Taiwan Pavilion welcomes 300,000th Expo visitor

The Taiwan Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 received its 300,000th visitor Saturday, and the visitor won a prize.

Yang Ming from Shanghai's Chongming Island was the lucky gentleman to win the two round-trip tickets from mainland to Taiwan on offer.

Yang, 36, was visiting the Expo with his parents, girlfriend and three other relatives. They were welcomed by Wang Chihkang, Chairman of Taipei's World Trade Center and famous actors Carina Lau and Alyssa Chia.

"It's a pleasant surprise. I feel so lucky and honored," said Yang. "I asked my friends to line up for the reservation tickets early this morning so we could enter the Taiwan Pavilion successfully."

He said the pavilion's dome-screen cinema and huge tree made of bamboo are amazing and worth seeing.

With the two air tickets, Yang said he planned to go to Taiwan with his girlfriend at the end of the year.

The other 39 visitors who entered the pavilion with Yang will also receive a prize, said Wang Chihkang.

The Taiwan Pavilion, a transparent cube with a huge globe suspended at its center, consists of three layers: a dome-screen cinema showcasing scenes from Taiwan; a platform of "fly lanterns" -- a traditional way to pray for luck; and a huge tree made of bamboo, providing shade for people to sit, chat, drink Kung Fu tea and listen to folk music.

"Though the Taiwan Pavilion is relatively small, what makes us stand out is that visitors are accompanied by guides throughout the trip. We allow a maximum of 40 visitors at a time, making it possible for each visitor to enjoy their tour as much as possible," Wang said.

The Taiwan Pavilion hands out 4,000 reservation tickets each day and plans to host 750,000 to 800,000 visitors by the last day of the Expo on Oct. 31.

Source: Xinhua