The History of Shanghai expo began when numerous scholars and government officials envisioned

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

would one day join the world community in hosting an international global expos. Different governments have gained international experience in participating in fairs outside China. It wasn't until the later 20th century when the participation and hosting became more regular.

Outside participations

Early unofficial participations

In 1851, a

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

businessman in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

, Xu Rongcun (徐榮村), heard about

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

taking place in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He hurriedly grabbed 12 bags of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

and brought it to London in a long trip.Big5.expo.2010.cn.
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Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

herself even gave Xu a golden award.

Henry Courtney Selous Henry Courtney Selous (b. Panton Street, Haymarket, London 1803; d. Beaworthy, Devon, 24 September 1890) was an English painter, illustrator and lithographer. Life He was the son of Gideon "George" Slous (1777–1839), a Flemish portrait an ...

created a number of paintings of the 1851 exhibition, including one featuring a Chinese man by the name of Xisheng (希生) . Xisheng was wearing a

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

government official outfit and purported to represent the Chinese government. However, after later investigation it was revealed that he was from

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

and was not actually a government official. He had arrived on a ship called the '' Keying''. Neither of these two earliest Chinese participants were official government representatives.

Official participation

The

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

first officially participated in the 1876

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

, then continued in 1904 in the

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

. The

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

participated in the 1915

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

.South China Morning Post.
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" ''A mountain to climb.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-08.

Hosting vision

In 1893 a

representative from

Xiangshan County, Guangdong Xiangshan County, also spelled Hsiangshan, Siangshan, Heungsan, and Heungshan, was a former county in Southern China. Since 1912, it was a county in Kwangtung Province ("Guangdong"), in the Republic of China. It was renamed Zhongshan County (then ...

named

Zheng Guanying Zheng Guanying or Cheng Kuan-ying (1842-1922 or 1923) was a Chinese reformist active in the late Qing Dynasty.Words of Warning to a Prosperous Age ''Words of Warning to a Prosperous Age'' or ''Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity'' (), also translated as ''Blunt Words in a Time of Prosperity'', is a book written by Zheng Guanying that advocates self-strengthening and seeking wealth, and r ...

''. In the book, Zheng argued that China needed to establish a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

and a

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and become a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

. The book also proposed the idea of China hosting a "world's fair". Cheng recommended Shanghai as the place to hold the fair because it was a meeting point of East and West. The book was read and appreciated by the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, w ...

, who recommended printing 2000 copies of it. In 1902 scholar

Liang Qichao Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual. His thou ...

also mentioned the idea of an expo in a book called '' The Future of New China''.Paper.wenweipo.com.
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" ''琴台客聚：陸士諤的「預言」.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-08. He even went to the

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1904. In the ancient town of

Zhujiajiao Zhujiajiao (; Shanghainese: ''Chukakoq'') is an ancient town located in the Qingpu District of Shanghai. The population of Zhujiajiao is 60,000. Zhujiajiao is a water town on the outskirts of Shanghai, and was established about 1,700 years ago. ...

in Shanghai, a scholar by the name of Lu Shi'e wrote a novel in 1910 called '' Xin Zhongguo'' (''New China''). The novel describes a utopian vision of Shanghai in 1950, hosting a grand exposition for nations from around the world.Big5.expo.2010.cn.
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." ''Big5.expo.2010.cn.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-08. In the

Republic of China era The Republic of China calendar, often shortened to the ROC calendar or the ''Minguo'' calendar, is a calendar used in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. The calendar uses 1912, the year of the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC) ...

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

wrote a series of three works collectively known as the '. In one of the books, he pointed out that Shanghai was in the position to host a world's fair.Eastday.com.
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" ''百年梦圆.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-08. In the 1930s and 1940s, China was engulfed by the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

and the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

, and all plans to host an exposition were postponed. It wasn't until after 1979 when

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

revisited the world expo idea again.

Hosting previous fairs

A number of specialized world fairs of much smaller scale have appeared in China before. The first of which is the Qing dynasty

Nanyang industrial exposition The 1910 Nanyang industrial exposition (南洋勸業會) or more internationally known as the 1910 Nanking Exposition was the official world's fair held in Nanking, Qing China on June 5, 1910.HK.huaxia.com.HK.huaxia.com." ''南洋勸業會：南京 ...

, also referred to internationally as the Nanking Exposition. The Republic of China government has tried numerous times to host a fair since 1920. They did not succeed until the 1929 Westlake exposition. Since then the successful hosting of the

1999 World Horticultural Exposition The 1999 World Horticultural Exposition (昆明世博会) was an A1 category international horticultural exposition recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions The Bureau international des expositions (BIE; English: International Bure ...

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

was a key event that brought modern hosting experience into China and eventually led to the Shanghai bid. On November 18, 1999, the Chinese government officially decided that Shanghai would bid for the 2010 World Expo. The city would win the bid on December 3, 2002 at the 132nd General Assembly of the

International Exhibitions Bureau The Bureau international des expositions (BIE; English: International Bureau of Expositions) is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions (also known as expos or world expos) falling under the jurisdiction ...

.En.expo2010.cn.
En.expo2010.cn
" ''English about us.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-08. The

2010 Shanghai Expo Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...

took place exactly 100 years after 1910, when Lu Shi'e envisioned hosting an expo in the city.

References