SHANGHAI - The French Pavilion unveiled seven art masterpieces from the Orsay Museum of Paris ahead of the opening of the Shanghai World Expo on May 1.

The works consist of six paintings by renowned artists Jean-Francois Millet, Edouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Pierre Bonnard and Paul Cezanne, and a sculpture by Auguste Rodin.

The seven works of art, which for the first time in history appear together outside France, arrived in Shanghai in seven planes, according to Jose Freches, the French Pavilion's commissioner general.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy who arrived in China Wednesday was scheduled to visit the masterpieces on Friday before the opening ceremony of the Expo.

The Shanghai World Expo will last six months. It will be the largest world exhibition ever and is expected to attract 70 million visitors from both home and abroad.