Green technologies

Restoring the natural beauty of the Laoshan Mountains is a part of the preparatory efforts for the upcoming gala. Hou Xiaohua / For China Daily

There are also green technologies inside the venues.

With the help of mirrors, sunlight is introduced to places that it could not reach directly. Rainwater will be collected and reused. A unique power generation system is employed, using natural gas to generate electricity and simultaneously produce heating and cooling.

Many devices using solar power or recycled energy can also be seen in the venues.

Special bricks are used to pave the roads, which look solid but allow water to filter down very fast when it rains.

The architecture at the venues is "grown, rather than built", because most of it has been covered with vegetation, said the secretary-general.

"It doesn't look like just steel plus concrete," he said.

He also said that the eco-friendly concept that the expo represents can help accelerate the economic development of the region, especially in terms of infrastructure improvement.

Where the main venues stand today used to be backward villages without running water or sewage treatment systems, nor did they have gas and heat. But the expo has changed the situation rapidly, allowing the local people to transit from being villagers to urban residents and enjoy improvements to their quality of life.

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