Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, is to showcase its water control practices and let visitors experience the charm of water at its exhibition in the 15-hectare Urban Best Practices Area of Shanghai World Expo.

The city signed a UBPA participation deal with organizers yesterday. UBPA offers a stage for cities around the world to present their solutions to urban issues.

Hangzhou's proposal, one of the six projects from Chinese mainland cities in the UBPA list, involves the treatment of the city's West Lake, Qiantang River, canals, the Xixi Wetland as well as ancient water channels.

Hangzhou's exhibition will include building a pentagon-shaped pavilion with blue bricks containing water from the city's lakes and rivers. Visitors will be able to sense how water flows and the tide works.

Crowned as 'the paradise for tourism' and 'the kingdom of fish and rice,' Hangzhou has been stepping up measures such as building sewage treatment plants and relocating polluting industrial firms along the Qiantang River to clean up its water.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Cameroon signed a participation contract with Expo organizers yesterday. The country will focus on rebuilding residential communities in a joint pavilion that will hold the exhibitions of 40-plus African countries. The African joint pavilion will be one of the largest at 2010 World Expo.

(Shanghai Daily July 23.2008)