'Miguelin', the 6.5-meter-tall animated baby inside the Spain Pavilion, is likely to stay in Shanghai after the Expo ends. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

being planned to condense the ideas and key exhibits of the last six months for future generations to help realize the goal of 'Better City, Better Life? writes Yu Ran.

A number of officials, pavilion directors and local residents are trying to keep the innovative spirit of the Expo 2010 Shanghai alive in the city after the Expo wraps up on Oct 31, despite World Expo rules mandating that the site must be torn down.

The China Pavilion, one of only several permanent buildings that will stay in place, will close for maintenance until Dec 1, when it will reopen to the public for six months as a public attraction requiring tickets.

The Joint Pavilion of Chinese provinces, which skirts the base of the structure, will be torn down.

"The China Pavilion will try to maintain its original displays as shown during the Expo," said Qian Zhiguang, the pavilion's deputy director. He said its long-term future would be determined after seeing how popular it is over the next six months.

The towering 40-meter-high structure, dubbed the "Oriental Crown", received 35,000 visitors when the Expo officially opened on May 1, and an average of 52,000 visits per day during the Expo's run.

The World Expo Museum, in the Puxi side of the Expo Garden, will be enlarged and renamed the Expo 2010 Museum, or totally rebuilt. Either way, some of its borrowed exhibits will be returned to their owners or given to other museums; the rest will stay.

The museum currently displays 330 rare exhibits, including works by French sculptor Auguste Rodin that were originally shown at the Paris World Expo in 1900, among other artworks that featured at previous Expos.

"We're planning to extend the range of the Expo Museum, so we're trying to keep certain unique exhibits here in Shanghai after the Expo ends," said Yang Xiong, vice-mayor of the city.

Many of the top draws at the most popular pavilions are on the museum's wanted list, he said.

"We've been approached by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination about the future home of 'Miguelin', the giant (animated) baby in the pavilion. As he is too big to maintain and too difficult to take back to Spain, he'll probably stay in Shanghai," said Yang Yue, press officer of the Spain Pavilion.

Detailed plans of the 2010 Expo Museum are still under discussion, but a rough picture has been sketched out that condenses the main exhibits and technology of the ongoing Expo, said Chen Xiejun, director of the World Expo Museum and the Urban Footprint Pavilion.

Chen and his team have gathered 300 artifacts from around China to replace those that will be returned to their original homes in November, he said.

"We're keen to retain the innovative spirit of the 2010 Expo in the museum by keeping vestiges of all the related technology, and cultural and lifestyle ideas, as a memento for future generations," said Chen.

Some of the pavilions in the Urban Best Practices Area in Puxi, such as the Madrid Case Pavilion, will stay in place as permanent structures, as will four large pavilions and the central boulevard in Pudong, officials said.

Madrid has attempted to introduce affordable public housing to the Spanish capital, using low-carbon materials and relying more on wind power. This is encapsulated by its case pavilion, which is modeled on a real project in Madrid.

"The pavilion was built to stay in the same location when the Expo ends, but certain exhibits that were contributed by sponsors or organizations will be returned to Spain," said Itnacio Nino, one of the pavilion's coordinators.

At the last World Expo in Aichi, Japan in 2005, some exhibits were re-used, but most of the Expo site was restored to its original condition. In this spirit, the Japan Pavilion plans to donate a scale model and hostesses uniforms.

"We will consider ways to cooperate with the museum," said Ken Odaka, the director of the pavilion. "It would be good to keep some parts of the Expo and share them with those who did not have a chance to visit."

The Expo 2010 has created an open platform for Chinese enterprises to get close to global markets and vice versa, despite it not serving as a trade or commerce fair.

Numerous events and forums have been held between national pavilions and the Chinese Private Enterprise Pavilion, giving successful businesspeople from different countries an opportunity to share their experiences and extend their future cooperation.

"The Expo has been a unique opportunity for us private enterprises to learn more about innovation from skilled companies in developed countries like Sweden and the United States," said Sun Jun, assistant president of Fosun Group, the largest privately owned conglomerate in China.

Fosun recognized early on that the Expo could help enhance its management and creative ideas, he said.

"The pavilion will be moved out of the Expo Garden to become a Chinese Private Enterprise Center, with the current exhibitions kept in place. It will also be a venue for business meetings and trade fairs," said Sun.

Meanwhile, the Expo has brought benefits and challenges to local residents and city planners with its theme of "Better City, Better Life". More than 20 temporary regulations and 30 normative standards in urban management have been put in place in the city, including subway security checks and controls on large trucks.

"What will remain will be a new image of the city, with improved urban facilities," said Yang.

The Expo has also had an impact on consumption in Shanghai. Total retail sales of consumer goods from January to June exceeded 292 billion yuan ($44 billion), up 17.5 percent from the corresponding period last year, according to statistics released by the municipal government this month. It is too early to gauge the full impact of the event on the city's consumption levels.

"The Expo is certainly the biggest event to hit Shanghai in the last 30 years of reform and opening up, but achieving the goal of 'Better City, Better Life', which implies a democratic and fair society, will still be something of a challenge," said Qiu Liping, a sociology professor at Shanghai's Fudan University.

Shanghai should be careful not to focus merely on raising consumption rates while ignoring broader business development plans that can benefit residents and consumption patterns in the longer term, he said.

"Fortunately the Expo has given local residents hope that more information and better technology can give them a better life. Hopefully the city will realize this goal within the next five years," said Qiu.

Japan plans to donate hostesses uniforms and a scale model of its cocoon-shaped national pavilion to the Expo 2010 Museum. Asianewsphoto

The Madrid Case Pavilion will stay in the same location in Puxi, but certain exhibits will be returned to Spain. Photos by Gao Erqiang / China Daily

The Expo 2010 Museum aims to become a must-see tourism destination in Shanghai.

(China Daily 10/22/2010)