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The Second China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair will be more professional, more market-oriented and more international than the previous one held last year, said Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng.

Xu told a press conference in Beijing yesterday that the fair, which will be held from May 18 to 21 with 4,500 booths and an area of 105,000 square meters, is positioning itself as a mega expo in the cultural industry on par with the established Canton Fair.

The Chinese Export Commodities Fair, also known as Canton Fair for its location in GuangZhou, is China's largest trade fair at the highest level. It debuted in 1957 and has since become a comprehensive and multi-functional event of international importance over the years.

Hu Zhanfan, vice general director with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said the fair aimed to be a comprehensive platform to pool domestic and overseas information, investment projects, capital, technology and products pertaining to the cultural industry.

"It is the only international expo for the cultural industry at the national level and will be notable to the world," said Hu.

With 12 forums, 24 seminars, 15 sessions of auctions, four contests and a four-month-long art festival, the fair is bound to be a grand and colorful cultural event, Xu Zongheng said.

The fair will feature emerging sectors in China such as animation, computer games, design and media technology to cater to professional buyers in the cultural industry.

Some 26 foreign cities from the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Egypt have shown interest and will send delegations to the fair.

Xu said Shenzhen's edge lies in fast-developing cultural industry accounting for 5 percent of the GDP, a relatively free market system, a closer integration between the cultural and high-tech industry, proximity to Hong Kong and thriving migrant culture.