The most expensive treasure for China's rich list is a slender golden plaque of the famous scroll by Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan. The painting, Along the River During the Qingming Festival, ranks as a national treasure and serves as a central exhibit within the China Pavilion. The plaque is retailing for 382,000 yuan.

"There are only 192 of these in the world," said a clerk at the store. "I don't think anyone has ordered it here yet, but we have already sold four in Suzhou". Suzhou, in neighboring Jiangsu province, is one of China's wealthiest cities.

"What surprised me is that so many Expo staff are buying these mementos. I also hear lots of people speaking with northern China dialects, and they are going on spending sprees," said Sinclair Ke, an advisor to the USA Pavilion. "You wouldn't have seen this a few years ago," he added, referring to China's growing demographic of moneyed masses.

Some of the toys are perfect and others are just plain weird. One was made using cast-off metal from the China Pavilion.

Expo Play, a board game distantly related to Monopoly, allows gamers to snap up their favorite pavilions and land with wads of counterfeit cash. It nestles among golden abacuses that look like large Zippo lighters (and cost up to 98,400 yuan), pink sofas with holes for setting mobile phones in, and talking Haibaos.

Judging by some of the sales tactics, it's no wonder sales are soaring. One store offers a free skateboard with each 129-yuan t-shirt purchased.

Buying patterns also suggest the Expo may not be educating people on foreign cultures as much as some participants hoped.

"I'm buying this Haibao key ring because of the funny hat," said a 50-year-old lady surnamed Shi. She had no idea it was a sombrero or what continent Mexico was on.

Most of the national pavilions have their own retail stores and some of the most popular are struggling to keep pace with demand.

Thailand, with its hugely popular Tai mascot, is effectively losing money due to problems with the toy's manufacturers that have kept the product off the shelf as of mid-week.

France got Hermes to make a special perfume in the shape of its pavilion, but failed to gauge the market accurately.

"We're putting 50 to 60 bottles out a day, and they're gone within 10 minutes. We didn't make enough in time, basically," said Olivia Guenot, who manages the boutique. The other top sellers, a key ring and a t-shirt, both feature the iconic Eiffel Tower. Guenot said the shop pulls in 150,000 yuan a day on average.

Germany is filling trolleys with its costumed Bavarian dolls, which sing on demand, as well as bottles of Berentzen and Underberg, after-dinner liquors. Brazil's top seller is a Pele soccer jersey, while the USA Pavilion's hottest product is a basketball inscribed with the Expo's logo.

"We're also discovering that Chinese people love 'bling'," said store manager Scarlett Ma, pointing to a key ring with a sparkling silver US flag on it, and plastic specs also emblazoned with the Stars and Stripes.

She said the shop gets between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors a day. "Let's just say we're making our money back," she said. Like many of the attached retail stores, Ma works for a subcontractor to the pavilion.

In many cases, national emblems are more popular than the respective countries' Expo mascots.

Retailers at the Australia Pavilion told Exposure that cuddly kangaroo toys are out-selling its bird mascot, Kookaburra, while one of the best sellers for New Zealand is a foldable pillow in the shape of a sheep.

"Girls don't like our mascot. They tell us it looks scary," said one sales clerk.