Tom McNaugher (American, political researcher):

This is the third time I have visited Shanghai in the past two years. I should leave on May 1, but I've extended my stay here one day for the Expo. I've passed many exhibits because of the long queues outside the pavilions, but I think the crowd is normal—it's the first day!

My major concern for the Expo is how to get lines in the shade. It's May now, so people can stand for a little while. The sun in July and August will be hotter. The other problem is how to clean up the air. We have the same problems in the United States. It's a universal problem.

Duan Xinping (Chinese, cameraman for the Beijing-based video website Ku6.com):

I've been to Shanghai three times. The first time was back in the late 1980s, when my parents took me on a sightseeing tour when I was a little boy. The ships on the Huangpu River with their noisy diesel engines and black smoke impressed me the most. The Lujiazui financial area on the east side of the Huangpu River had yet to be developed at the time. I thought my hometown Xianyang in Shaanxi Province was cleaner and better than Shanghai.

The second time was in 2004, when I spent the May Day holiday here with a local classmate. He showed me around. When I walked on the pavement under the parasol trees and saw foreign-style houses along the roads with fresh and humid air, I felt really comfortable. Moreover, I was told Shanghai locals were not so friendly to visitors, as they might not be patient enough to give directions. But this was totally wrong because they gave us a hand whenever we needed help. That trip really changed my impression of Shanghai.

The trip to the Expo site was my third visit here in Shanghai. I was assigned to shoot video, so I did not have enough time to walk around. The Expo site is really huge. Maybe because May 1 was the first day, people were eager to visit the park as early as possible. Tickets for the China Pavilion were not available in the morning. So I resorted to other pavilions, but did not expect that it would take me almost two hours to queue outside the India Pavilion. The next time I visit the Expo site, I prefer to see the Denmark Pavilion first because I heard there is a bicycle-riding zone there. I've bought some souvenirs for family and friends, but I think only after I have tried some facilities inside the pavilions will they become precious souvenirs.

In the evening, I took a free Expo ferry to the Expo site on the west side of the Huangpu River. The lighting projects of the pavilions were really spectacular. When I shot video from the newly renovated Bund on the west side of the Huangpu River, the 468-meter Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which used to be the tallest building on the east side of the Huangpu River, didn't seem as eye-catching as it used to be, because there were too many skyscrapers mushroomed around it. I think it's a showcase of Shanghai's prosperity.

(Reporting from Shanghai Expo site)