Shanghai Daily news

The Czech Republic will put up an exhibition on the "Fruit of Civilization" during World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, the country's officials said as they signed a participation contract with local organizers yesterday.

The country would lease a 2,000 square meter pavilion in the Expo site, Czech Republic commissioner general for Expo Pavel Stehlik said.

A multimedia exhibition in the pavilion will focus on solving traffic problems during holiday seasons, striking a balance to meet everyone's needs.

He said many Czech people live in the city, but also have houses in the countryside. This caused problems when people rushed off to their weekend retreats.

The Czech government put a lot of emphasis on the Shanghai Expo project - its pavilion will be double the size of its display at Aichi Expo, he added.

The Czech Pavilion is expected to receive about 3,500 visitors per day during the six-month Expo period.

Stehlik said Prague, the capital, was also applying for the Urban Best Practices Area.

Prague suffered a severe flood in 2002 and most of its historical buildings were damaged. The government created a removable dam - to protect the city from floods when needed - that does not affect the city's scenery, Stehlik said.

The country would like to share this practice with coastal cities in other countries, he said.

The Czech Republic is the 12th participant to sign a participation contract.