The one millionth visitor to the Canada Pavilion

Canada's Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (R) and Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan (L) welcome the family of Qiao Renbiao (C), a Shanghai resident who is the one millionth visitor to the Canada Pavilion, at the Shanghai World Expo June 2, 2010. [Agencies]

SHANGHAI -- The Canadian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 received its one millionth visitor Wednesday.

Qiao Renbiao, an engineer from Shanghai, was identified as the pavilion's one millionth visitor.

Qiao, along with his family, was welcomed by two of Canadian's cabinet ministers and the pavilion's Commissioner General Dashan, or Mark H. Rowswell, a famous Canadian performer in China.

The pavilion was planned to receive 30,000 people per day, but since May 12, the number of visitors consistently exceeded that. "So we are ahead of the schedule welcoming our one-millionth visitor", Dashan said at the ceremony held to welcome Qiao and his family.

In this regard, the pavilion is expected to receive more than six million visitors by the end of October, exceeding previous forecast of 5.5 million, he said.

Other pavilions that have received more than one million visitors included the ones of France, Australia, Spain and the African Joint Pavilion.