American laws prohibit use of public funds for expo, so the country, with the world's biggest economy, relied solely on private sponsorships for its presence at the fair. The cash-rich host country, China, invested an estimated $2 billion on an imposing pavilion whereas India spent $9 million on an interestingly designed pavilion. In contrast, the Pakistan government, according to insiders, invested $2.8 million. A source close to its private sector partner said the co-sponsor will foot the rest of the $6 million bill to put up a decent show for Pakistan.

While most nations projected a futuristic vision through innovative designs and concepts, Pakistan pavilion, a replica of the Lahore Fort, gave the impression that it was still hitched to its past. It was hard to tell how effectively Pakistan's theme, 'unity in diversity,' displayed at its pavilion was conveyed to the visitors. But it did get shortlisted as one of the five most imaginative themes that meshed well with the overall theme of Expo 2010 — 'Better city, better life'.

The location of Pakistan pavilion, right next to all-weather friend China, did work to its benefit. On the opening day, flocks of visitors were seen patiently waiting in long queues encircling the building. Guard Rahim Khan posted at the gate attracted a lot of attention. The man wearing traditional gatekeeper (Darban) dress with red frill turban was having a hard time in manning the door and posing for photos with enthusiastic Chinese families, including young couples.

Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khan flew in for a day for the opening ceremony but rushed back to Beijing the next day with his scheduled press conference at the pavilion, abruptly cancelled without any explanation.

Kamran Hasan, Consul-General of Pakistan in Shanghai, was unable to take time out for an interview with Dawn citing busy schedule. He, however, responded to questions e-mailed to him. His reply, however, focused more on Sino-Pakistan trade than on the expo.

He revealed some relevant facts “The Consulate-General at Shanghai covers the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui and Shanghai municipal area. We have about 500 plus individual businessmen and companies from both countries in active mutual trade and commercial activities,” he said.

“About 50 Pakistani businessmen and companies have trade/representative offices in different cities of the consular area, especially in Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Shaoxing county area. We issue 15-20 visas daily to Chinese businessmen for Pakistan,” he added.

“The concept of the pavilion is on build-and-operate basis. The Trade Development Authority (TDA) is signatory to the agreement,” he said and advised the writer to obtain further information about it from the TDAP.

China's trade with Pakistan in 2009 was $6.77 billion, down from $6.98 billion in 2008. Over this period, exports to China increased by 25.2 per cent from about one billion dollars to $1.26 billion, while imports dropped by seven per cent from $5.97 billion to $5.51 billion. Pakistan was among the few countries which increased exports to China as its overall imports fell from $1.13 trillion in 2008 to one trillion dollars in 2009.

Asad Wahid, a young businessman from Karachi, whose group of companies bagged the contract of Shanghai Expo after getting the earlier decision of the Musharraf government rescinded, was cautiously hopeful. According to him, the earlier contract was awarded without open bidding.

“We invested much more than we anticipated in the pavilion as the image of the country was at stake. We could not afford to let our country down where all nations are showcasing themselves. And more so in China where we see a huge future for our business,” he said talking to Dawn.

Asad Wahid, director of the Pakistan Cherry Automobile (Pvt) Ltd, Far-East Oriental Trading Company (Pvt) Ltd and Platinum Enterprises (Europe) Ltd, said his group had the exclusive right to the entire commercial area where they were authorised to sell traditional items. On the ground floor there were many stalls displaying and selling traditional woman wears, onyx items, block printed sheets and spreads, carpets etc., all set up by his group.

The prices of most items at the stalls were high. A bed linen that fetched no more than Rs400 ($3.8) at the Zainab Market in Karachi, was tagged 200 yuans ($33/Rs2,800). A small hand woven carpet that sells for Rs8,500 (about $100) in upscale Clifton markets in Karachi was priced at 3000 to 4000 yuans (over $500 to $650/Rs4,2000 to Rs5,5000).

The expo has been extended till the close of this year by the Chinese government but Asad, who is also director, Pakistan Section of the expo 2010, was not sure he would be able to recover his investment from sales at the stalls. “I am keeping my fingers crossed but know that retail sales cannot cover even half my cost. I am hoping to hook fresh trading partners here for operations that I look after,” he said.

Most South-Asian countries displayed handicrafts and technology. East-Asian pavilions including Japan were highly futuristic in their designs. The theme of most European nations was the projection of sustainable green models. Many South American countries had colourful live performances with native music attracting visitors.

The US pavilion, zooming in on theme of 'Rising to the challenge' used series of short films to tell the stories of perseverance, innovation and community. The highlight was a taped message of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama which was somewhat overshadowed by display of leading brands and corporate leaders' personal projections of sharing and caring.

On the absence of high profile VIPs (presidents and prime ministers) from the expo celebrations, the organisers said “Over the next eight months each participating country will get a chance to celebrate its own week and most VIPs will grace the occasion with their presence at that time.”