The Mexico Pavilion will send its hand-made kites and masks to Mexican firms operating on the mainland when the Expo ends. [China Daily/Gao Erqiang]

Expo prepares for a looming garage sale as pavilions auction and give away materials and exhibits in line with the Expo's environmental theme, Yu Ran reports.

The Switzerland Pavilion is making sure its exhibition and building materials are not all laid to waste when the Expo 2010 Shanghai ends on Oct 31 by pre-selling the solar cells that coat its exterior, a trend that other pavilions are starting to pick up on.

The red solar cells that decorate the pavilion's faade and provide light for its two-cylinder ski lift are available at its merchandise shop for 260 yuan apiece. Three-quarters have already been sold, according to employee Li Jia.

"We're pretty sure they'll all be gone within this month," she said, adding that purchases are limited to five per customer.

The pavilion's interactive faade uses 8,000 cells to show the huge amount of unused energy at our disposal every day. Due to the structure's intelligent design, this energy can be harnessed from the flashes elicited by visitor's cameras.

"I love the color and the effect the cells create at night. I've already left a wall free in my new apartment to hang them up," said Wang Derui, who bought five of the cells.

Meanwhile, the Taipei World Trade Center sold the Taiwan Pavilion, which it operates, to Taiwan's Hsinchu City for NT$458.88 million($14.81 million) last month, a sum it claimed was 10 percent above the original bidding price.

Numerous national pavilions told China Daily they have received interest from various regions in China to purchase their structures when the Expo ends, but few, if any, deals have been confirmed.