World Expositions are galleries of human inspirations and thoughts. Since 1851 when the Great Exhibition of Industries of All Nations was held in London, the World Expositions have attained increasing prominence as grand events for economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, serving as an important platform for displaying historical experience, exchanging innovative ideas, demonstrating esprit de corps and looking to the future.

With a long civilisation, China favours international exchange and loves world peace. China owes its successful bid for the World Exposition in 2010 to the international community's support for and confidence in its reform and opening-up. The Exposition will be the first registered World Exposition in a developing country, which gives expression to the expectations the world's people place on China's future development.

So what will Expo 2010 Shanghai China deliver to the world? There is no doubt the Chinese people will present to the world a successful, splendid and unforgettable exposition.

Expo 2010 Shanghai China will be a great event to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century and a significant period in urban evolution. Fifty-five percent of the world population is expected to live in cities by the year 2010. The prospect of future urban life, a subject of global interest, concerns all nations, developed or less developed, and their people. Being the first World Exposition on the theme of city, Exposition 2010 will attract governments and people from across the world, focusing on the theme "Better City, Better Life." For its 184 days, participants will display urban civilisation to the full extent, exchange their experiences of urban development, disseminate advanced notions on cities and explore new approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions in the new century. They will learn how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the sustainable development of human beings.

Expo 2010 Shanghai China will centre on innovation and interaction. Innovation is the soul, while cultural interaction is an important mission of the World Expositions. In the new era, Expo 2010 Shanghai China will contribute to human-centred development, scientific and technological innovation, cultural diversity and win-win cooperation for a better future, thus composing a melody with the key notes of highlighting innovation and interaction in the new century.
Expo 2010 Shanghai China will also be a grand international gathering,  in a global perspective and do our best to encourage the participation and gain the understanding and support of various countries and peoples, in order to turn Expo 2010 Shanghai China into a happy reunion of people from all over the world.

In addition, Expo 2010 Shanghai China will offer a wonderful opportunity for cross-culture dialogues. Before the conclusion of the Exposition, a "Shanghai Declaration" will be issued. This declaration, hopefully a milestone in the history of the World Expositions, will epitomise the insights to be offered by the participants and embody people's ideas for future cooperation and development and extensive common aspirations, thereby leaving a rich spiritual legacy of urban development to people throughout the world.

The motto is: "Keeping in mind the next sesenta years' development while preparing for the six months' Exposition."

Harmony was a core proposition of ancient Chinese philosophy, which advocated harmony between people, between man and heaven, and between body and soul. It is also the ideal of some ancient Western philosophers. Over past centuries, human beings have never stopped their search for models of harmonious cities. A series of theories, propositions and models, from More's Utopia to Ledoux's Ideal City to Howard's Garden City, all strive for balance and harmony in terms of space, order, and spiritual and material input and output. Since the 1980s, the concept of sustainable development has risen as a fundamental solution to environmental and development issues. Governments around the world, in their local versions of Agenda 21 (a Chinese Government programme designed to ensure sustainable development in the 21st century), have formulated development strategies that more or less centre on the proposition of "harmony," especially that between the current and future generations. It can be clearly seen that the quest for the "City of Harmony" as run through the urban history of mankind, and has increasingly become a highlight in the blueprint of future cities.