The design of the Shanghai World Expo's main ceremonial square and catering center was unveiled at an architectural exhibition that opened yesterday.

The Expo Celebration Square, which will host some parades, is located at the end of the Expo Boulevard, the main access to the site, near the Huangpu River, according to the plans on show at the 2009 Shanghai Architecture, Design and Urban Planning Expo at ShanghaiMart.

Expo visitors can watch the scenery along the river while taking in performances in the 130-meter-long and 120-meter-wide square. The square will have a "water mirror" surface that will reflect the sky and buildings.

A 1930s warehouse beside the square will be turned into a backstage area.

The catering center - seven two-story buildings - will be able to serve 60,000 people a day during Expo.

The Expo site will have a total of 150,000 square meters of catering areas to serve the 400,000 visitors expected every day.

Some plans for future projects such as the A30 Suburban Ring Road Tunnel are also displayed at the exhibition.

The project is meant to ease traffic on the Outer Ring Road Tunnel, which is congested with container truck traffic between Baoshan District and Pudong New Area.

The annual architectural exhibition - at 2299 Yan'an Road W. - lasts three days.

(Shanghai Daily June 11, 2009)