Home China Guide World Expo Shanghai 2010 Tips and FAQs

Shanghai Expo Travel Tips and FAQs

Preparation

Learn about the weather of Shanghai, and make appropriate preparations. Many cultural performances will be influenced by rain, and it won't be a good idea to visit the expo site during rainy days. For a sunny day, wear a hat and protection from direct sunlight exposure.
Visitors can view 3D animation of expo pavilions at Expo Shanghai Online and get stamps on online expo passport.
By collecting enough information, visitors should know about which part or pavilions they are interested in, so that when actually visiting the Expo, they know what to see and where to go. Sort out the popular pavilions and not so popular pavilions, and draw up a visiting plan in advance.
Be ready for unexpected changes and alter your plans rationally.
How to visit the Expo? China Highlights proposes a visiting schedule of 3 days.
Note: We have received a few complaints from our customers about waiting in long queues in summer heat for up to four hours to visit a popular pavilion (such as Pavilions of China, Germany, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc.), and more than one hour to visit a not very popular pavilion. However, some of our customers also think it is worth visiting despite the long waiting. Our suggestion for our customers is to be patient, wear sun protection, and be flexible in planning your visit to pavilions.

Suggested Items to Bring

China Highlights suggests for you the following items to bring while visiting the Expo

Valid passport – Required for admission, together with Expo tickets. Please keep it in a secure place.
Comfortable walking shoes – Although there are in-site transportation facilities, visiting the Expo requires plenty of walking.
Cash – For meals, delicacies and souvenirs.
Camera or video recorder – For memories.
Sunglasses, hats and sunscreen – For protection from strong sunlight. A small bottle of sunscreen is allowed to bring into the Expo site.
Tissues or wet wipes – For cleaning.
Feeding bottle and baby carriage – They are allowed to bring into the Expo site.
Convenience food such as bread and chocolates, in case the restaurants inside the park get too crowded.

Inside the Expo site, there is free and clean drinkable water provided to visitors, and drinks are sold at normal prices without mark-up. For safety reasons, visitors are not allowed to bring any of the following items into the Expo.

Prohibited Items

In addition to explosive, flammable, radioactive and other hazardous items as well as articles prohibited by applicable laws and regulations of the People’s Republic of China, visitors are not allowed to carry into the Expo site any of the following articles:

Expo Prohibited Items

How to visit the Expo? China Highlights proposes a visiting schedule of 3 days.

Entry

Opening Hours: The Expo park opens for 15 hours from 9:00 till 24:00 each day during the Expo session (May 1 – October 31). Pavilions open for 13 hours from 09:30 to 22:30 eacy day. Because there are opening ceremonies or cultural performances at the Expo site from 9:00 to 9:30 every day, pavillions open half an hour later than the park.
Admission into the Expo park is denied after 21:00, while admission into pavilions is denied after 22:00.
Evening Admission Tickets: After 17:00 on standard days (May 4 – September 30, October 8 – 24, 2010), visitors can buy evening admission tickets to visit the Expo. Evening admission tickets can only be bought on entry, and the price is 100 yuan per ticket.
There are altogether 13 entrance to the Expo (5 entrances are water gates located on the banks of Huangpu River). Popular entrances are No. 1, 2, 6 and 8, and not so popular entrances are No. 3, 4, 5 and 7. It is adviced to enter from not so popular entrances, so that you can save waiting time on a queue and might have a chance to get a reservation ticket for China Pavilion, which is usually given out within 20 minutes every day after the Expo park opens.
Waiting in line:Waiting visitors are divided into several queues for different accesses. Length of waiting time depends on popularity of different entrance. Half an hour is usual, but longer hours are needed when there are huge crowds. At the queuing area, compare the situation of different queues, and follow the suggestions of Expo volunteers who may tell you which queue is the best to wait in.
Security inspection is required at the entrance, but it is quick and it takes only about a minute to go through security inspection.
Expo site maps and performance schedules are handed out by volunteers on entry. Remember to get one, which can be a big assisance for your visiting.

Buy an Expo passport right after entry. It is a traditional Expo souvenir with which visitors can go to participant countries' pavilions to get chops stamped on, and enjoy the fun of "traveling the world". Expo passports are sold at 30 yuan each.

Waiting for Admission into Pavilions

Don't waste your time on waiting in very long queues, unless you really don't want to miss a certain pavilion. Ask volunteers after how long you can enter the pavilion, if it is a waiting for more than an hour, visit some other pavilion with fewer people waiting instead.
Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) located in Puxi area is very worth visiting, and with much fewer people. It is recommended to visit this area in the morning when other popular pavilions are crowded.

Dining inside the Expo Park

There is a Food Square located between the Expo Center and Theme Pavilion. Food from all over the country are available, and there are some public facilities for visitors to take a rest.
Many pavilions of participant countries have their own restaurants and bars.

Shanghai Sightseeing Tips

Unlike Beijing, Shanghai does not brim with great sights. Except for Yuyuan (Henan Garden), Jade Buddha Temple , the Grand Theater and the Huangpu River Cruise, there are no other sights with great appeal. However, the beauty of visiting Shanghai lies not in scurrying from sight to sight, but in the feel of the city's modern atmosphere.

