Continued Hiatus

Sino-Gist will be on a break for another week or so due to editorial commitments.

184 Days of the Shanghai Expo

Sunday saw the closure of the Shanghai World Expo, an event that the People's Daily has hailed as a "magnificent gathering of human civilizations".  Certainly, the figures speak for themselves.  The 6-month run has seen over 70 million people (many of them ordinary Chinese) visit the international showcasing event, with over 200 countries and organisations exhibiting on the site.

Since Shanghai first got the go-ahead to host the 2010 World Expo the subject has been given huge coverage and attention within China.  The face of the infamous Haibao can be seen on pictures, souvenirs and trinkets, symbolic of the desire of the Chinese authorities to ingrain the importance of the Expo in popular imagination.  In much the same way as the Beijing Olympics came to be viewed as representative of China's new role in the 21st century world, the goings on in Shanghai are a continuance of the same theme.  More than usual, this year's Expo was all about image and soft power, with China able to establish itself (temporarily at least) as a focus for international exchange.
 

Hiatus

Sino-Gist will be on a hiatus for the next few days.

Best of the Blogroll 21/10/2010

Two links for this week:

You Can’t Make an Omelette with Only One Egg: At the China Beat, Vignesh Pillai reviews Denise Chong's 'Egg on Mao'

A Conversation with Edgar Snow: Mark's China Blog covers the chance to meet the best-selling author.