China announces participation in Yeosu Expo

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) -- China announced Wednesday that it has decided to take part in next year's World Expo in Korea's southern city of Yeosu in a bid to show the world its efforts to protect the marine environment.

The 93-day event will kick off in the Korean port city of Yeosu in May and is expected to attract more than 8 million visitors from more than 100 countries around the world.

The organizing committee of the China Pavilion for the 2012 Yeosu Expo said in a statement that the Chinese exhibition will be set up under the theme of "Interdependence of Human and Sea."

"The China Pavilion will highlight the country's environmentally harmonious development. We hope to establish China as a responsible country in protecting the marine environment,"

said Zhao Zhenge, the Chinese government representative for the Yeosu Expo.

The pavilion, with a space of 1,241 square meters, will be the largest foreign exhibit in the Expo, the organizing committee said.

It will be able to accommodate 6,400 spectators daily and a total number of about 600,000 during the three-month event.

It will be divided into the three parts -- the Sea Waves Exhibition, the Dynamic Dolphin Theater and the Sea Resources Exhibition -- demonstrating efforts in environmental protection as well as achievements in marine science and technology in China.

The committee officials said the Dynamic Dolphin Theater will be the core of the China Pavilion, featuring films and stage performances on the marine ecosystem.