The passport issuing ceremony for the Xi'an International Horticultural Expo was held on April 7 in the host city, indicating that the ticket passports and ordinary passports are now officially on sale.

According to organizers, the two types of passports can be bought in designated outlets including China Telecom, China Post, Xinhua Bookstore and the Expo Licensed Products stores.

The ticket passports are classified by colors, with a red passport costing 155 yuan ($24) issued for peak days, and a sapphire passport worth 105 yuan issued for regular days.

Ordinary passports, which are also available, come in green and yellow, and are on sale for 20 yuan.

Information on each of the 109 exhibition pavilions is encoded in the passports, and by scanning them, visitors can access brief introductions to the various pavilions.

In addition to their cultural and artistic charms and superior anti-counterfeit technologies, the passports can also serve as a souvenir. Visitors will be able to collect stamps from each pavilion they visit, said organizers.

They also suggest visitors buy passports through official channels, as those bought from the official outlets may increase in value in the long run.