China’s biggest event since the Olympics costs twice as much

China on Friday opened its biggest-ever event since hosting the Beijing Olympics two years ago, and spent nearly twice as much to showcase a powerful and shiny new Shanghai on the world stage, reports Reshma Patil.

China on Friday opened its biggest-ever event since hosting the Beijing Olympics two years ago, and spent nearly twice as much to showcase a powerful and shiny new Shanghai on the world stage.

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The opening, attended by President Hu Jintao and 20 heads of state including French president Nicolas Sarkozy, included a 30-minute riverfront spectacle of thousands of fireworks, laser lights and the world’s biggest LED screen taking over the famed skyline.

Seventy million visitors, mostly domestic tourists, are expected to visit the pavilions amid tight security that includes a citywide ban on selling kitchen knives without identity proof.