Shanghai Takes Baton For World Expo

The 2005 World Exposition has ended its six-month run in Japan. And the next expo will take place in five years time, in China''s large city business hub, Shanghai. A closing ceremony was held on Sunday in Aichi Prefecture and the baton was passed on to Chinese officials.

Tens of thousands of last-minute visitors rushed through the pavilions of 122 countries and regions, with families posing for pictures with the expo''s mascots, as well as the many robots patrolling the grounds.

The Aichi Expo entertained 22 million people, about 7 million more than was expected. It''s estimated to have brought in a total of 380 million US dollars in ticket sales, 100 million dollars more than forecast.

The China Pavilion at the Aichi Expo has been a magnet for visitors since the event got underway. Its unique design and Chinese features attracted 5.5 million people in 185 days.

Sun Gang, Curator of China Pavilion said: "Our pavilion provides a tour through China''s traditional and ancient civilization and its modern urban development. It''s been a huge success."

With one visitor out of three coming to the pavilion, it was the most popular, as well as the biggest, of the 120 foreign pavilions.

The theme of the pavilion was "Nature, City and Harmony," which illustrates the Chinese philosophy and art of life.

Officials from the International Exhibitions Bureau hail the world expos as an important factor contributing to regional and world peace and development.

The current fair introduced an advanced recycling and reservation system, hoping to minimize the queuing time at popular pavilions.

But there were certainly problems, such as poor access to the expo sites, which was located some 20 kilometers east of Nagoya.

As the Aichi Expo wraps up, Chinese officials hope to draw on its experiences and lessons to make their Shanghai World Expo a greater success in 2010.