Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai Expo organizers are to send delegations of Expo workers and volunteers to Zaragoza, Spain, host of this year's Expo, to learn from its experience, they said at a press conference yesterday.

World Expo Zaragoza 2008 organizers also invited Shanghai people to visit Zaragoza Expo, which opens on June 14 and runs until September 14. Its theme is "Water and Sustainable Development."

So far, Zaragoza Expo has attracted 102 countries, two international organizations, seven corporate and 18 Spanish regions to present exhibitions in nearly 140 pavilions.

Different from Shanghai Expo, which is a registered event lasting six months on a 528-hectare site, Zaragoza Expo is a specialized World Expo that has a much smaller site and is on for a shorter period.

"Zaragoza Expo has a special significance to us as it is the closest one to Shanghai Expo. Thus we could share many experiences in the preparation work," said Liu Xiuhua, assistant director of the Communication and Promotion Department of the Expo Bureau.

Jeronimo Blasco, vice president of Expo Zaragoza, said it was a good occasion for people to visit the city and the country. The organizers hoped that they could attract more Chinese tourists.

Blasco said they had contacted Chinese tourism agencies and worked out travel packages for Chinese people during the Expo period.

Zaragoza Expo will be open from 10am to 3pm daily and a one-day ticket is 35 euros (US$52.06) and three-day admission is 70 euros.

"If you book the tickets now, you could get a discount," said Blasco. "It could only cost about 20 to 30 euros."

Zaragoza Expo organizers are expecting more than seven million visitors during the three-month Expo. So far, more than 2.5 million tickets have been sold, Blasco said.

The China Pavilion at Expo 2008 will explore the theme "Humans and Water ?§(r) Return to Harmony," and showcase the history of Chinese people fighting with water as well as modern technologies in future water treatment. The State Council approved the theme in September.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade is organizing the exhibition in the China Pavilion, which will have a section promoting the Shanghai Expo.