For the past six months, the Expo site was a global village where people could see rare cultural treasures from around the world - such as the Bronze Chariot and Horse sculpture from China's Qin Dynasty, the statue of Athena from Greece and the masterpieces of French Impressionist artists - and also get a taste of the world's diverse cultures through more than 20,000 events.

But today work will begin dismantling more than 200 foreign and corporate pavilions, in accordance with BIE stipulations. Five structures will remain; the China Pavilion, the Culture Center, the Expo Center, the Theme Pavilions and Expo Boulevard.

The Expo site will be transformed into a cultural, business and commercial center.

World Expo workers take part in a parade at the Expo site yesterday, holding a banner that says "Thank you" in Chinese to all the visitors who came to the Shanghai World Expo over the past six months.

The United Kingdom Pavilion, the Saudi Arabia Pavilion and the Germany Pavilion were given the top three golden awards by the Expo Shanghai organizer and BIE.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the Summit Forum of the Expo yesterday morning that the Chinese government, the city of Shanghai and the BIE deserve the highest praise as the Shanghai World Expo brought nations together and celebrated global diversity.

The Summit Forum on Urban Innovation and Sustainable Development invites state leaders, officials, scientists, experts and entrepreneurs to seek innovative ways for sustainable urban development.

The Shanghai Declaration, which set out targets for building cities that establish harmony between diverse cultures, between development and environment and between cultural legacies and future innovations, was delivered during the closing plenary.

Six months ago, the Expo opened with a bang as fireworks lit up the sky and Shanghai welcomed the world to the city.

While the closing ceremony was more low-key, the Expo site was filled with joy, tinged with a little sadness at the prospect of the event ending and teams who had worked together for months breaking-up.

Marco Fabio Lauretti, manager of the Italy Pavilion restaurant, said he felt a little sad as he didn't think he would ever be involved in such a large-scale fair again.

There were tears and smiles as volunteers embraced. Pavilion officials sang and danced while visitors gathered in front of LED screens across the Expo site broadcasting the closing ceremony.

Expo performers from north China's Shanxi Province say goodbye to each other after their last performance at the Expo site.

Officials from more than 200 countries and organizations sang the Chinese song "The Jasmine Flower" together in Chinese on the stage. This was said to be the first time that foreigners from so many different countries had sung a Chinese song together.