BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- With just one week to go, attendance at the Expo continues to hit record highs. To find out how the staff is dealing with the crowds, Zhang Nini follows a pedestrian traffic coordinator at one of the most popular pavilions.
Another bus load of visitors eagerly arrives.
Their hurried footsteps are headed in one direction ... to the Saudi Arabia Pavilion .. which features some of the longest queues in the Expo Park.
To handle the daily flow of 30,000 attendees, Liu Huanhu has worked 13 hours a day for the last six months, answering questions and managing substantial turnouts.
Liu said, "Since the highest attendance day, on October 16th, we changed the routes to ensure quicker entry into the pavilion. Before, visitors had to walk about two kilometers after they started to queue."
CCTV reporter Zhang Nini said, "The 2010 Shanghai World Expo has broken many records. It features the most participating countries, the largest park, and some of the most expensive pavilions. And it will also be remembered as the most visited World's Fair."
The number of overall entries exceeded the 70 million mark at 10:17 AM on Sunday morning, a standard rivaling the 1970 Osaka World Expo. A record 64 million individuals have now attended the six-month showcase in Shanghai.
International singers continue to jazz up the crowds waiting in public squares, the number of tap water facilities was increased to 113, and restaurants are offering take-away box lunches to ease the anxiety of those facing long waits in line.
More portable toilets have been installed as well, and taking along a small stool is a handy solution to the Park's limited peak time seating capacity.
A visitor said, "I am prepared to wait for many long hours."
Another visitor said, "This is my first visit. I came as early as 4 in the morning. They say this pavilion is very good."
Though most attendees have been handling the long hours of waiting with patience and cheerful moods, there are occasional breaches of discipline. In such cases, Liu kindly asks the offenders to step out, and queue up again.
In general, he thinks the past six months have seen major improvements in people's manners.
He said, "There are fewer people trying to jump the queue, fewer smokers in the queue, and fewer folks trying to solve differences by quarreling."
Liu Huanhu has never visited the Saudi Arabia Pavilion himself, but it's the expressed wish of he and his fellow staffers that every visitor walks in impressed, and heads out with wonderful memories. |
