We often pass by the Shanghai Exhibition Center when we are in a taxi along the elevated highway. The spire rises above the highway and each time I strain to get a glimpse of the building. It's pretty from the outside. We thought it would be fun to check out an event there and see the inside of the building. I heard there would be foreign language books, but we would go regardless, just for the experience.
We were welcomed by bright red balloons and banners. We were also welcomed by a bunch of ticket scalpers. There was no line-up at the ticket booth, so I don't know why I would have bought the admission ticket for the same price from those dudes.
The fair was busy, but not packed (considering it was Sunday). The noise was a bit overwhelming: a person performing on the piano at the music books section competed with the mechanical voice of a English-learning software program, mixed in with all the people telling you that the merchandise was on sale. We (unintentionally) ended up with a collection of books related to Chinese culture. We also found an awesome map of China.
Wandering through the building, we found the interior to be quite sad. The paint was peeling and the lights were dirty in some places, but the central atrium was quite grand and opened into the main hall that was framed by arches lined with lightbulbs, in an art deco non-tacky way. It's an interesting building in need of some repair. No major event in Shanghai is complete without a plug for the World Expo and we found a display of old Expo postcards, a replica of the China pavilion and a couple of Haibaos. Maybe next time, we'll check out the International Convention Center over in Pudong for comparison.
No comments:
Post a Comment