THE 19th West Lake International Expo

Post Date: 2017/11/03 23:32

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THE 19th West Lake International Expo promises to provide yet another huge economic boost for all those involved at the celebrated event held this year between October 20 and November 12.

The theme of this year’s expo is “To magnify the G20 effect, and build up the international exhibition of city events.”

Organizers promise four highlights, with 29 programs scheduled, and are working with sub-venues in 18 counties, towns and scenic spots in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, while the main venue is at Hangzhou International Expo Center.

The expo is expected to generate 10 billion yuan (US$1.51 billion) in trade turnover, while attracting US$1 billion of foreign investment and 10 billion yuan of domestic investment. Approximately 8 million people are expected to attend and 0.5 percent of GDP would be driven for Hangzhou.

For years, the expo has been largely considered as an event for locals, and this year is no exception. More than 60,000 free tickets have been distributed in order to attract visitors to join the expo on October 23 to 27. Tickets are available on the official WeChat account of West Lake Expo.

The four spotlights include the 3rd World Leisure Expo, World Summit Forum on Leisure Development, Leisure Festival for Citizens and Route of Leisure Experience Demonstration Area.

The World Leisure Expo is held once every five years in Hangzhou and provides a platform to advance global leisure concepts and culture studies, stays abreast of the latest developments in the worldwide leisure industry and addresses the leisure preferences of the citizens of every country.

It will be divided into four categories: international leisure industry, leisure forums, leisure events and leisure experience. It contains 15 seminars, eight exhibitions and 15 programs, and more than 120 enterprises will be showcasing their products at the event.

This year, the World Leisure Expo has a more international feel, as 27 foreign organizations from 12 countries and regions bring their exotic products, including jewelry, gems, wine, food and tourism services. Visual reality technology, smart furniture, online education service and robots will be other highlights at the exhibition venue.

This year’s leisure expo will stress the city’s regional tourism resources and a variety of handicrafts, organic food, tourism products from Lin’an County and Yuhang District will be displayed under the expo umbrella.

Other high-level meetings during West Lake International Expo include the 2017 New Generation Entrepreneurs Forum, the 2017 China (Hangzhou) City Convention and Exhibition Development Conference, and the 2017 Annual Summit Forum of British Financial Times. These conventions are designed to promote Hangzhou’s internationalization strategy.

Traditional events include the Hangzhou International Cultural Tourism Festival, China (Hangzhou) Food Festival, Grand Canal China Temple Fair, and International West Lake Rose Wedding. These events promote Hangzhou and show international travelers what the city has to offer.

Asia Design Management Forum, China International Chess Culture Expo, West Lake Art Fair, International Jewelry and Jade Fair, and China (Hangzhou) Arts and Crafts Fair are expected to boost cultural exchanges between Hangzhou and foreign countries.

The West Lake International Expo aims to maximize Hangzhou’s cultural and natural resources, promote the city image and boost the city’s MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) industry.

The city government wants to attract investment, professionals, information and capital to the city. The expo is hoped to accelerate the MICE industry and have a snowball effect to help allure more international events to the city.

First held in 1929, the West Lake Expo was regarded as the biggest exhibition the country had seen in modern times, a milestone of China’s booming domestic industry. It was closed after 1929. In 2000, the Hangzhou government revived the Expo, which today has become an annual extravaganza of leisure, tourism, culture and business.

? The 3rd World Leisure Expo

Date: October 20-30

Venue: Hangzhou International Expo Center

? World Summit Forum on Leisure Development

Date: October 20-21

Venue: Hangzhou International Expo Center

? Leisure Festival for Citizens

Date: October 27-29

Venue: Xicheng Plaza

? Route of Leisure Experience Demonstration Area

Date: October 20-November 12

Venue: Counties and districts