Expo 1904 St. Louis

　　Official Name: Expo 1904 St. Louis

　　Dates: 30/04/1904 - 01/12/1904

　　Theme: Celebration of the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase

　　Category: World Exhibition

　　Official Designation: Louisiana Purchase Exposition

　　Visitors: 19,694,855

　　Area (ha): 500

　　Participants: 60

　　In 30 April 1904, the United States purchased St. Louis (an area of 214.7 square kilometers) from Napoleon with $15 million. In order to commemorate this historical event of great significance, St. Louis won the right to host expo by sufficient funds through congressional appropriations, municipal government contributions and public donations.

　　An enormous undertaking

　　Birds’-eye view of the expo

　　The Expo site was so large that it took visitors an entire week to see all of it: 1,500 buildings were erected around the site and 75 km of walkways and railways were laid to move around the site. To encourage visits from further afield, reasonable train prices were made available, and city’s hotel and accommodation facilities were improved so that it had the largest capacity in the United States for the period of the Expo.

　　City railway

　　It must be admitted that the area around the exhibition hall was not so beautiful. People had to go through dusty suburbs, even some desolate open spaces, where sporadic buildings were dotted with houses built in a hurry by various vendors, one can’t even tell which was the most ugly one. But when people passed through the revolving door of the entrance, they were shocked by the glamorous masterpiece.

　　Entrance building

　　When people walked in the Festival Hall, this feeling would only increase. The roads that separated the two palaces fanned out from there.

　　The Festival Hall was another focus of the Expo in St. Louis, like a diamond on a crown. The opening and closing ceremonies were all in this building. The dome of the Festival Hall is larger than the dome of the Basilica di San Pietro, which was covered with shimmering gold leaves, with a 3500 seat auditorium.

　　Festival Hall

　　The size of the organ on the stage was the biggest in the world. It was transported by 12 trains from Los Angeles to St. Louis. The organist was female, and the most important sculpture on the top was carved by female. The Festival Hall also embodied the wisdom of many women.

　　The Largest Organ in the World

　　A modernized opening

　　At the ends of the wire connecting Saint Louis and Washington, there was a silent dialogue between two presidents: Francis and Rutherford.

　　Standing at the foot of the monument, Francis held a golden key in his hand. He told the President of the United States that he was waiting for "the moment when the other side could raise the flag and turn on the power of the exposition." It's 12:15 in the noon.

　　Telegraph reached the White House like lightning. President Rutherford conveyed the message to the representatives of his country and other countries, and solemnly stated,"I am going to inaugurate the expo." Then, he touched a golden key which was used by Ase Kleveland in Expo 1893 Chicago.

　　Francis announced opening

　　At 1.06 pm, the answer message was transmitted to St. Louis. Francis then raised his hand to announce the opening of the expo

　　Ten thousand flags were flying in the wind as the water flowed from the cave and turned into waterfalls. The voice of motor intertwined with the voice of 200,000 people. The loudest is the sound of countless brass instruments."The greatest exposition in the world begun"

　　Chinese government delegation

　　China's first official participation in expo with merchants was in 1904. At that time, the Qing government took the expo seriously and sent a government delegation headed by Pu Lun and Huang Kaijia to attend the opening ceremony.

　　Pu Lun attended the expo

　　The first official photo of Chinese attendance in expo

　　In addition, huge sums of money had been spent to build Chinese villages and Chinese pavilions with ethnic styles.

　　The entrance of China Pavilion

　　Gateway of Expo 1904 St. Louis

　　Showing stallion at the entrance of China Pavilion

　　The China Pavilion was called "The most beautiful Oriental architectural model of this Expo" by local media. It contained courtyard architecture with distinctive Chinese style, consisting of archway, gatehouse, octagonal pavilion, pool and a hall with five rooms.

　　Drama performance in China Village

　　The China Pavilion is a replica of Pu Lun's residence, which is a mosaic of more than 6000 exquisite handmade wood carvings. All construction materials were made in China, disassembled and shipped to the United States and re-assembled.

　　The exhibits contain many treasures, such as glass lamp from Guangdong, four square silk bamboo lanterns from Shanghai, fan and Chinese brush from Suzhou and Hangzhou, wooden furniture from Ningbo, royal blanket from Beijing. The exhibits were all inclusive and unique in Chinese characteristics.

　　Some exhibits in China Pavilion

　　The Chinese government’s participation in expo 1904 symbolized the first step that ancient China took to meet the world. During the Expo, Mr. Sun Yat-sen was launching revolutionary propaganda in the United States. He visited the expo with his overseas Chinese friends and gave a high evaluation. China was undergoing significant changes and a great China was coming forward with a more open attitude.