Name: Zhou Yulu

Age: 27

Place: Shanghai, Jing'an district

Profession: Telecommunications

"I have received two batches of visitors. Some are friends I know from Taiwan. Some are clients and colleagues from Beijing. I helped them book hotel rooms - which was very hard during the peak season - and accompanied them to the Expo Garden. It was a pleasant experience despite queuing to enter some pavilions. But it is lucky they came in June as the summer had not arrived then."

Name: Wang Ying

Age: 54

Place: Shanghai, Yangpu district

Profession: Civil servant

"Ten relatives have come to Shanghai and stayed at my home during the Expo in the past two months. I am a hospitable person so I am glad to host them. My apartment is relatively spacious so they can stay at my place. I also bought each of them one Expo ticket. But I have to consider what to cook everyday to cater to their tastes, as most of them are from the north and prefer a stronger flavor. This is pretty hard for me."

Name: Wang Jia

Age: 22

Place: Shanghai, Baoshan district

Profession: Student

"My uncle, aunt and cousin visited Shanghai two weeks ago. During their 10-days' stay in the city, I showed them almost every tourist spot, including the Expo Garden, of course. I happened to be on summer vacation so I accompanied them most of the time. They only had limited time for the trip so they put on a very tight schedule. I was exhausted at the end."

Name: Jia Guizhi

Age: 70

Place: Shanghai, Songjiang district

Profession: Retired

"My son-in-law is from Zhejiang province and his parents are staying with us right now because of the Expo. They are both 75, older than me, so I guess I must visit the Expo Garden with them, though I had been there twice during the test runs in April. The day after I went to the Expo, I ran a high fever and was put on a drip for three days. This was really an unforgettable experience."

(China Daily 08/06/2010 page35)