With an overture and the sound of gongs, the opening ceremony of the Ninth China Hangzhou West Lake Expo - "paradise on earth" - began on the evening of October 27. Will this year's grand banquet bring new experiences to audiences? All of Hangzhou is waiting for the answer to that question.

Unlike past sessions, the opening ceremony of this year's West Lake Expo was moved to the front of Zhejiang Museum on the Bai Causeway - one of the most famous scenic spots in the city. The fireworks show produced an interactive effect with the lighting on the banks of Qiantang River during the ceremony.

Themed "Harmonious West Lake, Charming Hangzhou", this exposition focuses on Hangzhou's efforts to construct "a city of quality life", and its bid be a leader in China's convention and exhibition industry.

The 2007 West Lake Expo leverages exhibition resources to establish a kind of "quality life" expo, which includes 20 exhibitions, 20 conventions and 32 festival activities. The expo is classified into seven categories, including healthy life, leisure life, entrepreneurship life, digital life and artistic life.

As one of the forerunners of China's international expo sector, Hangzhou held its first expo - West Lake Expo - in 1929. It is not until 71 years later that the Hangzhou Municipal Government decided to revive the expo in 2000. Since then, it has been successfully staged eight consecutive times and made its city brand name known all over the world.

The expo aims to provide a platform for developing the convention and exhibition industry, and be a carrier of cultural and ideological progress - a festival for both ordinary people and tourists from home and abroad to achieve the goals of "people first, thrift, virtue and safety". It aims to play the role of a platform, leader and incubator all rolled into one, for the development of the convention and exhibition industry.

Improving the quality of life has always been the focus of Hangzhou's government and citizens. With its core concept evolving from the humanistic spirit represented by "elegance, harmony, grandeur and openness" to "leading harmonious business endeavors", and further to "life quality", Hangzhou has blazed a new unique trail in development.

With its attractive locale and peaceful life style, the conference and exhibition industry in Hangzhou is fairly competitive, and ranks fifth among the 43 most competitive cities nationwide in the sector. The city has won several awards from major domestic media, including Most Attractive City of Exhibitions and Conferences in 2003, the Award for Best Services as A City in Conference and Exhibition Industry in 2005, and the Award for Best Environment as A City in Conference and Exhibition Industry in 2005.

Hangzhou lies in the south wing of the Yangtze River Delta and is close to Shanghai. As the capital city of Zhejiang Province, it is rich in history and culture and famous for its scenic tourist spots. Its gross domestic product (GDP) reached 294.265 billion yuan in 2005, with per capita GDP exceeding $5,000.

The exhibitions and conferences industry in Hangzhou has received a tremendous boost from the West Lake Expo since 2000. The great success of past expos has laid a good foundation for perfecting the traffic, security and health service system and promoting the energy level of the city.

The city hosted the World Leisure Expo in 2006, which witnessed a total of 233 exhibitions and conferences being held, among other activities.

Hangzhou has successfully launched a series of "living quality" exhibitions, including exhibitions on household textiles, silk, supplies for women, babies and children, and bicycles.

Since the 2006 World Leisure Expo and the 8th West Lake Expo, the Hangzhou Tourism Committee has promoted a program of "West Lake Expo Travel Routes" on the basis of West Lake Expo. The program consists of two parts: West Lake Expo special travel and Hangzhou Leisure travel.

"West Lake Expo special travel" invites tourists to appreciate the charming of local scenes when taking part in the expo, while the "Hangzhou Leisure travel" provides information on Hangzhou's leisure opportunities, such as riding around West Lake, enjoying Hangzhou-style dishes and tasting Longjing Tea.

The strategy of internationalizing its tourist industry is an important part of building up "a city of quality life" in Hangzhou. The city has proposed a new program to further internationalize its tourism industry by upgrading tourist facilities.

To this end, more favorable policies have already been formulated, providing integrated support to the development of Hangzhou's conference and exhibition industry.