The Bright Future of Telecoms At the World Expo
Everything at the World Expo in Shanghai is huge. Over the next six months, some 70 million people are expected to visit the show. In preparation, the city has added 150 metro stations. (Yes, this is more than the complete metro system in Stockholm!) The show includes more pavilions than ever, and despite economic downtimes, countries are investing more than ever before in the World Expo. And there are good reasons. The pace of development in China is amazing, and every nation wants to understand and engage with the superpower. China is shining.
At the Expo, the international pavilions compete for attention from the crowd. For example, the U.K. pavilion looks like a hedgehog. And the Danes made a brilliant move when they decided to transport the little Sea-Maid over to the Expo. The Swedish pavilion has a bar on the top of its yellow painted roof.
Still, what attracts my attention the most are the Chinese pavilions. Yes, there are more than one. China Mobile and China Telecom have sponsored one pavilion in particular about the future of Telecoms, while one of the world’s largest ship manufacturers, CSSC, has another pavilion which looks like a complete power generation site. And yet another pavilion is dedicated to Chinese Private Enterprises. Anyone in doubt of China’s commitment to entrepreneurship should pay a visit to this pavilion. Although we, who are already convinced, should go there anyway to enjoy the world-class piece of art that concludes the tour.
But of these Chinese pavilions, what catches my eye the most is the story told over at the Information and Communication Pavilion – about the bright future enabled by telecommunications. At this pavilion, visitors are asked to make their wishes for the future by typing them onto a PSP-like device. We then enter the first of two circular cinemas, the first dedicated to the history of telecommunications, and the latter to the future. Glossy cartoon characters, JiLing and GuDu, guide us through the bright history of telecommunications, and to the even brighter future. All wishes which will one day become true. You can teleport yourself into the future, and back to history, have your favorite basketball player to teach you how to score, have the impressionist icon Vincent Van Gogh to teach you how to paint.
The conclusion isn’t hard to capture, despite technical translation issues. The future is bright. For Telecoms. And for China.
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