West Lake International Expo showcases Hangzhou and draws investment
Print Edition
The 15th West Lake International Expo will showcase Hangzhou to the world, attracting investment and boosting tourism from today to November 9.
Around 8 million visitors and 50,000 business people are expected to attend the 29-day event filled with activities at numerous venues.
It will feature a huge leisure festival, including a sports festival in Fuyang County, a country music festival in Tonglu County, an old town cultural festival in Lin’an County and a carnival in Chun’an County through November 2.
The expo will also include tourism festivals, fashion shows, shopping festivals, exhibitions, gourmet food festivals and other events in Hangzhou and other 15 sub-venues.
The expo was launched in 1929, suspended for many years and resumed in 2000, held every year since then.
Over the years, the festival has not only introduced Hangzhou to the world but also propelled the city to develop its modern service industry and provide a better living environment.
From 2000, the expo has generated more than 155.4 billion yuan (US$25.3 billion) in trade, US$11.4 billion in foreign investment and 161 billion yuan in domestic investment.
This year the expo aims to attract US$1 billion in foreign investment and 10 billion yuan (US$1.58 billion) in domestic investment.
Meanwhile, efficiency and thrift are priorities. “There will be no large-scale opening ceremony, no gala, no banquet,” said Shi Yongsheng, vice director of the Organizing Committee of the West Lake International Expo. The move is in line with the central government’s campaign to eliminate extravagance and waste and fight corruption.
For this reason, the famous fireworks display will be replaced by an Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technological Cooperation Conference. The closing ceremony will be combined with the finals of the 2013 China National Line Dance Contest.
The Expo theme this year is “Industry Transformation and Technology Innovation” and the event is dedicated to promoting 10 low-carbon industries, including cultural and creative, tourism and leisure, financial services, advanced equipment manufacturing, e-commerce, information technology and software, Internet of things, biomedicine, environmental protection and new energy.
Conferences and conventions related to those industries will be held, the largest being the Cultural and Creative Industry Expo. It features more than 20 activities and involves more than 2,000 cultural and creative firms and organizations from over 60 countries and regions.
There will also be some fun and offbeat events.
Other interesting events that deserve exploration include the China Folk Craftsman Festival and the food festival.
More than 350 craftsman from China’s mainland and Taiwan will show their talents in the Wushan Block in Hangzhou at the craftsman festival from today to October 18.
The main venue is Wushan Square, which will host a folk art pavilion and a tourism souvenir exhibition. There will also be Chinese folk performances.
The folk art pavilion will have craftsmen representing almost 100 art forms, who will dazzle visitors with skills such as paper cutting, embroidery, sculpture, painting and porcelain-making.
The tourism souvenir exhibition includes 91 booths that provide such items as silk, pearl and crystal accessories, tea pots and hand-knitted crochet.
Chinese folk performances include a performance called Jian’ou Flag Play, which requires one player to whirl a 10-meter-tall, 20-kilogram bamboo pole with a flag attached while dancing. The performance is originally from Jian’ou in Fujian Province.
Also included are the dance of the Miao ethic minority, Chinese puppet show and the face-changing performance of the Sichuan Opera, which will take place at 9:30-10:30am from today to October 14, with free admission.
A cricket fighting contest is held this afternoon at Wushan Square. Cricket fighting is a traditional Chinese blood sport involving the fighting of male crickets.
Six special pavilions will be erected along the Southern Song Royal Street — the Folk Art Industry Pavilion, Guizhou Province Pavilion, Fujian Province Pavilion, Zhejiang Province Pavilion, Taiwan Pavilion and Furniture Pavilion.
The Folk Art Industry Pavilion exhibits the works of 39 craftsmen who have won awards in the national Top 10 Folk Craftsman Competition held every year.
All pavilions are open from 9am to 8:30pm.
There will also be some fun and offbeat events.
Through November 10, a food festival will please locals and tourists with traditional and new Hangzhou-style food, known for its delicacy and mildness.
From today to Monday, noted chefs of Hangzhou cuisines will teach citizens cooking skills at Qiangjiang New Town Plaza. Well-known local restaurant brands of the city will provide their signature foods, ready to be cooked at home, at discounted prices.
Hangzhou snacks will be provided in discounted prices from November 1-3 at the east square of Xinyifang Street, and from November 9-10 at Xi’tanghe Taiwan Food Street.
The West Lake Expo also gives a boost to tourism in nearby counties in Hangzhou’s jurisdiction and nearby cities.
The 15 sub-venues of the expo are Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Shengsi, Haining, Zhuji, Deqing, Anji, Wuyi, Jiangshan, Nanxun and Zhujiajian in Zhejiang Province, and Fengjing Town in Shanghai, Huizhou in Anhui Province and Tieling in Liaoning Province.
Tieling will promote its folk culture and farm produce.
All of the 15 venues are also distinctive tourist destinations.
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