"I kept saying 'Stamping on the second floor, riding bicycles on the third' in Chinese to guide the visitors every day. I found great difference between Chinese culture and that of my own. I am willing to spend time to understand China," she said.

SOLUTIONS BEYOND TECHNOLOGIES

The Expo, with the theme "Better City, Better Life," has laid out new criteria for the urbanization process in the future. According to the organizers, half of the population of the planet now lives in cities.

Scientific innovation will continue to play a major role in solving urban problems, just as Expos over the last century have demonstrated. Many people believe an ideal society can only be achieved through scientific and technological development.

Developed countries brought their high-end technologies to the Expo, including intelligent cars, clean energy, nanotechnology and smart medical devices.

Still, Japanese Pavilion director Noriyoshi Ehara said that science and technology are not the ultimate means to solve problems. That is why the theme of the Expo gradually changed from focusing on economic development to environmental protection, he said.

"We are convinced that it is necessary to re-examine the relationship between people, cities and our planet," read the Shanghai Declaration made by leaders attending the Expo Summit Forum Sunday.

Many pavilions attempted to find solutions to problems using social and moral means, not technology. The U.S. and Japanese Pavilions both stressed cooperation and team work while the Indian and German Pavilions focused on "balance." The Cote d'Ivoire Pavilion advocated the integration of cultures. At the China Pavilion, visitors saw the possibility of realizing sustainable development through the borrowing of ideas from the country's traditional wisdom in order to bridge the gap between mankind and nature.

The Shanghai Declaration said that "in tackling the challenges of urban development, innovation offers solutions and the concept of 'Cities of Harmony' embodies our dreams."

Volunteer Wang Qianhe, a junior at Shanghai's Donghua University, said it was difficult to say goodbye to the Expo. More than two million people from home and abroad volunteered for the Expo, of whom 80,000 worked at the Expo site.

However, to Wang's delight, a permanent building, the Expo 2010 Museum, will be built in Shanghai to preserve the Expo's glory. More than 200 Expo participants have already expressed willingness to donate exhibits to the 20,000-square-meter museum.

The next Expo will be held in Milan, Italy, in 2015.

BIE President Lafon said the spirit of the Shanghai Expo will live on long after its closing.

"The light of the Shanghai World Expo will continue to shine long into the future."