Since the successful bid to hold the 2010 World Exposition, Chinese people have paid more attention to the World Expositions. Most, however, do not know much about them. Tips here will provide the readers with some information .

• Difference between Exposition & Exhibition

Exposition literally means an exhibition with broad coverage, large scale and substantial content. It is difficult, however, to distinguish exposition from exhibition for two reasons. First, the term‘exhibition’itself means both exhibition and exposition; second, no limits are set up to regulate the use of the two terms in practice, and many businessmen participating in an exhibition prefer to use the term‘exposition’. In accordance with internationally recognized criteria and taking account of the actual situation of China, the following table can be used to distinguish exposition, exhibition and other similar activities.

• Stipulations on the type of the World Expo by the Bureau Of International Expositions (BIE)

In the council of the Bureau of International Expositions held in May 1988, frequencies and types of World Expos in the future were decided as follows:

Type	Feature	Frequency
Comprehensive (registered)	Broad subject, large scale	At least once every five years
Specialized (recognized)	Specific subject, relatively small scale	Generally once every two years, held between two comprehensive world expos.

The 1999 Kunming World Horticultural Exposition held in China was a specialized world exposition, while the 2010 Shanghai World Expo will be a comprehensive one.

• World Expositions Records

1. The first World Exposition

“The Great Exhibition of the Industries of All Nations”, held in London of England in 1851, is generally recognized as the first World Exposition.

2. The first Technological World Exposition

In 1920, the first specialized technological exposition was held in Leipzig, Germany.

3. The first exposition with a clear theme

In accordance with the stipulations made by BIE, each world exposition must have a clear theme since the 1933 Chicago World Fair, America, whose theme was“a century of progress.”

4. The first Chinese individual to participate in the world exposition

Xu Rongcun, a Chinese businessman, participated in the first World Exposition held in London, Britain in 1851. Mr. Xu carried with him silk, tea and traditional Chinese medicines, and was awarded gold and silver prizes.

5. The first Chinese delegation to participate in the world exposition

In 1904, a delegation, headed by Fulun, was sent by the Qing government to participate in the 12th World Exposition held in Saint Louis, America. A Chinese Venue and Chinese Village were constructed there. Foreign media referred to this as the“Chinese government officially stepping on the stage of the world exposition”.

6. The first world exposition held by China

In 1910, the Qing government held the“Nanyang Quanye Exhibition”in Nanjing, ranking alongside large expositions of the same time worldwide in terms of organization, scale and level. All provinces, except Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, supplied exhibits, with the participating provinces totaling 22. Countries in Southeast Asia and Britain, America, Japan and Germany provided exhibits as well. The exposition covered more than 600 thousand square meters and displayed more than 1 million exhibits.

7. The first exposition participated in by the People’s Republic of China

In 1951, the People’s Republic of China, for the first time, sent a delegation to participate in the Leipzig Spring World Exposition, German Democratic Republic, (GDR), which marked the development of the Chinese exhibition industry. Since 1982, the Chinese government has sent delegations to participate in the world exposition 12 times.

8. The first specialized world exposition held in China

In 1999, Kunming Horti-Expo, Kunming Yunnan was held.

9. The countries holding the most expositions

America and France, 10 times each

10. The exposition covering the largest area

The 1939 New York World Fair covered 500 hectares.

11. The exposition with most visitors

The 1970 Osaka World Exposition, Japan had 65 million visitors.

12. The exposition with the most participating countries and international organizations

Expo 2000 Hanover, Germany had more than 170 countries and international organizations.

13. The exposition covering the largest area and having the most visitors and most participating countries and international organizations

2010 Shanghai World Exposition, China will cover 5.28 km2, and has 70 million expected visitors and more than 200 countries and international organizations participating.

（Huang Yunzhi: Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade）