SHANGHAI – Toronto’s Crescent School for Boys choir, currently travelling around China on a tour arranged by Tour East Holidays, had the honour of singing the national anthem, O Canada, on Canada Day Thursday in Canada’s Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo in front of a distinguished audience that included Her Excellence, The Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada.

The Crescent School for Boys choir, whose 13-day Tour East Holiday-arranged trip officially ended July 2, received a standing ovation from those in attendance at the Canada Pavilion, one of the most popular at the Shanghai World Expo which has been attracted more than 30,000 people a day.

The Crescent School for Boys choir’s performance capped a week of celebrations throughout the Shanghai Expo site leading up to the July 1 Canada Day celebration in Shanghai.

The Governor General took time to meet with members of the Crescent School for Boys choir after their stirring performance. In all, 150 pupils and parents signed up for the Tour East Holidays trip which also included stops Xian, home of the ancient Terracotta Warrior Clay Army – members of which are now on display in an exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto of which Tour East Holidays is an official sponsor – and Beijing, where the choir got the thrill of singing in a specially-arranged performance by Tour East Holidays on the Great Wall of China.

The visit to China is the first by a Canadian Governor General in more than 15 years and marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.

The Shanghai World Expo, the largest international event of 2010 and the largest ever World Expo ever held, with over 240 countries exhibiting, recently surpassed 2 million visitors and is well on its way to reaching the intendedtarget of 5.5 million visitors.

Tour East Holidays, the only Canadian tour operator with permanent offices in China (Beijing and Shanghai) and the only Canadian operator licensed by the China National Tourism Organization, is offering many special 2-for-1 trips to the Shanghai Expo in 2010 and some even include free admission to the World’s Far.

Tour East Holidays recently became one of the first Canadian companies to be accredited as an organizer of leisure trips to Canada for Chinese tourists under terms of the recently signed ADS agreement between Canada and China.


For more information on the Crescent School for Boys trip to China, contact Tour East Holiday representatives Felicity Fok (felicity.fok@toureast.com) or Holly Tse (holly.tse@toureast.com)

For information on Tour East Holidays lineup of student specialty tours, go to www.toureast.com/specialty