Abstract The sustainable development steers the green city campaign in the global stage, which has become an increasing challenge particularly to most developing countries in the next decades. This paper aims to investigate green-technologies applicable in the process of developing 2010 Shanghai Expo and the implementation of these green technologies in helping Shanghai city achieve building efficiency and sustainability. A list of green technologies applied in the World Expo has been investigated and key effective green technologies have been identified by using a questionnaire survey. This is followed by case studies to investigate the extent to which these green technologies have been applied to achieve the sustainable development of cities. The findings suggest that a paradigm shift in urban planning and building design is needed and proactive financial measures to encourage the application of green technologies should be formulated. The suggestions can help guide the future direction on the practical approaches towards green cities.