Special Coverage: Shanghai World Expo 2010
SHANGHAI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Currently, if you want to travel around the world in one single city, you should come to Shanghai for the World Expo 2010.
But if you want to show off your friends that you have indeed traveled "around the world," you must have an "Expo Passport" with seals of different pavilions of participating countries at the Expo Park.
In the first two days of the six-month event, the "Expo Passport" has enjoyed great popularity among hundreds of thousands of Expo visitors, who hope to bring home with a special souvenir.
"With the passport, I can collect seals of different countries when I visit Expo pavilions, which is very good for commemoration," said Wu Xiaohua, from central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The Expo organizers prepared four versions of "Expo Passport," including a yellow-colored children's edition.
The "Expo Passport" looks very much like a real passport, with personal information and serial numbers. It sells at 30 yuan (4.4 U.S. dollars) each.
In addition to the blue-colored Expo mascot "Haibao," the "Expo Passport" is among the best-sellers at the Expo Park stores, store managers said.
Some stores had sold out the passports by Sunday noon, but crowds still flooded in for inquiries. It is believed that many more passports would be placed on shelves in the following days.
"To us organizers, the Expo Passport is able to help regulate the tourist flow and maintain a good order," said Huang Jianzhi, deputy director of the Shanghai World Expo Bureau.
"Visitors will go to more pavilions to collects seals, instead of just focusing on popular ones," he said.
