A one-month promotion of the Finland Pavilion featuring an exhibition at the Expo Exhibition Center has proven popular.

A total of 50,108 visitors visited the center on Huaihai Road during the exhibition. The showcase featured a video, model and photos of Finland Pavilion, which is shaped like a "kirmu," a Finnish word meaning a rocky hollow formed naturally along the seashore.

The display was aimed at arousing public attention for the northern European country's Expo display. The exhibit wrapped up on November 30.

Finland was the first country to hold a month-long promotion at the center.

Visitors check the model of the Finland Pavilion.

Visitors experience aurora borealis via interactive exhibits.

Officials pick up winners of a fun competition about the Finland Pavilion.

About 20,000 visitors entered a fun competition and answered questions about Finland Pavilion. Fifty people won prizes.

A delegation comprising Finns working in Shanghai visited the exhibition in mid-November. Many members said they looked forward to the Finnish display at the Expo.

Some officials from the United Nations, Caribbean Community, France and Australia were very interested in the promotion. They viewed the exhibit while attending the Third Participants' Meeting in Shanghai in mid-November.

Some remarks by visitors at the center read: "The pavilion design is innovative and beyond expectations" and "Look forward to visiting the pavilion in 2010."

Pertti Huitu, Commissioner General of Finland for Expo 2010, expressed special thanks to the Communications and Promotion Department of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination. He said the signing ceremony, opening ceremony of the Finland promotion month and press conference were seamlessly integrated and the atmosphere was very nice that day.

Finland will attempt to capture the ideas of freedom, creativity, innovation, community, health and nature in its pavilion and exhibition. The country's exhibit will be based on the theme "Sharing Inspiration," or promoting ideas on how to improve people's living standards.

The pavilion will be built on a 3,000-square-meter plot. The six-story building, which will include a restaurant serving Finnish food, will look like a huge white bowl and will be surrounded by a lake. Six pillars will support the bottom of the "bowl," and it will appear to be floating on the water, said chief designer Teemu Kurkela earlier.