Expo Axis reborn as shopping center

A pair of black swans attend to their clutch of cygnets in a roof-top waterpool at a shopping center converted from structures built during Shanghai's 2010 World Expo. The shopping center opens to the public today. The Expo Axis development includes the former Expo site's musical fountain, which serves as a water screen theater where movies will be shown nightly. — Sun Zhan

The former main entrance to the World Expo site will reopen to the public today in the form of a four-story shopping and entertainment center.

The 1-kilometer-long Expo Axis, which runs along the Huangpu River in the Pudong New Area, has been reincarnated as River Mall. As well as the usual mix of shops, restaurants and cinemas, the development boasts rooftop gardens, an artificial waterfall, black and white swans, and even peacocks.

It even has mini-trains to carry visitors to the top floor, which was once an open-air platform at the Axis.

The development has also incorporated the former Expo site's musical fountain, which now serves as a water screen theater where movies are shown nightly. Likewise, the former Sunny Valley — a special membrane on the top floor of the Axis that sheltered visitors from the rain — has been transformed into a 5,000-square-meter movie screen.

Mall operator Bailian Group said it is keen to work with nearby Expo pavilions, including the China Art Museum and the Mercedes-Benz Arena, to attract people to the area.

Visitors can get there by taking Metro Line 8 to the China Art Museum Station. It also has a free car park.