MILAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China pavilion, the country's first self-built overseas Expo pavilion and also the second largest foreign pavilion next to Germany's at Expo Milano 2015, opened to the public on Friday with a duration of six months in Milan.

The Expo Milano is a new registered international exposition after the 2010 Shanghai Expo. As the last host of World Expo, China this time presents three exhibitors -- the China Pavilion, the China Corporate United Pavilion and the Vanke Pavilion, covering a total area of 6700 square meters.

World Expos

The World Expos are managed by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), or the international governing body established in Paris in 1928 by the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions.

They take place every 5 years and last up to 6 months.

Who creates the event: World Expos are national events hosted in a chosen city.

Who participates to the event: Countries, Companies, International Organizations, the civil society, and NGOs are invited to participate by building their pavilions and organising events.

Who visits the event: The general public. No less than 15-20 million people generally visit World Expos, with a record of 73 million people in Shanghai 2010.

Why: The goal of a World Expo is to raise awareness on and find solutions to universal challenges of our time such as urbanism in Expo Shanghai 2010 or nutrition in Expo Milan 2015. These challenges are the "theme" of the Expo.

How: Participants can build their own pavilions in which they can display their ideas, experiences and best practices on the Expo theme. From the outside, the pavilions are innovative architectural structures inspired by the identity of the participant and by the Expo theme. Inside, the pavilions offer visitors a journey through the theme and showcase innovations and discoveries.

Expo Milano 2015

Under the theme of "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life", Expo Milano 2015 focuses on agriculture, grain and food, and will be participated by exhibitors from 148 countries and international organizations.

The exhibitors will show the best of their technologies that offer a concrete answer to a vital need: being able to guarantee healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone, while respecting the Planet and its equilibrium.

Expo Milano 2015 is expected to welcome over 20 million visitors to its 1.1 million square meters of exhibition area that includes an exposition garden with more than 12,000 trees, water features and a canal.

The Expo will provide the opportunity to find out about, and taste, the world's best dishes, while discovering the best of the agri-food and gastronomic traditions of each of the exhibitor countries.