Guzhen Special: Hotel growth a barometer for fair

GUZHEN, Guangdong: Like many businesses in this once-small farming town, the fortunes of the Nanwei Commercial Hotel are closely linked to the burgeoning lighting industry and the China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair as the area has grown into a global center for making and selling lights and fixtures.

But the four-star hotel had fewer guests during the first two sessions of the annual event, said Chen Mingren, deputy general manager of the hotel.

Yet the numbers still show how far the town has come since its lighting production first began.