China lowered the curtain of a 178-day horticultural exposition in northwest Shaanxi Province on Saturday, making Xi'an the third mainland city that have successfully hosted such event following that of Kunming in 1999 and Shenyang in 2006.
A grand closing ceremony featuring performing arts and the issuing of an expo declaration that advocate low-carbon lifestyle was staged at 8 p.m. to mark the conclusion of the event hosted by Xi'an, the home city of an terracotta army.
Tourism revenue in Xi'an registered a nearly 41 percent increase from May to September this year during which the expo was held, totalling more than 2.8 billion yuan(439 million U.S dollars), according to the figures released by the Shaanxi provincial statistics bureau.
The bureau estimated that the expo has created more than 20,000 jobs and will contribute 1.5 percentage points to the city's GDP this year.
The expo, which was attended by 24 Chinese provincial-level regions, 32 countries and three international organizations, has received more than 15.7 million visitors, far exceeding the organizer's expectation of 12 million, the expo's executive committee said in a press release.
City planners will rebuilt the 400-hectare expo site into an ecological district that contains a horticultural park and a theme park of renowned movies. The new facilities will open to the public on April 28, 2012.
Following the expo, another two Chinese cities, Qingdao and Tangshan are scheduled to stage such expositions in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
Xi'an, formerly known as "Chang'an," served as ancient China's capital for 13 dynasties spanning more than 1,100 years and was a pivot on the ancient Silk Road.