Cheap Persian rugs are just one reason why making a final trip to the Expo could pay dividends, Shi Yingying reports.

Most of the 1.03 million people who helped set a new attendance record at the Expo 2010 Shanghai on Oct 16 were there for the same reasons: to admire the spectacular architecture, to broaden their cultural horizons, and to engage in some last-minute souvenir shopping.

Official Expo merchandise has been flying off the shelves inside the Expo Garden over the last five and a half months. The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce announced recently that sales have passed 16 billion yuan ($2.04 billion) and are approaching the official target of 20 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, retail sales at the most popular pavilions, including those of the United States and Spain, have boomed. Visitors can buy Expo-scented perfume from the France Pavilion, cuddly kangaroos from Australia, expensive diamonds from Belgium and lavish rugs from Persia. These are just a few of the thousands of goods on sale.

With only one week before the Expo ends on Oct 31, tourists are racing around hunting for bargain opportunities as retailers try to offload their remaining stocks.

The handmade Persian rugs on sale on the second floor of the Iran Pavilion are one example. Many are now selling for half price. One rug with an original retail value of 100,000 yuan is being offered at an 80-percent discount.

Iranian carpets are considered by many to be the best in the world, often holding or increasing their value with time. They are known for their calligraphic nature and often have elaborate curvilinear or floral designs.

However the initial prices being asked for them at the Expo shocked some visitors.

"I'm not in the carpet business, but these prices seem to be a little on the high side," said Bert van Dijk, the Shanghai correspondent for a Dutch newspaper, as he pointed to one 3-meter by 4-meter rug that was going for 1.2 million yuan.

"Apparently Iran is hoping to recover the cost of its pavilion (through merchandise sales), much as the Belgium-EU Pavilion is doing by trying to sell diamonds," he said.

Iran Pavilion officials suggested that Van Dijk may not be far off the mark. They told China Daily they sold 16 million yuan worth of rugs at the last World Expo in Aichi, Japan, in 2005. This year they have a sales target of 100 million yuan, or six times the previous amount.

In another corner of Zone C, the Poland Pavilion started discounting its agateware, the pavilion's top-selling souvenir, by up to 20 percent in mid-September. Wojciech Kruk, the manager of the pavilion's merchandise outlet, said more discounts were being planned.

However for some of the best bargains inside the Expo Garden, head to the Africa Joint Pavilion and snap up some woodcarvings, or try your luck with the handicrafts on display at the Pacific Pavilion, says 26-year-old white-collar worker Jiang Qijia.

"I'd like to buy whole sets of the animal woodcarvings from both of the pavilions, because it's interesting to me to see how artists from these two different continents apply the same materials and styles," he said.

"The dolphin and elephant sculptures looked especially good, but the prices (200 yuan and 400 yuan, respectively) were a bit much. I'd probably buy them if there was a discount."

Jiang said he was more interested in collecting souvenirs from countries he will probably never visit, meaning that he's more interested in handicrafts from Zimbabwe than small red telephone boxes from London.

Most of the gift stores inside the Expo Garden started offering discounts earlier this month. Some said they will give away free gifts if it looks like they can't empty all of their stock.

"At the end of the Expo, we plan to give away small souvenirs like pins, cards, pictures and posters with each purchase," said Alfonso Araujo, manager of the shop inside the Mexico Pavilion.

However this is more likely to be the exception than the rule as demand is expected to surge in the final week of the Expo, thus exhausting shops' supplies, said Lyndall Sachs, commissioner general of the Australia Pavilion.

Yu Ran contributed to the story

(China Daily 10/22/2010)