XINHUA.NET

"Inside the Expo Garden it only takes a few minutes to drive from China to the US. It's only a Coca Cola stand that lies between France and Germany, rather than Alsace. People talk about traveling to Canada, Italy, Thailand and Greenland as if they were sitting in a first-class cabin inside a jet. They look at the Little Mermaid and artworks from the Renaissance in the morning, then go to have steak in Argentina and coffee in Brazil for lunch. The Expo basically condenses the entire world into one city."

Harvard University graduate

Lawrence

one of the USA Pavilion's student ambassadors, shares his thoughts on the globe-trotting possibilities offered by the Expo.

QQ.COM

"We are willing to exchange Expo badges and pins of any kind, except for the 'sign language' one. That is more than just a badge. It's our pride and honor. Society has worked together in the past to help and care for us, and now I am taking this opportunity to reciprocate."

Deaf volunteer Zhao Shunli explains why he enjoys helping visitors with hearing impairments using sign language.

EASTDAY.COM

"We need to make better presentations within the pavilions, and more effectively promote their advanced ideas and technologies outside the Expo Garden. We have invited many pavilion directors to share their best urban practices with governors to help spread their advanced ideas. For example, Shanghai's Huangpu district is planning to borrow ideas about redevelopment from the Barcelona Case Pavilion. Hongqiao transportation hub is going to learn from the Odense Case Pavilion, and the Madrid Case Pavilion has exchanged ideas with Jiading district regarding a low-rent housing program."

Sun Liansheng

director of the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) in the Puxi side of the Expo Garden, explains how Shanghai is learning from the cutting-edge urban practices on display.

(China Daily 09/24/2010)