世博护照受游客们的极度追捧

此次世博会推出的特许商品——世博护照受到了游客们的极度追捧。30元一本的世博护照与真护照相仿，里面有各个国家馆的外形图，游客拿着世博护照就可以在园内的每个国家馆盖上纪念章，是“到此一游”的最好凭证。很多游客参观展馆的首要目的就是为自己的护照盖个章，待到满是印章时，便会将世博最美好的记忆化为永恒……

For many people inside the Shanghai World Expo Garden, collecting stamps from different pavilions is an essential part of the Expo tour.

Other than collecting pavilion stamps, badges of different countries, specially made stamps and even signatures in various languages have also become hot items for those who want to take home their Expo experience.Let's hear more from Da Min.

"I stamped about four to five thousand books yesterday and most of them twice, so that's about 10,000 stamps."

Tony McNulty works at the Liverpool stand in the Urban Best Practices Area.

Stamping Expo passports takes up much of his time. Of course he's not the only one.

Most of the pavilions and stands have at least two people in charge of giving stamps to visitors.

Since the opening day, the passports have attracted millions of people. For most of the visitors, their first mission is to buy a passport so they can collect stamps.

"I came here in May and all the passports were sold out then. So this time, getting stamps is my priority. I have several passports and my classmate who comes here with me still has ten! I want to get the stamps for my relatives who can not come to the expo. It is a precious gift."

"With the stamps I'll know which pavilions I've been to. And the designs of some stamps are quite creative. I have a stamp from all the pavilions I've visited, about 30. I'll keep the passport to remember the Expo."

"The idea of the passport and stamps are quite interesting. It's like a visa. It makes people feel like they've been to all these countries and it's associated with the Expo. I really like the idea."

"Somehow, the Expo passport brings the adults back to their childhood. When we were young, many liked to collect cards or postcards. I think maybe one of the most enjoyable moments in the Expo is the stamps."

The Expo passport originated from the 1976 Montreal Expo in Canada. Originally the passport also worked as an entrance ticket but since then its become a popular souvenir for collecting pavilion stamps.

Li Jun is with the Shanghai DOW Culture Media Co., Ltd., which is the only official supplier of the passports. He says there are about 80 souvenir shops at the Expo site and all of their products will be sold out within 24 hours. The sales have gone beyond all expectations.

"We've sold about 3 million passports. Everyday, we distribute about 200,000 books to the stores which sell out in one day. Now, we are printing more products to meet people's demands and will make the distribution volume to 300,000 per day. Before, we estimated the sales volume may reach 15 million but now, we expect the target to be higher."

At the Shanghai Expo, people's enthusiasm for the passport is just like the weather, it's getting hotter and hotter.

As every country's stamp is different, it is also a part of the countries' unique features, and as Tony Mcnulty, the Liverpool stamper says, a memorable collection.

"I think for the Expo, for most people it is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it's a great souvenir to take home and also to show friends and say they've been to all these places. It's just a little slice they can take away with them."

For those who don't want to wait in line for a longtime but are eager to collect something unique, they can choose to make their own stamps as an alternative.

Visitors can take their own pictures at postal stands inside the expo garden and make them into real stamps.

Chen Jie is a worker in a postal stand.

"It is popular, especially for some stamp collectors. Visitor can take their pictures here and we will mix it without fixed patterns. The stamps will have your picture in the center and surrounded by Haibao, or the Chinese Pavilion, or the magnificent view of Shanghai. Also you can choose the pictures of other popular pavilions as background."

Besides stamps, various commodities inside every pavilion also attract attention. Among them, exquisite badge with a characteristic design is a hot item, especially among the Expo volunteers and employees. They actively exchange different badges, which prove their friendships and experiences.

He Shan, a volunteer from Shanghai, proudly shows us her collection.

"This one is from the Thai pavilion; this one is from the US pavilion. And this set is my favorite; it is called the ‘Wishing Badges'. It is composed of seven badges of different colors with numbers marking different months. Each volunteer can have one badge in two days and most of us can not collect them all because of the limit of working time. So I exchanged some of mine with other volunteers and finally collect a whole set."

Among all the collectors, the Bolivian Nicholas is definitely unique. What he collects is his own signature in different languages.

Nicholas works at the souvenir stand at the Bolivian pavilion. To better introduce the handicrafts from his hometown to visitors, he invited a Chinese volunteer to teach him Chinese. And the first word he learned is his name.

"Hello. This is my name Nicholas."

Working inside the Expo Garden, Nicholas meets with visitors from various countries every day. Besides talking with them about his own country, he also asks them to write down his name in their own native languages.

Nicholas says, because of his work, he doesn't have enough time to visit many pavilions. But his collection helps him make many friends and learn more about other countries.

"I think it's very interesting to know what my name looks like in other languages. I have collected many signatures and I can write down my name in Chinese and Korean now."

No matter if it is a stamp, badge or signature, what people collect is not only a souvenir, but more importantly, their unforgettable memory of the World Expo.

For CRI, this is Da Min.