"It's great that more people know about our dance and the culture of the Tujia ethnic group through our performance on the Expo stage," Tan said.

Hu Jinjun said that since the World Expo was such a large gathering of global culture and art ambassadors, it required good management to organize so many performances within and outside the Expo site.

He said it was a great opportunity for different cities in the world to exchange cultural experiences. The Shanghai World Expo is being held under the theme "Better City, Better Life".

He Chen, Curator of the Spanish Bilbao Case Pavilion, said some Chinese cities have started to agree with the urban renaissance strategies of Bilbao, which encouraged innovative industries.

Salina Yan, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said Hong Kong was also willing to share its experiences in cultural industry management with Shanghai.

Hong Kong has organized nearly 700 performances in Shanghai during the Expo, a record number of the government's cultural promotional activities outside the region. Yan said Hong Kong saw the Expo as an opportunity to learn from other cities on developing the cultural and performing arts industry.

She said in the future, there would be more communications between Hong Kong and Shanghai and other cities in the Chinese mainland on the subject.

"We are willing to share the experience of supporting cultural development and talent training with them," she said.

Chen Dong, Vice Director of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of the China Shanghai Committee, said the Shanghai Expo would not only improve the quality of facilities, but also help the development of innovative ideas in the cultural sphere.

She also hoped local talent would be inspired through the Expo.

Late in the night, after performing all day, singers and drummers usually played music on the shuttle bus back to the World Expo Village. Chinese staff also joined them, singing, applauding and laughing together.

"It's just another stage," said Magda Puchi, music director of the Mawaka group from Brazil.