Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai opened the World Expo Exhibition Center and unveiled the general ticketing plan for the world fair yesterday, marking the two-year countdown to World Expo 2010.

The admission to the World Expo in Shanghai is tentatively set at 160 yuan, Expo organizers said.

They are expected to begin selling the tickets after the Beijing Olympics, most probably in late September, according to the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

The organizers said they have finished the draft plan for the ticketing programs of the 2010 Expo and are working on the details.

The bureau plans to start trial operation of the Expo site on January 1, 2010.

Rehearsal of the opening ceremony for the world fair is scheduled for April 1, 2010 and preview of the exhibits will begin on April 20. The six-month Expo starts on May 1.

The organizers are expecting more than 1 million people to visit the new exhibition center on the third floor of the Hong Kong New World Tower on Huaihai Road M. The center will be open daily from 9am to 6pm.

"This exhibition center will create the necessary bridge between Expo 2010 Shanghai and the citizens," said Vicente Loscertales, secretary general of the International Expositions Bureau, in his congratulatory letter on the opening of the center.

"It will constitute an important platform for communication. It will be a place for gathering and exchange and will provide a foretaste of the extraordinary event to come."

"When the Expo opens 730 days later, the center will have completed its work." said Yu Li, chief planner for the center, yesterday.

The center contains some rare exhibits donated by local governments.

One of the highlights is a brick from the Great Wall donated by Hebei Province. The brick is one of the 10 Great Wall bricks displayed at World Expo 1982 in Knoxville, the United States.

Visitors must book three days in advance by calling 6335-3336. Only a Chinese language service is available.