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hina did not close the successful World Expo 2010 Shanghai with fireworks as in the opening but instead staged a series of mind-boggling performances and parades.

Taking place at the Expo Culture Center on the evening of Oct. 31, the event was staged to mark the end of a successful 184-day World Expo, participated in by 246 countries and international organizations, recording a groundbreaking record of 73 million visitors by the end.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jibao, as quoted by http://en.expo2010.cn, stated at the closing ceremony that the expo “has brought together the Chinese people wishing to learn more about the world and foreign friends wishing to know more about China.”

It was, nevertheless, more important to the people of China than to foreigners.

Mei Haixing, a 59-year-old retired middle school teacher from Shanghai, made up to 30 visits to the expo and wrote a 400-page journal that records his experiences at the event with images, souvenirs and signatures from different pavilion curators. “The expo is like a huge museum of the world’s different cultures,” he said.

Zhang Wei, an editor at the China Youth Daily, wrote that he first mocked visitors who lined up to get stamps in their expo passports. “Now I understand their enthusiasm. Many Chinese have no chance of obtaining a real passport, let alone receiving entry stamps from other countries,” he said.

The organizers said they gained experience in public governance by interacting with visitors during the expo, successfully dealing with 1.03 million single day visitors on Oct. 16 after previously complaining about 200,000 visitors on day one.

They also grew to appreciate others’ opinions, providing more umbrellas, fences, fans, signs and wheelchairs at the site in response to visitors’ complaints and suggestions.

Wang Qianhe, a junior at Shanghai’s Donghua University, said he had difficulties in saying goodbye to the expo. Together with more than two million youths from China and other universities abroad, he volunteered for the expo, joining the carefully chosen 80,000 youths at the expo site.

However, the Chinese government intends to build a 20,000-square-meter Expo 2010 Museum in Shanghai, a permanent building that will preserve the memories of the World Expo. More than 200 expo participants have stated their willingness to donate exhibits to the museum, enabling the Chinese to remember one of the biggest events to ever happen in the country’s history, possibly in their lifetime. — JP