scene of the signing ceremony

Zhou Hanmin, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, presented Haibao, the mascot of the World Expo 2010, to Huang Xiaoxiang, deputy governor of Sichuan Province.

Sichuan Province will showcase its experience in dealing with a massive earthquake that devastated Wenchuan County and the surrounding area in May during World Expo 2010.

Zhou Hanmin, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, led Expo organizers to the quake-hit province on Wednesday to sign a participation contract with Qiao Renyi, deputy secretary general of Sichuan.

Qiao said the province began to make its exhibition plans in February and has since altered it after the earthquake struck on May 12.

Zhou gave an Expo progress report to Sichuan officials and talked with Huang Xiaoxiang, deputy governor of the province, about its exhibition plan as well as the Urban Best Practices Area case of its capital city Chengdu.

After signing the contract, Zhou led organizers to visit the Dujiangyan City, one of the worst quake-hit areas in the province.