The Shanghai government today started soliciting ideas from the public for its exhibition theme and plans at World Expo 2010.

The exhibition theme should display the spirit and image of the city and embody at least one aspect of the Expo 2010's five sub-themes, which are the integration of different cultures in cities, a booming urban economy, innovation in science and technology, renovation of urban communities and the interaction of urban and rural areas.

It should be within 15 Chinese characters, while the detailed exhibition plan should be between 3,000 and 5,000 characters. Multimedia approaches such as animation and video are allowed in the submission.

Public solicitation will end at 5pm on June 6 and submissions are required to be mailed to the preparatory office of Shanghai's exhibition at 17 Gaoan Road. Detailed information and application forms are available at the Website of Shanghai Expo (http://www.expo2010china.com) and Eastday (http://www.eastday.com).

The winner will receive 100,000 yuan (US$14,286).

Provinces and municipalities in China will get 600 square meters each to showcase varied traditions. The exhibitions of national participants will be held in a joint pavilion in the China Pavilion section with separate pavilions for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

(Shanghai Daily April 28, 2008)