Workers prepare for the trial run of the Expo Garden in a file photo taken on March 7.

How will the massive Expo site be redeveloped when the event closes?

Standing on Expo Boulevard overlooking the magnificent display of international architecture in the Expo Garden, Feng Qi could not believe the marvelous pavilions will soon be razed to the ground.

"The architecture is so amazing; it's a pity that they are going to be pulled down," Feng said.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors like Feng who are curious to see the technology and culture show at the Shanghai Expo, flock to the event every day with unabated enthusiasm despite the heat and crowds. It's hard for many to believe that the 184-day carnival is going to last for only three more months.

But according to the rules of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), the governing body of the World Expos, almost all the pavilions are slated for demolition after the event to make way for the redevelopment of the Expo site. Only a few structures will remain, including the China Pavilion, the Theme Pavilion, the Cultural Center, Expo Center and Expo Boulevard, which will become permanent landmarks on the site after the event ends at the end of October.

The redevelopment plans for the Expo site were finalized long ago, according to Wu Zhiqiang, chief planner of the Expo Garden. With the ending of the fair and the demolition of the enclosure fences and the temporary structures within, a new city center will arise from the 5.28-square-kilometer Expo site. A 0.2-square-kilometer plot between the Theme Pavilion and the Cultural Center, for instance, will be rebuilt into an international convention center, along with all the underground utilities put in place during the construction of the Expo.

The China Pavilion will become a Chinese history museum. A great part of the green land near the Huangpu River will also be preserved.

Government officials, however, have so far remained tight-lipped on the issues of the redevelopment of the rest of the Expo land. Huang Jianzhi, deputy director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, said the redevelopment plan is still under deliberation and that authorities want, first and foremost, to make sure the Expo operation is a great success, before getting down to the details of redevelopment.

The only official statement from the local government so far has been from Mayor Han Zheng, who said earlier that once the plan is finalized, it will be made public to solicit opinions. Han also said a great part of the land would be developed for "public interests."

But rumors that part of the Expo site is slated to be put up for auction for commercial development projects to help the government win profits are spreading like wildfire online. Many believe authorities need to recover the government's huge investment in the Expo, estimated at several hundred billion yuan, including citywide infrastructure spending.

The issue has turned out to be a conundrum, which, despite local authorities' efforts to try to cool negative publicity, has sparked speculations and debate among the public.

Prized land

Located in the city center striding the Huangpu River, the Expo site is now regarded as the most precious land resource in Shanghai. Meanwhile, the scrimmage for land near the Expo Garden by major developers started long before the event kicked off, which has also driven up expectations for land prices in the area.

Even though a plot of land bordering the Expo site on the Puxi side failed to sell in an auction in mid-July, many said the no-sale was due to an exorbitant price. Few people believe it will have any cooling effect upon the value of the Expo site.

The price of the Expo land could easily triple or quadruple by the time the event ends, according to Sun Yuanxin, deputy director of the Institute of World Expo Economy at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, a key government think-tank in terms of Expo economy. So the Shanghai government only needs to sell one third of the 5.28-square-kilometer Expo site to developers to recover all the costs, he said.

As to the remaining two thirds, one is the area where the five permanent structures will be retained to serve as public venues. Sun suggested that the other third be turned into green land to encourage sustainable urban development.

But according to Wan Zeng-wei, director of the Pudong Academy of Development, also a key district government think-tank, the redevelopment plan of the Expo Garden has so far failed to generate consensus among city authorities and planners.

In Pudong, which is home to about two thirds of the Expo Garden, authorities have yet to come up with a consensus regarding the specific development plans, he said.

"Although the general agreement is that the area should be developed into a major trade, convention and tourism center, authorities are divided on the details," he said.

Dai Xiaobo, a researcher with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told China Daily that one plan currently under deliberation is to develop the Pudong section of the Expo Garden as an extension of the Lujiazui Financial Zone, whose development has long been hampered by limited land resources. The extension would be critical to further Shanghai's reputation as a major international financial center by 2020, he said.

To do that, both section A and C of the Expo Garden on the Pudong side would be sold to developers to turn them into a finance and trade centralized area, he said. Section B is where the five permanent structures will be retained.

"While many remain skeptical about the government's motivation in selling the land for redevelopment, I think if the government makes decisions in line with the planning for the area, it is quite understandable. It's easy to see that this would stimulate the long-term development of the city and in turn benefit the public.

"But if the aim is to sacrifice public interests for short-term profit returns, then the credibility of the government would be greatly undermined," he said, adding the redevelopment would be a major test for the Shanghai government on whether it would uphold public interests in the urban area project.