Shanghai will turn a 165-meter chimney at an old power plant into an observation tower for the 2010 World Expo to demonstrate planners' efforts to mix advanced technology with the city's history.

The chimney, at the eastern end of the Puxi side of the Expo Site, where the old Nanshi Power Plant was located, will be transformed into a 201-meter-tall "World Expo Harmony Tower" that can carry 650 visitors every hour. It will include tracks and cars similar to a roller coaster that will wrap around the tower and take people to the top for a view of the city's skyline.

The century old plant was closed in September last year.

Revamping the plant was a brainchild of the Expo organizers and is part of the "Urban Best Practices Area," which will showcase innovative ideas to make city life better.

The Nanshi plant produced a lot of pollution when it was in use. Now it will become a venue showcasing how electricity can be generated by utilizing wind, solar and tidal energy.

The renovation of old factories is one of the highlights of World Expo 2010 because in all previous World Expos, the construction work that had to be done involved the building of new, albeit temporary, pavilions.

Expo Mansion, where Expo organizers work, stands on the Pudong side of the 5.28-square-kilometer Expo site. The area used to be a textile printing and dye factory that was originally built by French businessmen.

Expo planners also planned to turn 95,500 square meters of workshops and warehouses, or about 14 percent of the total area of the Expo Site, into exhibition halls or public activity centers, according to previous reports.

After the Expo, the venues will be turned into museums to showcase both the history and the future of manufacturing.

(Shanghai Daily January 14, 2008)