My CIIE Story • Big Market: Taste the world in Shanghai

Editor's Note: Preparations for the fifth China International Import Expo have entered the home stretch. Over the past five years, many foreign companies have developed greater confidence and increased their investments in China through the expo. Numerous organizations and individuals have gained memorable experiences during the fair and witnessed its spillover effects.

The CIIE Bureau and the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) launched the "My CIIE Story" activity on June 1 and some excellent works centered on "grand strategy" were published in July. In August, more stories with the theme "big market", which showcases how the CIIE shares benefits of the Chinese market with the world, will be published.

A plane was flying across the sky when I passed by the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) the other day.

The Hongqiao Central Business District, where the NECC Shanghai is located, is the hub of the Yangtze River Delta region, an important economic growth engine in Shanghai, and a highland for opening-up in China.

It then occurred to me that this year's CIIE will soon take place in the exhibition center and this wiped away my dismay caused by the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreaks earlier this year.

Despite being largely ignorant of intelligent manufacturing, information technology and things like these, I am keenly aware that a wide range of goods and services from across the world have been introduced to the Chinese market through the CIIE. Imported goods, including Iberian ham, French wine, Afghan pine nuts, and coffee, are now easily accessible in Shanghai. The city is also home to more than 7,000 coffee shops, three times the number in New York.

Seven years ago, I flew to Qinhuangdao, a coastal city in China, with several friends to savor Bluefin tuna. Today, I can enjoy fresh Bluefin sashimi without even stepping out of my house because of the CIIE. I still remember how a 350-kilogram Bluefin tuna that was displayed in the food and agricultural products exhibition area of the expo attracted lots of attention at the CIIE in 2021.

In late autumn 2019, I was invited by a friend to a downtown clubhouse to taste Scottish salmon, which had just been showcased at the second CIIE. After having a bite of the fish, I thought of an expression in Norwegian Wood by Japanese author Haruki Murakami – "enough to melt all the tigers in the world to butter". The fish was simply heavenly.

I recently discovered Beerlao, a beer brand from Laos, at a shop near my place. I had a taste of this beer five years ago at Guanlei Port in Yunnan province and hadn't seen it again since. Beerlao, one of the world's top 10 beer brands, has a market share of 95 percent in Laos and is popular on the Indochina Peninsula. The delicate taste made me fall in love with it at the first sip.

The shop owner, seeing me pick up the beer, told me Beerlao is a first-class brand and was a participant in the CIIE.

He Fei, a columnist and a member of the China Writers Association, has published 10 collections of articles about urban culture, travel, and food. As a Shanghai resident, she has experienced positive changes the CIIE has made to people's daily lives.