Reports from China now suggest that Shanghai has opened a new terminal at its domestic airport. Most experts suggest that this is an attempt for the city to gear itself up for the tens of millions of visitors that are likely going to head to this area for the “World Expo 2010.”

The Chinese government has spent around 2.2 billion dollars on the makeover of the Hongqiao Airport. This airport is located just about 35 minutes west of the city center. A statement from the airport authority said that an airport with the size of a world class hub has taken shape. It will provide a high quality aviation service for the World Expo. The first flight to use this new terminal, which is already four times bigger than the cramped old terminal, took off earlier this week from Beijing.

For those that are unaware of Shanghai’s main airports there are two that most people talk about. Pudong Airpot is Shanghai’s main airport for international flights. Hongqiao airport is normally just used for domestic flights. Thus, this upgrade suggests that officials are expecting the vast majority of the World Expo’s 70 to 100 million visitors to come from within China itself.

Hongqiao Airport, which actually means rainbow bridge in Chinese, is expected to handle 40 million passengers a year by 2015. Three quarters of these people will be using the new terminal. The old terminal was designed for 9.6 million passengers a year, but last year it handled more than 25 million. Thus, the fact that this airport was ready for an upgrade is an understatement.