World expo promoted in Canada

Officials from the Shanghai municipal government are currently on a whirlwind tour of Canada promoting the 2010 World Expo.

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whirlwindtourofCanadapromotingthe2010WorldExpo.

The group has visited major cities in Canada, including Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary. They told local media how preparations are going and where to buy tickets for overseas visitors. The limited version of the 2010 Expo tickets are already on sale in Toronto.

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Dialogue 09/04/30 Preparing for Shanghai World Expo 2010

Special Report:2010 Shanghai Expo Countdown

Watch Full Video>>

Background Report:

Dialogue 09/04/30 Preparing for Shanghai World Expo 2010

Special Report:2010 Shanghai Expo Countdown

Watch Full Video>>

Background Report:

2010 World Expo: Tour the world in one day

Special Report:2010 Shanghai Expo Countdown

BEIJING, May 1 -- How much will it cost to tour the world? The answer is 160 yuan (23.35 U.S. dollars). In just a year's time, people will be able to enjoy tea in a French garden, chat with friends on Australia's Uluru and take a trip on Switzerland's Mount Titlis cable car, all on the same day. The dreamlike journey will take place in the 2010 World Expo site along the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

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With 365 days to go and more than 1 million tickets already sold in China, it's time to think about what the 2010 world fair will have to offer.

What can visitors expect for their 160 yuan? The organizers have the answers: pavilions, foreign cultures, exhibitions, performances as well as cuisine and shopping.

Visitors will be dazzled by more than 200 innovative pavilions. For example, the United Kingdom Pavilion will be a huge "light box" with 60,000 spines projecting out into the air. The Poland Pavilion will be designed like a *** cutting. The Spain Pavilion will look as if it was woven out of reeds. The newly unveiled India Pavilion will replicate a 2,000-year-old Buddhist stupa.

While strolling around the world, visitors can also experience the atmosphere of the exotic. Couples may like to take in a French wedding in the France Pavilion. The Republic of Korea will let visitors to walk through Seoul's streets. Visitors to the Norway Pavilion will have the chance to stroll through Scandinavian fjords and forests.

World Expo has plans for U.S. absence

Special Report:2010 Shanghai Expo Countdown

SHANGHAI, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai World Expo organizers said Monday they had emergency plans if the United States fails to show at the event.

Tuesday's China Daily quoted Hong Hao, director-general of the Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau, as saying that the bureau has plans for the potential withdrawal of any participants from the event.

He said on request of the Consulate General of the U.S., the expo's organizers had allotted a very "good and appropriate" location for the U.S. pavilion in the expo site.

"Should the U.S. complete fund-raising and project design, it can still use the reserved land for the construction of its pavilion," he said.

Hong nevertheless sounded upbeat about US participation by adding, "progress had been achieved in fund-raising as far as I know thanks to support from both government and enterprises."

Organizers Monday also confirmed that preparations for the expo have been going smoothly, with 234 countries and international organizations having confirmed their participation in the event.

Central China Expo records 2b yuan in contracts

Contracts valued at 2 billion yuan (about $300 million) had been signed by Monday at the Central China Expo in Hefei, Anhui Province, its second day.

Organizers said that despite the global downturn, the number of attendees was about twice that of last year's event.

The fourth Central China Expo targeted six central provinces - Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Henan and Shanxi - and attracted about 16,000 participants from about 300 multinational companies such as Carrefour and IBM.

Jean Luc Lhuillier, vice president and general manager for Carrefour's operations in central and western China, said he had discussions about new stores with an official from Zhoukou City, Henan Province.

I will make an appointment with him for an on-the-spot visit to see whether we can open a new store, he said.

The first foreign company to open stores in the capitals of central provinces like Hubei in 1998 and Anhui in 2002, Carrefour will further explore the central China market, he said.

This year we will open at least one store in Anhui, two in Hubei, one in Henan and one in Hunan, Lhuillier said.

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National book trading expo opens

In Jinan city, in East China's Shandong province, the 19th National Book Trading Expo is underway. Braving the stress from the global financial crisis, domestic publishers are seeking new ways to sustain growth.

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Oldtimers are proving to be a formidable presence at the expo. Big names like Commercial Press, People's Literature Publishing House, and Sanlian Publishing House are displaying more than two thousand titles. Among those are heavyweight projects like "The Complete Canon of Chinese Literature," and the latest edition of the "Encyclopedia of China," as well as the two-hundred-volume series of "Commentaries on Chinese Thinkers."

Nie Zhenning, the president of China Publishing Corporation said, "Without the current structural reform and operational innovation, these publishers would not be able to release so many high-quality titles in such a short period. Those titles represent the highest levels of China's publishing industry."

Ondisplayattheexpoaremorethanthree-hundred-thousandtitles.

On display at the expo are more than three-hundred-thousand titles. A great number of them fall into the categories of social sciences, literature and arts, and the 60-year history of the People's Republic of China.

Most evident at this year's expo is the increasing integration of traditional publishing operation with the new media. The newly established Zhongnan Publishing Media Corporation is showcasing its first group of publications, ranging from traditional print books to online audio and video.

According to the State Press and Publication Administration, China's publishing sector has seen an impressive growth rate of more than 20-percent over last year. Current efforts are underway to build a number of multimedia publishing conglomerates by 2015.

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