Tianjin and the Expo

By Parker Barriball (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2012-10-09

You walk through the door of the new Meijiang Convention Center and are greeted by the hum of hundreds of people shuffling about checking out the kiosks of retailers, travel companies, manufacturers, or even food producers. Tianjin has recently seen a variety of exhibitions held here and numbers are still increasing. Regardless of which industry is highlighted in the event you attend, exhibitions can be both an indication of economic progress and a driver of the local economy. At a growing rate the exhibitions and forums held here in Tianjin are helping to drive the local economy in a variety of industries.

One could not help but notice the influx of traffic that was brought in by the Davos World Economic Forum recently. While this was not an event designed to promote a particular industry, it brings visibility and temporary employment to the city none the less. Think of how busy the hotels alone were during the Davos event. Hotels, restaurants, entertainment, and tourism venues all see a bump up during events like Davos. Other expos not only create jobs but their goal is to stimulate their given industries, allow information to flow between organizations and guests, and inadvertently increase activity in the local economy, after all people have to eat.

Other Expos in Tianjin

In November the Ministry of Land and Resources and Tianjin’s local government will host the China Mining Congress and Expo 2012 in Meijiang. This is one of the largest mining events in the world and will cover the gambit of the entire mining industry from surveying, to smelting techniques.

Earlier this year the Meijiang Center and Tianjin International Exhibition Center simultaneously played host to a bicycle and E-bike exhibit to showcase the newest innovations in a rapidly growing field. The expo gave visitors a chance to look at the best of what the industry has to offer and for producers in the field to compare notes and products.

Not every exhibition is focused solely on an industry to boost sales. Many are simply to celebrate and spread culture. In 2010 there was a major exhibit of Tianjin’s traditional folk art. “The Historic Charm of Tianjin” was an exhibition that included the “Three Unique Techniques of Tianjin”. You may have seen some of these art styles around town. The New Year’s Painting, or Yangliuqing, are paintings that depict traditional tropes and usually feature a cherub faced Chinese person and a symbol significant to the culture, like a goldfish. Along with painted clay figurines, whose detail is stunning, and traditional kites (Kite Wei) made with incredibly ornate styles this folk art centered festival is different take on the exposition format. The artisan flair of this expo shows the versatility of the medium and that it can promote more than just sales and industrial know how, expos can be an important part of cultural preservation and promulgation.

Future Growth

Tianjin is not the most traditional place for exhibitions when compared to cities like Shanghai or even Beijing. However, as the city gets closer and closer to ‘first tier’ status more and more events will be coming this way. The city is significantly less crowded than Beijing but has the level of facilities to serve a major expo.

Li JingDong, a general manager with an exhibition company, is responsible for planning for car expos and has worked in multiple cities in China. "We recently held our first car expo right here in Tianjin. Due to the new venue our planning stage was about a year and half." he said. Mr. Li’s company will hold anywhere from 12 to 15 exhibition each year. Their main reason for the move to Tianjin is the infrastructure already in place here; the facilities are already up to standard to host an international exposition. Moreover, he stressed the Tianjin market has really started develop and is quite promising looking to the future.

Recently several official statistics and plans were announced that bolster the confidence of those in the exhibition industry:

The number of exhibitions in Tianjin rose 20% from last year. Last year the total number of expos in the city reached 165; this resulted in direct incomes of over 780 million RMB. In general expos accounted for a significant increase in local GDP. Also, the Meijiang Convention Center has a second phase set for completion in the near future to increase the capacity for future vents, making Tianjin an even more attractive venue in the future. It is predicted by the local government that the number of expos held in the city will reach 200 this year, up from 165 last year.

One of the expos you may have heard of or attended in recent years is the Taiwan Famous Brand Fair which has been held annually at Meijiang Convention Center since 2010. Even the first time the expo came to Tianjin the trading volume was on par with iterations in other cities. The 2011 show made for a trade volume of over 4.9 billion yuan, a high level even compared to other cities in which the expo was held in the past.

Insiders of the exhibition the industry know that the exhibition economy is quite essential to the long term development of city. It creates profit, increases visibility, and if hosted well can make people excited about coming back to the city in the future. The profit for those participating in an expo may be 10% but the revenue spike for other businesses can be as high as 90%.

"The number of shows in Tianjin increased last year. This helps the individual industries involved, but the events also help the city’s catering, hospitality, transportation, tourism, and other urban services with an increase in business during such events.” Secretary of the Tianjin Exhibition Industry Association Liu Tong said. In addition to the above, the exhibition industry helps to promote the development of communications, advertising, logistics, finance and other areas. Admittedly big events like Davos can cause headaches for locals in the short term but overall it is good for the city as a whole and will mean more sustainable development for the future.

There is more than enough information on the benefits of exhibitions in Tianjin and elsewhere to show that this format of event is a great way to grow cities, industries, and interest in a given field. In relation to Tianjin, the facilities that already exist, and those still in the works, help to ensure that as time goes by more and more exhibitions will make Tianjin an increasingly attractive destination for various industries that have initial contact with the city via an exhibition. The advantage that Tianjin has is that it is slightly less developed than other cities but still sports first rate facilities to hold events. Lower operating costs, less crowding, and great facilities make the city all the more attractive to the expo industry. Keep a lookout for more expos in industries that may be relevant to your field in the coming months.