Trip to visit Expo-Shanghai

[chicodovale]

<p>This week I am going to travell to China to visit the Expo-Shanghai. I am taking two lenses (Tamron SP AF10-24/3.5-4.5 Di II and another one 18-250mm) with Nikon D300. Concerning that I am also going to visit Beijing is there any advicing for taking special lenses of filters? Any advisement or suggestions of nice spots for shooting are very well appreciated. This is my first trip to China. Thanks, Chico do Vale. </p>

[christianrafael]

<p>i was in Shanghai 2 weeks ago and would really advice on a good wide angle since the Expo is packed with thousands of people (when i was there the average is 350,000 persons on a 5.28 sq km). if you want to take pictures of the buildings outside i suggest you use the Expo Axis as you can see most of the buildings from there with a relatively good distance. if you want to take pictures from a far, a good location would be to go up the Expo Culture Center, this has the best panoramic view of the whole expo. i would also suggest that you wake up early and line up before the 9am opening time (preferably be on site before 7am) if you want to go inside the China Pavilion (i say its worth it even if you only went inside this pavilion). they only give a limited number of reservation tickets for the China Pavilion so get ready to run and line up the whole day (you will notice everybody will be doing this) <br>

i suggest to see the map and plan out the pavilions you want to see inside and get the gate nearest it and run towards it when the expo opens at 9am. the best pavilions (Japan, Saudi, Netherlands, India, etc) takes about 2 -4 hours sometimes just to get inside<br>

in beijing i would suggest to check the weather as there are dust storms at times, you lenses will be good i think (canon user here so not really a big help). i can give a few more suggestions if you let me know where in beijing you are going, studied there about 3 years ago maybe i can still remember the places <br>

good luck in you trip and have fun</p>

<p>Christian</p>

[chicodovale]

<p>Thanks Christian for so many good advises. I will be just 3 days in Shanghai at the Expo, so I need to focus on some specific pavilions, as you suggested. In Beijing I am going to visit the Agricultural University of China, for 3 days. In Beijing, I would like to visit the China Wall and of course the Imperial Palaces. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.</p>

[christianrafael]

<p>In Beijing there are 2 well known Great Wall "Resorts" Badaling and Mutianyu, they say Mutianyu is better but its farther (really forgot how long to get there but from what i can remember you need about half a day for this trip). you can also visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, these are a must in Beijing and very easy since its located at the center of Beijing itself after you visit there you can still shoot around Wangfujing, their shopping district if you like locals. This is the place also to eat peking duck (Beijing Duck), there are a lot of restaurants here so do your research which is best. 2 other places i would recommend is the Summer Palace and the Fragrant Hills. the olympic stadiums if thats your thing is also good. and many others, some i forgot already, some i have not visited yet but for three days i think thats a handful already<br>

hope i was helpful</p>

<p>Christian</p>

[richard_crowe4]

<p>I toured China for two weeks at the beginning of April this year and the photographic opportunities are overwhelming. I could easily have spent two months and would not have scratched the surface of photography.<br>

I cannot give any specific recommendations regarding Shanghai Expo because the city was getting ready for the Expo but, it had not opened. It was a crowded city when I visited and would expect that the crowds are even greater now.<br>

Air quality can be quite terrible. I literally could not see the city of Pudong across the river from Shanghai because of smog. There is actually a city in back of this yound couple but, it is obscurred by smog and haze.<br>

http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Other/Chiba-Focus-Tour-2010-Shanghai/Shanghai-40/848714211_7qisp-L.jpg<br>

I found China to be extremely safe and the people very hospitable. There was no problem photographing the Chinese and many times, they wanted to photograph me. Everyone seems like they are carrying a camera and high value DSLR cameras are quite common. The fears some travelers have regarding carrying high value equipment is not applicable to China.<br>

The Taxis, in my experience, were quite honest and you paid the fare as indicated by the meter. The extent of tipping which is common in Europe and the USA is not expected in China.<br>

All of the venues mentioned above are interesting photographically. I was lucky to visit the Mutianyu segment of the Great Wall on a clear day.<br>

A good shot of Tiananmen square is with the soldier sentry in the foreground and the Forbidden City gate with Mao's portrait in the rear.<br>

http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Other/CHINA-FOCUS-TOUR-2101-BEIJING/D-991-Forbidden-City-sentry/869278761_SYeRu-L.jpg<br>

Please visit my website at <a href="http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/">http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/</a> and scroll down for my China Galleries...<br>

Have a good trip and shoot lots of pictures...</p>

[chicodovale]

<p>Thanks Christian and Richard for all suggestions, they will help me a lot. After my return I will post some photos of Shanghai and Beijing. Regards, Chico do Vale.</p>

[jack_alexander1]

<p>I am planning to visit Expo-Shanghai.</p>

[jack_alexander1]

<p>If you want to know more about China travel information, please visit <a href="http://www.chinatraveltourism.com">http://www.chinatraveltourism.com</a></p>