SHANGHAI, China — The Philippines formally inaugurated its pavilion Saturday at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China.

This international event provides a venue for the Philippines to showcase the country’s rich culture and share the Filipino vision to the rest of the world. Vice President Noli de Castro together with Philippine Ambassador to China Ambassador Francisco Benedicto attended the opening ceremony.

“We are introducing our country. Hindi lang sa Chinese kundi sa buong mundo (Not only to the Chinese but the rest of the world). Kaya nga meron ditong tinatawag na Shanghai connection (That is why we have what we call here our Shanghai connection). I read in your magazine (Style Weekend) that Maguindanao is not in Manila. Minsan kasi dateline Manila pero nangyari sa Mindanao (Sometimes the (news) datelines are Manila but it happened in Mindanao). Para bang ang buong Pilipinas nagkakagulo, puro basura, puro squatters. Hindi naman ganun (It appears as though the whole country is in chaos, full of garbage and squatters, which is not the case). So, this is the best chance na maipapaliwanag natin sa buong mundo na ang Pilipinas ay magandang bansa,” (This is the best chance for us to show the whole world that the Philippines is a beautiful country) VP De Castro said.

The façade of the RP pavilion is adorned with a montage of hands. This highlights the country’s focus on performance that reflects the identity of Philippine cities. The interior displays interactive live performances, exhibitions, and video materials to reinforce the pavilions theme of “Performing Cities.”

“It is really the point of an expo to contribute to the fund of ideas in the world. What we believe is the genius of the Philippines is human relationships. We know about human relationships and human relationships are what makes our cities,” says Marian Roces, curator of the Philippine pavilion.

Our contingent in the exposition estimates the cost of production to about P416 million, P241 million allotted by the government and P175 million coming from private sponsors.

However, this relatively large amount is appropriate considering the size of the 2,000 square meter pavilion. The cost per square meter is arguably cheaper than previous delegations to Aichi, Japan in 2005 and Zaragoza, Spain in 2008.

This year’s expo aims to outdo previous events by going on a scale never before done for such a congregation.

A total of 242 participants, 191 countries and 51 international organizations, will showcase exhibitions, events and forums at the expo which will last for six months from May 1 until Oct. 31, 2010.

The expo expects over 70 million attendees for the event hoping to break the world expo record for attendance figure of 64 million, which was set in 1970 in Osaka, Japan. The figure, when broken down, projects a daily turnout of 500,000 visitors. The Philippine pavilion alone expects over 45,000 visitors per day.

With a total area of 5.28 square kilometers, this year’s expo site in Shanghai sets the record for the largest world exposition. Factories and shipyards along both sides of the Huang Pu River were moved in order to make room for a space of this magnitude.

To compensate for the influx of people, tourist and locals alike, Shanghai undertook an overhaul of its transport system. The city’s subway lines were extended, while three new lines were opened, including a line that links the city’s two airports, Pudong and Hongqiao.