World Expo with Chinese style
Location: Santa Louisiana, USA
Time: April, 30, 1904 to 1, December
Theme: Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Louisiana Purchase
Participating countries: 60
Number of Visitors: 19.69 million
Actress in traditional Chinese costumes at the Expo
In 1803, the United States purchased with 15 million U.S. dollars from the French Emperor Napoleon the land of Louisiana – a vast land of more than 210 million square kilometers, doubling US’s territory nearly overnight, this is the famous "Louisiana Purchase" in history. It is indeed a great memorable event for the United States. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, in 1904, the United States invested 15 million U.S. dollars on St. Louis-the same amount of money used for its purchase- for it to host the World Exposition. This is where 1904 St. Louis Expo came from.
That World Expo was undoubtedly very successful for most Americans. Nearly every day, around 10 million streamed in St. Louis from all over the world to witness the grand event. In addition to the grand scale of that Expo, organizers’ deliberate arrangement of the shows and entertainment contributed to the influx of visitors. But the most unique feature of the Expo was the Chinese exhibition- Qing government officially participated in the World Expo for the first time at the St. Louis Expo.
As early as 1902, the U.S. Embassy warmly invited the emperor and empress to attend the Expo. Taking her old age as an excuse, the Empress Dowager Tzu His didn’t go but sent a duke to extend her good will. At the end of the year, Qing government appointed duke Pu lun to go for the Expo. The government attached great importance to the event at all levels, special fund was set aside for it and merchants also actively raise fund for the exhibition. In Guangdong, Shanghai, Zhejiang and other places even emerged companies specifically for participation arrangement in the Expo.
On March 4, 1904, Pu-Lun left China with his team, and got Washington via Japan. He was received by the President of the United States. Early in June, Pu bay arrived in St. Louis. A Beijing Palace built with more than 6,000 pieces of exquisite hand-made wood was exhibited at the Expo. Among the Asian Pavilions, Chinese architecture and traditional culture was very popular, and exhibits the Chinese merchants brought were well received, goods like tea and porcelain even run out of sale.
What is worth mentioning is that Sun Yat-sen also witnessed the World Expo, which added a lot to the Expo. On August 18, 1904, Sun Yat-sen, who was promoting revolutionary events in the United States, arrived in St. Louis and didn’t leave until September 1. He visited the Expo with his friend Huang Sande, who was a Chinese American. Sun Yat-sen commented:"This is a big event since the establishment of the new world," according to "Chronicle of Sun Yat-sen" published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1991.
