Yang Xiong, Vice Mayor of Shanghai and Deputy Managing Director of the Executive Committee of Expo 2010 Shanghai China, met media both at home and abroad yesterday. In the interview, Yang Xiong revealed Expo preparations and the social and economic development of Shanghai as well.

Yang says, after the registration report was passed on December 1, 2005, the Expo preparations has entered a new stage of full implementation. The high requirement of Expo serves as a driving force for the development of Shanghai and meanwhile much importance is attached to the protection and preservation of historical flavors.

As to the question why large-scale infrastructure construction is carried out in the city, Yang said the present capacity of airports, railways and containers in Shanghai can hardly meet the demand of the 70 million Expo tourists in 2010 as well as the increasing urban development. Projects like Yangshan Deep-water Port and Phase II Pudong International Airport will effectively solve the developing bottleneck, added Yang.

During their stay in Shanghai, reporters visited the Pujiang World Expo Homeland and Expo Park, the Yangshan Deep Water Port, East Sea Bridge, and historic sites in Hongkou district. They showed their favorable impression on the progress of Expo and expressed their appreciation of the preservation of historic sites in the city.