Blue Devils say good riddance to Expo

Expo mascot Haibao bids farewell

Anyone reading the usual propaganda channels at the moment could be forgiven for thinking the entire city of Shanghai is in mourning now that the six-month long World Expo is over, indeed, even some respected foreign Shanghai bloggers, such as Shanghai Scrap, championed the event, and continue to argue that it was a great thing for China.

The People’s Daily, that paragon of journalistic integrity and impartiality, reported that a whopping 90% of the city’s residents viewed the Expo positively. However, your correspondent wonders if this figure is entirely accurate.

Last Sunday’s Shenhua v Qingdao match fell on the last day of the Expo itself. Sitting down to pre-match hotpot and beers at a large table of senior members of the Blue Devils ultras group, a toast was made as soon as the final member arrived. Sha bi hui jieshu le! (stupid cunt event over) said one, as all present cheered loudly and stood in full view of the restaurant, slaming their glasses down on the table and cursing the event.

In terms of the survey, it would appear that the lads are in the 10%. Along with just about every other Shanghainese I know…

It should be pointed out that Sha Bi in Chinese is often written as SB on internet forums and such like. Unfortunately, someone realised that Shibo Hui (World Expo) could be abbreviated to SB Hui…and thus a popular joke was born.

To get another perspective on how the Expo affected day to day life in Shanghai, look no further than the excellent local music blog, Kungfuology.