Check out Top Things to Do in Shanghai.

Notice:

A large part of Shanghai is under reconstruction for the 2010 World Expo. Some of the famous towers built along the Bund during colonial period, such as Sassoon House, are being renovated. The western shore of the Bund is often a dusty traffic jam. Walking along the old Bund may not be as pleasant as usual.
Yu Garden is under renovation. Although only a small part is affected by the project, your overall experience might be impinged upon.

Shanghai Dining Tips

Shanghai boasts one of China's best and most distinctive cuisines. Influenced by its position just south of the Yangtze and at the mouth of the Huangpu, the region abounds in a selection of freshwater fish and shellfish. Dishes from this area are lightly and delicately seasoned. Apart from the local delicacies, cuisines from other parts of the country and even the world are widely available.

If you are on a tight budget, stick to the side streets, where small restaurants serve cheap local food, or the numerous Chinese fast-food chains and the food courts that are in the basement or top floor of almost every department store. Famous restaurants in Shanghai include:

Shanghai Shopping Tips

Shanghai is one of the most prosperous cities in the world, where you can buy almost anything. Products and souvenirs from every part of the county find their way here.

What to Buy?

Shopping Places

The main shopping streets, Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road, offer many international brand names. But if you are not interested in fashion and prefer shopping at outdoor markets, try Shanghai's numerous open air markets, such as Dongtai Road Antique Street.

Shanghai Entertainment Tips

Shanghai has the most colorful nightlife in mainland China, with options from the heart-pounding night clubs to classical music concerts to shows featuring traditional Chinese culture. Nightclubs and bars are always booming, with joints opening and closing faster than night can turn into day. Barflies now have a choice of everything from glamorous Art Deco lounges to the seediest watering hole; live rock and jazz can be heard into the wee hours. For those who prefer quiet ways of spending their night time, there are traditional Chinese shows, Chinese acrobatics and night cruises along the Huangpu River.

Famous Bars

More Shanghai travel tips

Tips for Buying an Expo Ticket with Shuttle Bus Included

Q: How to get on a direct shuttle bus?
A: The shuttle bus company will have a list of all the passengers. Passengers have to show their passports.

Q: Will there be English speaking tour guides on the bus?
A: Yes, there may be tour guides on the bus who speak English.

Check out more tips on Expo Direct Bus Ticket

Shanghai Expo Travel FAQs

Q: Will my one day ticket get me into all the pavilions at the Expo?
A: Yes, a one day ticket provides entry to all pavilions. The Expo sites are open from 9:00 to 24:00 everyday. One day may not be enough time to see everything but three-day and seven-day admission tickets are available.

Q: Are there sightseeing buses at the Expo sites for the elderly or disabled?
A: Yes, there will be a free shuttle bus for them to take. Click the link to find out more about it.

Q: What will happen to the Expo sites after the Expo?
A: Some of the pavilions are to be dismantled, and some will be used for other purposes.

Q: Can I use my multiple entry ticket for multiple entries on the same day?
A: All the tickets, including three-day/seven-day admission tickets, allows only one entry each day.

Q: Is a Peak Day ticket invalid if not used on the printed day?

A: No. According to the Ticketing Regulation, if the Peak Day ticket is not used on the designated day, it can also be used on any Standard Day.

Q: Do the Expo Tickets gurantee me entrance into the China Pavilion?
A: Holding an expo ticket, the visitor will be allowed to enter expo site and visit every pavilions. However, in order to create a comfortable visiting atmosphere, some pavilions will limit the number of visitors each day. For some popular pavilions, the queuing time may up to 3 or 4 hours. However, for the Chinese Pavilion, only the visitor with reservation ticket can enter it. The staff or volunteers will hold the reservation tickets at each entrance gate in the morning when the site opens to the visitor (9am). Usually the ticket will become unavailable in 20 minutes. In some less crowded entrances, it might be easier to get the reservation, but this cannot be guaranteed.

Q: We plan to visit the Expo in Shanghai. But we heard that there are very long queues waiting in order to get into the pavilions, is that true? Are there any pavilions that have fewer crowds?
A: Yes, for admission into some popular pavilions, such as China Pavilion, UK Pavilion, UAE Pavilion, Germany Pavilion and Saudi Arabia Pavilion. For these popular pavilions, visitors need to wait in line for 2 to 4 hours. Some people think the time is too long, but some people think it is still worth waiting to visit. According to the feedback of our customers who have visited the Expo, they “did find really beautiful pavilions like Oman, Qatar, Jordan Kingdom, Nepal, Finland, Vietnam, and Belgium/Europe, and had never to queue more than 20 minutes.” When you are at the Expo, you can ask the volunteers about how long the waiting time will be to better plan your visit.

Q: Does the admission ticket include food and beverage in the park?

A: No. Food and beverage will be served in the Park but would be charged separately. There is a Food Square located between the Expo Center and Theme Pavilion. Food from all over the country are available, and there are some public facilities for visitors to take a rest. Besides, many pavilions of participant countries have their own restaurants and bars.

Find and pose more questions and answers about visiting Expo Shanghai.

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Shanghai Expo Travel Tips and FAQs