged in this country and so there is no creativity.  A circle is a circle…it cannot be a ball, sun, or anything else with a round shape.  What it taught comes from a book that has to be memorized in order to take the test. 

And so, Expo Schmexpo…. a billions of dollars enterprise that may have a short term effect of bringing some dollars to China, but in the long run, I don’t think it will result in China becoming more popular or successful in the world market.  They have a long way to go in developing people skills which are essential to becoming world leaders.  I have not seen those skills demonstrated within the masses, nor are they taught.  Good luck! 

Finally, USA

Chinese Pavilion from the back