Exhibitions are helping Qingdao 'drive the next stage of development'

The exhibition industry in Qingdao has been on the fast track over the past year as the city moved closer to its goal of becoming a top-notch exhibition destination in Northeast Asia, said a local official.

"Qingdao has an excellent natural environment, advanced infrastructure and other distinctive advantages we can leverage to reach our goal of making the city known for its exhibitions worldwide," said Feng Wenqing, chairman of the Qingdao branch of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Feng, also head of the Qingdao Exhibition Industry Office, said the city is known as the "Oriental Switzerland" or "Asian Riviera" among travelers due to its beautiful city scenes and breathtaking coastline.

In addition, Qingdao has more than 50 four and five-star hotels with upscale meeting facilities and two sprawling international exhibition and convention centers. Construction on a mega urban complex with Northeast Asia's largest exhibition facility is underway and will be operational in Huangdao New Area by 2017.

In 2014, more than 260 events including festivals, trade shows and high-level meetings were held in Qingdao, a growth of more than 30 percent from a year earlier.

An increasing number of high-end conferences hosted by international organizations or State ministries put Qingdao in the global spotlight, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation events, the annual meeting of the West Pacific Naval Symposium and East Asia Economic Development meetings.

Alan Bollard, APEC Secretariat executive director, said he is very satisfied with Qingdao's performance in hosting APEC-related meetings, which are key to driving growth and facilitating free trade in the region.

The Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition from April to October was the largest event in the city's history, said Feng.

Covering 241 hectares, the exhibition park displayed more than 1,700 kinds of plants and showcased hundreds of the latest scientific and technological achievements in horticulture from around the world.

The city's maritime economy was also a focus of the exhibition industry as it hosted events including the China (Qingdao) International Marine Fair and Boat Show, the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo and the International Blue Economy Summit Forum.

In addition, the Global Outsourcing Summit attracted outsourcing businesses from more than 20 countries to share their best practices and explore future trends.

The annual Jinjialing Fortune Forum is a flagship program for the city to attract worldwide financial leaders, academics and regulators to discuss trends, challenges and opportunities in the financial industry.

"The exhibition industry is an engine driving the city's next stage of development," Feng said.

"Qingdao will enhance the quality of exhibitions, improve the environment and build more brands to assist the development of the industry."

huqing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/06/2015 page12)