On July 5, the 300-day countdown to 2010 World Expo Shanghai, Beijing's Capital Museum opened an Expo 2010 exhibition. The exhibition reviews the history of the World Expo and explains preparations for the 2010 World Expo Shanghai with a lot of photos, models and multimedia displays. It also gives visitors a chance to preview the World Expo 300 days in advance.

Vicente Gonzales Loscertales, Secretary General of the Bureau of International Expositions, was invited to attend the opening ceremony. Loscertales said the exhibition is the epitome of the 2010 World Expo Shanghai. It explains the theme, helps visitors better understand the idea behind the World Expo, encourages participation from all of society, and improves the image of the organizing country and city.

Tracing over 150 years of the history of the World Expo and its relations with China, the exhibition covers Expos held from 1851 to 2008 all over the world. It illustrates the World Expo from its origin, development and its relationship with modern human civilization and cultural development. The theme of the Shanghai World Expo, "Better City, Better Life," runs throughout the exhibition and links different exhibit items together, including "the road of city," "the origin of city," "the wall of city," "the green of city" and "the window of city."

In the History Pavilion, a drawing of a "little flying guy" (an angel) attracted a lot of visitors. The card has a history of over 150 years. At the first Expo, which was held in London in 1851, a Shanghai merchant named Xu Rongcun brought a package of "Yungkee Hu Silk" produced in Nanxunli Village, southeast China's Zhejiang Province, for which he won an award as well as the "little flying guy" card presented by the Queen of England.

"I didn't know that China had participated in the first Expo," said Liu Ying, a Beijing resident visiting the exhibition with her daughter. She hadn't known the exhibition was opening that day until she arrived at the museum. "This exhibition is worth seeing," Liu said. "It's like going to the Expo 2010 in advance."

In addition to original items and photos, the exhibition also has multimedia displays so visitors can get information in an interactive way.

The multimedia exhibition hall "Imagination of City--Roaming Through the Shanghai World Expo" takes visitors on a 3D tour of the Expo site. Because it is a circular exhibition hall, most videos are played with a bird's-eye view and fisheye distortion, giving the audience a unique perspective.

The design of the China Pavilion, the most mysterious one in the preparation of the World Expo, is revealed to visitors through a comprehensive multimedia display. "The Story of Dougong (The Bucket Arch)" gives an overview of the China Pavilion and expresses its theme, "Chinese wisdom in urban development."

Zhang Peng, a student from the China University of Mining and Technology, said after he finished touring the exhibition, "I have heard about the World Expo many times, but I didn't know what on earth it was or what it would bring to China. After seeing the exhibition today, I have learned about the history of the World Expo as well as preparations for the Shanghai Expo. It is worth seeing for people who do not know much about the World Expo."

The free exhibition will be held in the Capital Museum Tuesday-Sunday from July 7 to 25.