Shanghai has more than the Labor Day to celebrate on Thursday as the 2010 World Expo enters its two-year countdown with some razzle-dazzle of its own. The Expo Exhibition Center, the first promotion and education base for Expo 2010, is now open for free in the center of the city. Our Shanghai correspondent Zhou Jing files this report.

Lines of visitors were queuing outside the exhibition hall as early as 9:30 on Thursday morning, though doors were not open to the public until 10 am.

Among them were Xu Peiping and her husband, who came all the way from Pudong New Area, about one hour's drive from the exhibition center.

"I saw the news on TV that the expo exhibition center will open today so we came to have a look. I think the exhibition is quite informative."

The 1,000-square-meter center introduces various aspects of Shanghai Expo, China's participation in past Expos as well as the 150-year-plus history of World Expo with multimedia videos and electronic books.

Chief planner of the Exhibition Yu Li said in addition to the state-of-the-art facilities, precious exhibits are another highlight of the show.

"We've collected a lot of antiques related to previous expos like the phonograph and light bulb invented by Edison, which have a history of over 100 years. And also on display 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 the United States."

The exhibition will change continuously based on the latest information, such as new designs for national pavilions.

The organizers are expecting more than 1 million annual visitors to the exhibition center.

Thursday also marks the two-year countdown of the Shanghai World Expo. When attending the exhibition center's launching ceremony, Shanghai Party Chief Yu Zhengsheng revealed a new plan during the expo preparation.

"We hope through the influence and concept of the world expo, the overall living environment and quality of Shanghai will be improved. That's why we are working on a 600-day action project that does not just concern the expo site but covers all areas in Shanghai."

Up till now, 172 countries and 33 international organizations have confirmed their attendance in the Shanghai World Expo.

Zhou Jing, CRI News, Shanghai