Construction began yesterday on the Dutch Pavilion for the World Expo 2010.

The 5,000-square-meter Dutch Pavilion, known as Happy Street, comprises 26 small elevated houses. The houses will line a pedestrian street that curves in a figure of eight, a lucky number in China suggesting fortune.

Each house will feature an exhibition exploring themes such as energy, water, space and other urban issues.

Dutch organizers hope to attract 5 to 10 percent of the 70 million visitors expected at the Expo, which means about 2,400 visitors will walk down Happy Street per hour.

The Dutch Pavilion will be completed before November.

"We want the pavilion to be one of the top 10 best pavilions in the Expo site," said Walter van Weelden, Holland's commissioner general for the Expo.