Expo 2010 in Shanghai is ending, attracting millions of visitors

Shanghai (China) - The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai has today reached its conclusion after six months, attracting over 73 million visitors. The Expo, themed Better City, Better Life, featured participation from 192 countries and an additional fifty exhibitors. The Czech Pavilion was a success: it was visited by nearly eight and a half million people, and the Paris-based International Exhibitions Bureau awarded it a silver medal for creativity.
    On the final day, 304,000 people attended, according to the Expo's website. This number is, however, more than three times smaller compared to October 16, when a record 1.03 million visitors passed through the exhibition gates, the DPA agency reported. Exhibitors had 5.3 square kilometers of space available in Shanghai, and Chinese investments in the Expo reportedly reached 58 billion dollars (over a trillion crowns).
    In strong international competition, the Czech exhibition with the theme Fruits of Civilization achieved great success. The Hongkong Daily included the Czech Pavilion, which represented the Czech Republic as a modern country, among the top five even before the exhibition opened, which served as good publicity.
    The pavilion's exterior, characterized by a clean design, was adorned with thousands of black pucks. The exhibition, which offered technological experiences and design surprises with an emphasis on emotions, was created from 22 large white cubes with artifacts from artists. Major attractions included reliefs from under the statue of John of Nepomuk, which were brought as a symbol of luck from Prague's Charles Bridge, and a kaleidoscope representing Czech wonders.
    Among the most watched exhibits was a giant golden tear, which was actually made of aluminum and then gilded. A computer recorded the emotions of people looking at the "golden drop," and after analyzing the data, it could mix a personal fragrance for individual visitors. However, only every 500th incoming guest had the chance to obtain their own perfume.
    The Czech government allocated half a billion crowns for participation in the cultural Olympics of nations. The fate of the pavilion has already been decided: it will remain in China, where it was purchased for more than 30 million crowns by a Czechoslovak-Chinese Friendship Farm.
    The most significant success to date for what was then Czechoslovakia was recorded at the Expo in Brussels in 1958. The republic received the highest award in the overall evaluation - the Golden Star, along with dozens of other accolades.
    A construction frenzy preceded the exhibition in Shanghai. An area for the exhibition was leveled that included a neighborhood of 18,000 residents who were relocated elsewhere, as well as 270 factories. Over the course of two years, six new metro lines were built, and prior to the exhibition, 4,000 new taxis were put into operation. Street lighting was modernized, utilizing energy-efficient LED lights, among other improvements.