Leading queues from the front

Tian Weiqin, senior supervisor at the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, is at work in front of the Saudi Arabia Pavilion in the Expo Garden on Thursday. [Yong Kai / for China Daily]

SHANGHAI - Tian Weiqin is a familiar face outside the Saudi Arabia Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai.

Every day at 9 am, Tian is outside the pavilion to check if the guardrails set up for queuing visitors need some adjustment.

"If we can see it's taking a long time for visitors to get in the pavilion, we change the guardrail setting immediately to facilitate movement," Tian said.

The 53-year-old senior supervisor at the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and his 50 colleagues are stationed in the Expo Garden to maintain order in front of 23 pavilions in Zone A and B, including Japan and Saudi Arabia pavilions.

"I never imagined the Saudi Arabia Pavilion would be so popular amid all these stunning structures. People are willing to wait more than eight hours for a glimpse," said Tian.

"It was on the first day of the trial operation that I realized even a minor accident can trigger a potential disaster. Hundreds of people were flocking to the Saudi pavilion."

It was Tian's suggestion to install guardrails outside popular pavilions.

And he said the arrangement of the guardrails have to be often changed depending on the crowd that's waiting in line.

"We've made over 10 major changes since the Expo formally opened in May," he said.

Dividing a long queue into several parts, each of which is led by an armed police officer, mostly helps.

After each change is made, Tian and his team calculate the time it takes from the entrance of the waiting area to the pavilion.

Related readings:  Students use holiday to cash in on Expo  Young employ seniors to beat the queues at Expo  Expo staff jump the queues  Waiting time at a pavilion? Find out online

"To ensure the changes are effective, we should think from a visitor's perspective," he said. "It must be torture for visitors to walk several kilometers to enter a pavilion."

Apart from setting the guardrails, Tian also suggested the idea to distribute passes to those who may need to leave the queue temporarily.

With thousands of visitors every day, a few unfriendly responses are bound to test Tian's patience. But he tries to be as calm as possible.

"I understand it can get frustrating to wait in line for hours in the sizzling heat," he said.

Facing the possibility of a jump in the volume of visitors in mid-October, Tian and his team have made preparations to ensure visitors move smoothly in front of every pavilion.

"We have an individual plan for each pavilion," Tian said.

Though he started to work in the Expo Garden in April, Tian has yet to enter even a single pavilion. "By the time my shift ends, I'm too drained to go inside any pavilion," he said.

Tian Weiqin, senior supervisor at the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, is at work in front of the Saudi Arabia Pavilion in the Expo Garden on Thursday. [Yong Kai / for China Daily]