Attendance falls short of estimates, but those attending aren't complaining

SHANGHAI - The number of visitors to Expo 2010 Shanghai has fallen short of expectations but the lower count has been a relief to many as this means a more comfortable and satisfactory tour for visitors.

Around 105,600 people went through the turnstiles at the huge culture and technology show during the day on Thursday, the official Expo website said, pushing the total attendance in the first six days to 902,300.

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Early estimates put the number of visitors over the six-month run of the Expo at 70 million, the vast majority of whom are expected to come from China. To hit that target, the fair needs to attract 380,000 visitors a day.

The unexpected slump has given Expo visitors a bit of a relief from the long lines. The lower numbers have also eased pressure on public security and service maintenance.

"It is a pretty comfortable experience," said Wang Limin, 58, from Henan province on Thursday.

"It takes less than an hour to visit some popular pavilions, like China, Germany, Japan and Spain," she said, adding that waiting lines were hardly seen in restaurants or restrooms on Thursday.

Gu Ping, a 28-year-old designer from Shanghai, said his Expo Garden visit on Thursday was relaxing compared to its soft opening late last month, when many pavilions had to close or did not run their full programs.

"It is fine to stand in line for a pavilion like this," Gu said after a tour to the Japan Pavilion on Thursday. "I think the number of visitors is just right. More people will make the experience terrible."

But some of the most popular venues still had a wait of up to three hours. After the China pavilion, the most popular venues include the Swiss, French, German, Spanish, British, Italian, Japanese, American, Saudi Arabia and South Korea pavilions.

The zigzagging lines outside popular venues turned some visitors away.

"It is not acceptable to have a queue like this," said Samuel Surkos from Slovakia. "But this is China. You have to wait everywhere."

Zhang Yuting, a foreign company clerk from Beijing, said he waited three hours to enter the Saudi Arabia Pavilion.

"It is very frustrating to wait," he said.

Organizers said they are still grappling with estimates about just how many people will attend the massive event, but ticket sales so far have been satisfying. Up until May 4, more than 33 million tickets have been sold, official figures show. If the free tickets to be distributed to each Shanghai household are counted, the potential number of visitors is expected to exceed 40 million.

China spent 28.6 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) on the Expo itself and many billions more on improvements, such as public transportation for the city of 20 million people.

Chinese officials want the fair to get into the top list of Expos, which is headed by Osaka in 1970 with an estimated 64 million guests.