XI'AN - The International Horticultural Exposition 2011 Xi'an ended on Saturday after 178 colorful days in the capital of Shaanxi province in Northeast China.

More than 15 million tourists from home and abroad visited the exposition during its 178-day run, easily beating the target of 12 million, according to Zhang Jianzheng, spokesman of the Xi'an municipal government and deputy director of the expo's executive committee.

Co-hosted by the Shaanxi provincial government, the State Forestry Administration, the China Trade Promotion Council and the China Flower Association and sponsored by the Xi'an municipal government, the 41st world expo officially opened on April 28 in Xi'an Chanba ecological zone, across 418 hectares, including a water area of 188 hectares.

It boasted 470,000 square meters of planting area concentrating more than 700 kinds of flowering plants, according to Yuan Li, general engineer of the expo's technology department.

Zheng Haixia, a retired official from Baoji in western Shaanxi, said the expo grounds were so attractive she came back four times.

During the expo, Xi'an experienced a 44.5 percent increase of total visitors, and tourism revenues jumped 41.9 percent, Zhang said.

The expo site will now be rebuilt as a park, to be completed and opened to the public in April, 2012. There will be no admission charges.

Yang Liuqi, Party secretary of Xi'an Chanba ecological zone, said the new park could become the most influential theme park in China.