Business / Economy

Inland city becomes a showpiece to the world

By Li Yu and Peng Chao (China Daily) Updated: 2014-02-24 07:34

Local events

Chengdu is also fostering its own world-class convention and exhibition brands.

One of the top four auto shows in China, the 2013 Chengdu Motor Show was the biggest in its history, covering 140,000 square meters and occupying all nine halls and the outdoor area of the exhibition center.

Leading automakers Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz from Germany, Jaguar Land Rover from Britain, Infiniti from Japan and Chrysler from the United States expanded their presence as exhibitors and debuted a variety of new cars.

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The 14th International Furniture Fair Chengdu, the third-largest such event in China, brought together more than 800 enterprises from 11 countries and regions. The four-day event attracted 170,000 dealers and generated trade volume of 11 billion yuan.

"Chengdu's local convention and exhibition brands have been developing very fast in recent years," says Jiang Dan, general manager of Chengdu New East Exhibition Co Ltd.

"However, compared with the first-tier cities in the industry, Chengdu's local brands remain to be improved, not only in number but also in scale and influence."

Chengdu has hundreds of enterprises but only some of them are able to organize a convention or exhibition, says Jiang.

Chengdu New East Exhibition, the organizer of the International Furniture Fair Chengdu, is one of the few major convention and exhibition companies in the city.

"Convention and exhibition companies in Chengdu need to step out, bring in more professionals, cooperation and advanced ideas," Jiang says.

Chengdu also needs larger and better-equipped exhibition halls to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of local exhibitions.

Last year, the exhibition area for the furniture fair in Chengdu broke 120,000 sq m for a third time. All nine halls of the Chengdu Century City New International Convention & Exhibition Center, built in 2005, cover only 110, 000 sq m.

Jiang's company had to make use of the outdoor area of the exhibition center. "This year we have decided to divide the fair into two parts and hold them at separate times," he says.

Other major local events include the China International Software Cooperation Conference, the China Chengdu International Urban Modern Agricultural Expo, the International Festival of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Chengdu, China, and the China International Food and Tour Festival.

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