In the work of the International exhibition EXPO-2017 on the theme "Future Energy", which takes place in Astana, the World EXPO Museum of Shanghai is also participating. In the museum, where exhibits from the exhibitions are kept since the London exhibition of 1851 to the Milan exhibition in 2015, the exhibits of EXPO-2017 will also be in their place. The employee of the National Digital History portal talked to the deputy director of the World EXPO Museum of Shanghai, and learned about the recently opened museum.
- Welcome to Kazakhstan!
- Good afternoon! This is my first time in Kazakhstan – a wonderful creative country. I like Astana and the EXPO exhibition. I am pleased with the hospitality of the Kazakh people.
- Thanks for the kind words! Our first question: in what year did the World EXPO Museum in Shanghai open? What is the historical significance of the museum?
- As you know, in 2010 in the Chinese city of Shanghai was the International EXPO exhibition titled "Better City - Better Life". And after this event, the Shanghai City Administration jointly with the International Exhibition Bureau opened this museum. Our museum opened in May, 2017. Initially, the strategy and projects of the museum were created. For 6-7 years, the preparatory work was carried out. The area of the museum complex is 100 thousand square meters. And the area of the museum itself is more than 10 thousand square meters. Visitors of the museum have the opportunity to review the EXPO-2010 in Shanghai again. Also in the museum are collected the most valuable exhibits, which tell about the history of EXPO since 1851.
- What exhibits are collected in the museum? Are these individual unique exhibits or all the exhibits of the International Exhibition?
- Yes, there are a lot of exhibits in our museum. For example, in our museum are stored exhibits of EXPO-2010 in Shanghai, as well as exhibits from other countries where the exhibition was held. All the exhibits left after the International Exhibition in Yeosu (2012, South Korea), Milan (2015, Italy), are kept with us. Citizens of other countries who have visited our museum will be presented an exhibition of a particular year. In the future, we plan to collect a lot of exhibits from the EXPO exhibition in Astana. Currently, negotiations are underway with the pavilions of Monaco and Kazakhstan. For example, we plan to put a small model of sphere (Nur-Alem), where the Kazakhstan pavilion is located. Negotiations are also being held here.
We intend to completely collect the exhibits of all the Exhibitions, starting from the London exhibition in 1851 and to the exhibition that takes place in Astana. In addition, in such states as Germany, the US has museums of the history of its EXPO. We meet with the heads of those museums, solve important issues, we are interested in what changes have occurred in the museum, what contribution was made, what was the use? Also, events are held to exchange exhibits.
- Perhaps from the first exhibitions there were exhibits. Photographic documents, archival records can be saved. Do you plan to attract these documents to the EXPO museum in the future?
- Photos, archival documents of the first international exhibition of 1851 are collected and stored in our museum. Their total number is more than 200 thousand. To date, a lot of photographic documents have survived. At the moment there are about 500 thousand unprocessed images. Especially in the last 20 years with the development of photographs, there are a lot of materials.
- Are there any tourists visiting the newly opened World EXPO Museum? How many guests do you take per day?
- The museum building was put into operation only in May of this year. Since that time, about 3-4 thousand people are accepted per day. But in the future this number will increase. Now the majority of the museum visitors are Chinese citizens and other tourists from Japan, Korea and Europe.
- Did you like the EXPO exhibition in Astana? In your opinion, which state owns the best pavilion?
- It is worth noting that I like the EXPO exhibition in Astana very much. Kazakhstan has achieved great success in 25 years; it was the first among the countries of the former USSR to be honored to hold the International EXPO exhibition. This is a huge achievement. And I think that in the future there will be even bigger exhibitions. The exhibition area is huge and very convenient location. I especially liked the pavilion of Kazakhstan as an internal structure, so the thematic content. The exhibition is held at a very high level. And the level of preparation is also very high. Thanks to EXPO, countries of the world learn more about the beautiful city of Astana. And our museum is always ready to promote new discoveries that have taken place in Kazakhstan, as well as exhibits of EXPO in Astana and in this respect we are always ready to help our Kazakhstani colleagues.
In conclusion, I want to thank the Kazakh people. I saw their hospitality. For two months of EXPO, there could be some mistakes, but there were no serious difficulties because the organizers have foreseen everything.
Translated by Raushan MAKHMETZHANOVA
