People visit the Denmark Pavilion in 2010 World Expo Site in Shanghai, China, May 2, 2010. Pavilions with unique features have become hot places for visitors after the opening of the Expo Site on Saturday. (Xinhua)

by Xinhua writers Zhou Yan, Wu Yu

SHANGHAI, May 3 (Xinhua) -- In a country with 1.3 billion people, a visit to the World Expo probably endures more time, patience and physical strength than anywhere else.

It means one has to line up for security checks a full hour before the Expo Park opens at 9 a.m., in order to secure a reservation or a place in the front of the slow-moving queues that promise to grow endlessly outside some of the most popular pavilions.

All across the 5.28-sq-km enclosure in Shanghai's Pudong New District, crowds are seen everywhere: outside pavilions, inside souvenir shops, at snack bars and shuttle bus stops under the baking sun.

The Chinese are generally good at enduring long hours of waiting, an expertise they acquired at ticket counters and railway stations during their annual exodus for home before the Spring Festival.

The splendor of exotic culture and architecture on display at the Expo convinces everyone the waiting is worthwhile, even if they have to wait for four hours to access some of the most popular venues, including China's own pavilion and that of the United States, Spain, Britain, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

A complete visit to the Expo takes three to five days if one secures two most desirable destinations a day, and drop by the less crowded venues in between.

An Expo passport, sold for 30 yuan each, has found favor with the young people, who hold the passport and line up to get a stamp from every national pavilion they visit.

"We might not even be able to visit the China Pavilion this time. It's hard for us to get up early -- the child needs his sleep," said Xiao Jiutang, on the second day of a planned three-day Expo tour with his wife, two-year-old son and parents-in-law.