The expert appraisal section of Shanghai International Poster Competition for World Expo 2010 concluded on October 14 and "City in the Air" by An Jiayuan, a Shanghai designer, beat entries from all over the world and won first prize.

This poster competition is jointly sponsored by the Information Office, the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, the Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau, and Shanghai Library. Since solicitation began this May, over 2200 entries have been received from 33 countries and regions such as USA, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Iran, Singapore, China and Hong Kong. These works touch upon the World Expo 2010 theme of "Better City, Better Life" to represent the great change in urban development and the unique charm of Shanghai.

According to the appraisal committee,"I Shanghai Shanghai" from a Dutch designer and "1.3 billion smiles" by a Japanese designer won second prize; four Chinese designers including Yan Kai won third prize; eight honor prizes and 130 qualifiers were also awarded.

The competition also includes a pubic-participation section which allows the public to vote for their favorite poster on the official Expo website www.ipc.eastday.com.