Innovation and openness to diversity are two major legacies the Shanghai World Expo will leave behind, but to carry on this spiritual heritage after the Expo has closed is a more important mission, a China Pavilion vice director said.

"The Shanghai Expo promotes innovation. The Expo itself is a stage for innovation," Qian Zhiguang, the vice director, said in an interview with Xinhua on Monday.

Visitors to the Expo were highly interested in the varied architectural styles of different pavilions, displays of artifacts, and the distinct ways each pavilion used to showcase the country or the city it represented, but visitors were most attracted to the areas that displayed innovation, said Qian.

"In China, we don't lack hard working people. But we do lack innovation-minded talents. The consciousness and capability of innovation is not yet good enough," Qian said.

While stressing innovation, the China Pavilion has drawn on the mature techniques and experiences from European and American countries, said Qian, who added one multi-media entertainment zone in the China Pavilion had adopted and displayed foreign wisdom.

Chinese people, like never before, are taking the chance to have a taste of the cultures, histories, and peoples' lives from around the world through the Expo, the first time it is held in China.

"The Shanghai Expo is certain to make a deep and extensive impact on China," said Qian, who also said personal experiences of the Expo would make a change in people's attitudes and the ways people see things.

Also, China Pavilion Day will fall on Oct 1, the date when the nation celebrates the 61st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. Some festive celebrations will be held, but the Pavilion will not be closed to visitors throughout the day, Qian said.

So far, the China Pavilion and China's provincial pavilions have received almost 21 million visitors since the Expo opened in May. The event is scheduled to close on Oct 31.