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The Shanghai World Expo is imminent, and as a native of Shanghai, I feel quite proud. The Birds Nest and Water Cube have become iconic Beijing sites since their debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Almost every person coming to the capital pays a visit to these structures, seeing the sites of the opening and closing ceremonies, Linglong Tower, and the eye-catching Water Cube. According to the media, after the stadium opened to the public, the number of tourists received every day reached nearly 30,000, bringing in proceeds of RMB 210 million. This result is heart-stirring. As a tourism management major, I am most concerned about utilization of new construction after the Shanghai Expo. I wonder if the Shanghai event can also give us buildings and pavilions with the same lasting impact.

Sim

Shanghai, China

Months ago, I observed a downturn in housing prices in my community, and reckoned the sales prices of pre-owned houses would decline. I wondered if I would take a loss on my apartment. However, this situation didnt last long and prices soon resumed their climb.

My husband and I bought a small apartment at the beginning of 2007 when housing prices were still reasonable. But now, with a baby coming, the house doesnt seem large enough for a three-member family, especially when our sweetie begins to walk. So we planned to sell it and buy a larger one. After thorough consideration, we finally gave up on this plan because the mortgage payments exceeded our expectations. Most people like us adopt a wait-and-see attitude. We still have a place to live in.

I still remember when I was a little kid, my parents and I lived in a 30 sq meter room in a tubular building. We shared one public kitchen and latrine. The scene I remember most clearly was when parents came home with their children every day around 5 pm. Every family would begin to cook supper. Women piled into the kitchen, tripping over each other and rinsing vegetables, talking with each other about their dishes and sometimes gossiping. Kids ran in the corridor. It was impossible for any family to keep secrets because everything was public in such a building and the walls were not sound-proof. Despite this, every family was kind-hearted and did each other favors when needed. Those years were my most valuable. I was never far from human touch. No wonder people say that a good neighbor is better than a brother in the next village. Now I only relive these feelings through movies and photographs.

Fei

Beijing, China

I am a regular online shopper. Every day I might spend three or more hours browsing from site to site, trying to compare prices and shipping fees for what I want to buy. Taobao is the site I used to use most, but now I prefer B2C trade platforms. They are more competitive on net security, commodity quality and also follow-up services, though their prices are not as cheap as C2C sites. In addition, many B2C webstores operate cash-on-delivery businesses, meaning that customers can get a sense of their ordered goods before paying for them. Thats preferable. And with some webstores like Dangdang, one can enjoy free shipping no matter how much you spend.

Li Ming

Shandong, China

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