The latest World Expo 2010 preparations, planning and pavilions are unveiled in a sweeping exhibit on Huaihai Road M. in downtown Shanghai. It will be constantly updated for two years until the Expo curtain rises on May 1, 2010.—Shanghai Daily

The city's exhibition center for World Expo Shanghai 2010 has opened on Huaihai Road M., featuring frequent updates in Expo preparation during the two-year countdown. It will be running until the six-month Expo opens on May 1, 2010.

Organizers expect more than 1 million people to visit the 1,000-square-meter display on the third floor of the Hong Kong New World Tower. It opens daily from 9am to 6pm. Reservations are required at least three days in advance.

Tours will be conducted in both Chinese and English.

To date, 205 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the Expo; 22 of them have signed formal contracts.

The new Expo display, which opened on May 1, features the history of World Expos, international and China memorabilia from Expos and updates on participants, pavilions, planning and infrastructure. The designs for national pavilions will be displayed as they are released.

One of the oldest bricks from the Great Wall, from Hebei Province, is displayed - it was first exhibited with nine others at the 1982 World Expo in Knoxville in the southern US state of Tennessee.

A replica of a famous Maotai liquor bottle will be displayed.

The original was smashed in 1915 in San Francisco at the Panama Pacific International Exposition - to attract drinkers with its powerful fumes. It worked. That Guizhou Province liquor is internationally renowned today and won a gold medal at the exhibit.

The Shanghai show is similar to, but more extensive and richer than, the Expo touring exhibition that opened at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center to mark the 1,000-day countdown last August. It is filled with multimedia information and interactive displays.

National flags line the walkway to the entrance. "The colorful entrance marks a grand gathering of all nations. Perhaps only at the United Nations can we see a similar scene," said Yu Li, chief planner of the exhibition. He praised Hebei and Guizhou provinces for their brick and Maotai contributions.

The Thomas Edison gramophone that was unveiled at the 1989 World's Fair in Paris will be on display. "People had to wait three hours to see the gramophone almost 120 years ago, now it's just a touch away," said Yu.

A 180-degree screen shows promotional videos for the event.

Vicente Loscertales, secretary-general of the International Expositions Bureau, congratulated organizers in a letter, saying "Shanghai organizers are marking an important step in the communication process and significantly contributing to one of the main objectives of the exhibition, education of the public."

"This exhibition center will create the necessary bridge between 2010 Expo Shanghai and civil society," he said.

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

"We spend 10 whole days to put up the exhibition," said a worker surnamed Chen. "It's a tough task, but we managed."

Every day 20 volunteers explain the exhibits to visitors, expected to number about 3,000. Volunteers are being trained for two weeks in rotation.

The building housing the exhibition contains a shopping mall and high-end offices. The venue itself belongs to Luwan District and used to display the city's innovative industries.

"We appreciate Luwan District's contribution and support," said Yu.

The exhibition, near Metro Line 1 Huangpi Road N. Station, will close on April 30, 2010. "When the real Expo opens 730 days later (after May 1), our task is complete," Yu said.

Preview of the real Expo exhibits and trial operation of the Expo site begins on April 20, 2010.

Opening hours: 9am-6pm Reservations required. Visitors must book three days in advance by calling 6335-3336 or 6335-3338 (English service available)

Booking Website: www.scw.org.cn/TesseraShow.aspx (in Chinese)

Address: 3/F, 300 Huaihai Rd M.

Admission: Free