The Fifth China Hangzhou West Lake Expo paid great attention to displaying its unique features and made innovations in project management, operation mechanism and market promotion. Visitors directly participating in the events and activities of the Fifth West Lake Expo amounted to over 6 million. By using the business opportunities provided by the West Lake Expo, funds were raised through various channels. There were 11,469 standard booths in trade exhibitions, up by 30.6% over the previous year, with visitors totaling 2.1 million, among which 2,371 international booths were set up, attracting 289,900 specialized visitors.

With "Life and Entrepreneurship" as the theme, the 2004 West Lake Expo arranged 55 exhibitions, conferences, recreation, sports, business and tourism activities. The West Lake Expo attracted a great number of visitors and a large amount of investment, promoting the development of the industries concerned, with guests from home and abroad and citizens totaling 6.72 million attending.

The Seventh West Lake Expo continued to display its three major features: tourism, culture and humanity, giving prominence to the theme "Harmonious Life, Harmonious Entrepreneurship”, bringing it fame as the "Oriental Leisure Capital". It arranged 48 conventions, exhibitions and activities, which were more international, professional and famous in brand.

The Eighth West Lake Expo and the First World Leisure Expo is the largest scale expo, lasting longer than other expos and attracting the most participants. During the 180 days of the event, 233 large-scale conferences, exhibitions and activities were successfully staged, and the "three grand goals" were fulfilled: increases in the number of domestic and foreign visitors, the value of attracted investment from overseas and the value of trade transaction.

Under the theme "Harmonious West Lake, Charming Hangzhou", the Ninth West Lake International Expo focuses on Hangzhou's efforts to construct "A City of Quality Life" and aims to develop itself as a leader in the exhibition industry. The Expo includes 20 exhibitions, 20 conventions and 32 festival activities.

The 10th West Lake Expo has a total number of 102 exhibition activities, including the most influential and powerful players in the Chinese tourism sector. The 10th Hangzhou West Lake Expo broke with tradition and established a new Expo format, “West Lake Expo on the Internet”, combining both the Internet and “real" exhibitions to highlight the features of “enjoyment and experience”.

The Expo aims to provide "a platform for developing the convention and exhibition industries, a catalyst for cultural and ideological progress, and a festival for ordinary locals as well as tourists from home and abroad".

It adheres to the goal of "people first, cost-effectiveness, virtue and safety" and showcases 65 projects, which are linked together with a “life quality” theme in seven series of conventions and exhibitions: healthy life, leisure life, comfortable life, artistic life, beautiful life, digital life and entrepreneurship life.

About Hangzhou

Proudly recognized as one of China’s seven ancient capitals, Hangzhou is among the first group of cities designated by the central government as a primary tourist destination and a historic and cultural city. It’s one of the central cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region and the political, economic, technological, educational and cultural center for the province of Zhejiang.

In recent years, guided by the Scientific Development Approach, Hangzhou has made great efforts in implementing the five major strategies of urbanization, industrial development, westward tourism, opening and improvement on environments. The fundamental goal is to build a safe, ruled-by-law and harmonious Hangzhou with across-the-board advances in its economic, political, cultural and social endeavors. Today’s Hangzhou is best known to the world for its four golden features: economic powerhouse, cultural city, tourist destination and a Silicon Valley in paradise.

By Xie Fang