"The atmosphere in Shanghai was vibrant, with everyone - expo staff members and volunteers, Chinese officials, international participants, and the public - feeling tremendous pride, joy and enthusiasm about the event finally coming to life, and about the world being there."

The fair attracted 246 countries and overseas organizations, setting a record for international participation.

One of the most talked about and visited pavilions was the United Kingdom's Seed Cathedral, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, and dubbed "the dandelion" by locals.

The six-story cube-like structure comprised 60,000 transparent rods, each containing the seeds of different plants. The seeds were sourced from the Kunming Institute of Botany in Yunnan province, which is a partner of the Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London.