Against a backdrop of rapid economic growth and increasing cultural diversity,
Shanghai offers visitors a heady cocktail: equal parts vigor and splendor mixed with a dash of internationalism.
It's a mix which is proving irresistible to those wanting to showcase their wares to the world.
An international tourism fair, an industrial exposition, an art festival and tennis tournament as well the country's first Internet conference are competing for center stage in the coastal city.
Professor Pan Shanzhu, of the East China Institute of Politics and Law, said the city is forever in a holiday mood with a succession of international activities and exhibitions.
The eastern financial hub, well-known for its booming business services and burgeoning high-tech industries, is now witnessing a rising exhibition industry.
Statistics show that local exhibition industry has been increasing at an annual rate of 20 percent since 1990s.
Direct income from the industry amounted to 1.8 billion yuan (218 million US dollars) in 2001, accounting for 45 percent of the national total. Meanwhile, some five million persons attended exhibitions and meetings in Shanghai, with one in ten coming from abroad.
According to local exhibition expert Wu Chenglin, exhibitions and activities involving the automobile, environmental protection, information technology, architecture and bio-pharmaceutical industries are at the forefront of the local exhibition industry.
The city government plans to extend the area of its exhibition facilities from the current 890,000 square meters to 1.25 million square meters next year.
The 1999 Fortune Forum and 2001 APEC meeting in the city's Pudong New District not only promoted local exhibition industry, but also attracted more tourists.
In the first half of this year, a total of 407 meetings were held in Pudong. Some 7.34 million tourists visited Pudong in the same period and tourism income exceeded 1.5 billion yuan (181.4 million US dollars), an increase of 30 percent year-on-year.
As a shop window for its own brisk economy and that of the nearby Yangtze River Delta,
Shanghai is powering the development of the country's exhibition industry as well as becoming the "exhibition capital of Asia", according to Sandy Angus, chairperson of the Union des Foires International (UFI).
The local government has made exhibition industry a priority in its development plan for the next five to ten years.
To date, more than ten leading international exhibition companies, such as Germany-based Hanover Fairs, have established branches in Shanghai, bringing quality services to China.
There are five exhibition centers in Shanghai, with exhibition areas totaling 150,000 square meters and over 300 local hotels are capable of holding exhibitions and conferences.
It is estimated that the 2010 World Expo would attract more than 70 million people if it was hosted by the city. Incomes generated from ticket and souvenir sales, and restaurant and hotel incomes would exceed nine billion yuan (109 million US dollars).
According to Sandy Angus,
Shanghai is developing an exhibition industry well beyond expectations.
