Shanghai Daily news

Expo is to get closer to ordinary residents. Organisers yesterday launched a three-year project "to promote the Expo into communities" in Zhoujiadu Community, Pudong New Area, aiming to raise the public's reorganization of the Expo and to attract more participations of the mass.

Other 18 communities in town have also joined the project, which is also one of the activities to celebrate the 1,000-day countdown of Expo 2010.

The project is to start within the city in the first 500-day period, and then will eventually spread to 15 other cities in the Yangtze Delta.

Communities participating in this project will build up their own Expo center where lectures and movable booths can be set, allowing more dwellers to know about and experience the worldwide event.

Organisers yesterday embraced the 1,000-day countdown of World Expo Shanghai 2010 with a series of celebration events, including launching a tour exhibition, tour lectures, and the project.

Officials attending the ceremony are Yin Yicun, deputy secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Shanghai Yang Xiong vice mayor and member of the Organising Committee of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, Zhang Xuebing and Zhong Yanqun, deputy directors of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai Executive Committee.