Written by Dai Qian

Photographed by Xiang Xinrong

The executive committee of the Expo 2010 Shanghai China held its third conference recently, aiming to mobilize all forces for the new stage of full implementation in preparing for the World Expo. The meeting pointed out that the preparation for the Expo Shanghai has entered a new stage of full implementation, marked by three shifts: involving a shift from partial to full implementation in hardware construction, a shift from conceptual thinking to concrete embodiment in theme interpretation, and from preliminary contacts to gradual implementation in investor and exhibitor recruitment. The preparation is now broad-based, and the task is more pressing and arduous, with more departments to be involved. It called on all staff working for the preparation of the Expo to maintain a strong morale in order to overcome difficulty, asking them to keep an innovative and enterprising spirit and to mobilize all forces to achieve a synergy effect in the Expo preparation.

Mr. Huang Yaocheng, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination speaks to Expo 2010 Shanghai on the new stage of the World Expo preparation.

Q: Various work for the preparation of the Expo Shanghai has entered into a stage of full implementation after the third meeting of the executive committee of the Expo Shanghai. What are the new features of this stage in comparison to the previous one?

A: Since the third conference of the executive committee of the Expo Shanghai, various tasks have been pushed into a compulsory stage of implementation. Before this stage, we have done a lot of planning work, and for now, the pressing job for us is to flesh out the planning work, implementing and concretizing them as quickly as possible. Mr. Chen Liangyu proposed the three“shifts”at the third meeting of the executive committee of Expo 2010 Shanghai China, which are not only a summary for preparatory work in the previous stage, but also higher requirements for the next stage.

Hardware construction moves on from partial to full implementation: starting from the second half of this year, the infrastructure construction in the Expo Park should be operating at a full speed.

Detailed work such as the construction of the China Pavilion and themed pavilions and the layout of venues for various events should be carried out one by one in a clear manner. The infrastructure construction, preparation of pavements, traffic facilities, green space, supporting facilities, commercial facilities and parking lots should also be carried out one by one on the basis of the continuous revision of the planning for these projects in the previous stage.

In addition, some large ancillary projects such as the construction of rail transit network in the areas surrounding the Expo Park are also under construction.

Theme interpretation shifts to concrete embodiment from conceptual thinking: concrete embodiment refers to the development and displaying of the World Expo theme through the construction of pavilions, the exhibits to be displayed, and the methods of exhibition.

First of all, it is the embodiment of the World Expo theme through the layout of the Expo Park. All the pavilions in the Expo Park can be grouped into three "belts", with the first belt reflecting the harmony between different people and the quality of life, the second belt, which is close to the Huangpu River, reflecting the harmonious relationship between mankind and nature, and the third belt reflecting the harmonious relationship between history and the future via paying visits to enterprise pavilions, World Expo Park and Urban Experimental Zone.

Secondly, the exhibits should center upon themes of harmonious society, harmonious development and harmonious world. According to experiences gained from previous World Expos, we will adopt a joint planning approach for some developing countries, giving guidance to their exhibits and methods of exhibition in a bid to make their participation better fit into the theme of the World Expo.

Investor and exhibitor recruitment shall move on to gradual implementation from preliminary contacts: at present, we have established country-specific files to get to know the feedbacks from different countries through communication and promoting efforts via the consulates and embassies of these countries in China. We also set up the mechanism for exhibitor recruitment, fleshing out the grand objective for exhibitor recruitment into specific targets for each stage and each year. Our ultimate goal is to secure the participation of 200 countries and international organizations, and for this year, our bottom line is to secure the confirmation of participation from 50 countries and organizations, while striving to seek confirmations from 70 countries and organizations.

For the recruitment of investors, the objective is very clear, and for this year, our aim is to solicit partners and senior sponsors. According to our plan, the investor recruitment work must be finished by the end of 2007, and the solicitation of visitors should enter a substantial stage in 2008.

The preparatory work for the Expo Shanghai is moving on gradually into a substantial stage from the previous planning phase and to a stage of full implementation from foundational planning. All in all, we have entered into a fresh transitional phase.

Q: How will the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination arrange its work for the next phase in order to achieve the objective of the three 'shits'?

A: In order to press ahead with the preparatory work for the Expo Shanghai and to have a rule-based implementation of the preparatory work, the third conference of the executive committee for the Shanghai World Expo has formulated a detailed, straightforward working framework for the preparation of the World Expo, which shall be the overall guidance blueprint and battle map for the preparatory work of the Expo Shanghai. The framework lists six categories of tasks, which are further classified into 32 small groups and 96 detailed tasks, including "soft" tasks and "hard" tasks. In accordance with the framework, these tasks have been allocated to 73 work units in Shanghai. Apart from undertaking its own tasks, the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination is also responsible for the coordination of relevant units undertaking the tasks and other parties providing support services. The bureau will mobile all resources in preparing the World Expo, and integrate all parties involved in the preparatory work to establish a mechanism featuring the participation of the whole city in the preparation of the Expo in order to ensure the orderly fulfillment of each scheduled tasks in the preparation of the World Expo.

Q: At the third conference of the executive committee for the World Expo, Mr. Chen Liangyu proposed that we should "grasp the core links in preparing the World Expo, and display our proficiency in running the World Expo". What are the core links in preparing the World Expo?

A: The meeting has made it clear that the exhibitor recruitment and the organization of the exhibition are the most important among all preparatory work for the World Expo, and they are the core links in the software construction. The organizing work should be carried out with emphasis centering closely upon the "Better City, Better Life" theme; we should pay special attention to the exhibition and planning of the China Pavilion and the theme pavilion, making them the most revealing part of the Expo Shanghai while fully exhibiting the profound Chinese civilization and China's image as a big country seeking peaceful development. The exhibitor recruitment work should ensure that we can secure the participation of a large number of countries and organizations, gather worldwide attention, enhance the quality of the World Expo and reflect the glamour of the Expo. The World Expo should be a great venue that gathers all the quintessential parts of the cultures and technologies from participating countries, achieving the goal of running the World Expo in cooperation with countries around the world and that of hosting a world-class Expo.