Shanghai Speeds Up Construction in Prep for First China International Import Expo
Tang Shihua
DATE:  May 28 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Shanghai Speeds Up Construction in Prep for First China International Import Expo Shanghai Speeds Up Construction in Prep for First China International Import Expo

(Yicai Global) May 28 -- Shanghai is accelerating renovation work on the National Exhibition and Convention Center and the construction of 12 surrounding roads as it plans to host the first ever China International Import Expo at the venue from Nov. 5 through Nov. 10.

The Shanghai Major Construction Projects Office estimates that the remodeling will be complete by September, local state-backed news outlet Jiefang Daily reported. The roads around the venue will be in service before the CIIE kicks off, it added.

China has high hopes that the expo will further open its market to the rest of the world and facilitate global trade and world economic growth. President Xi Jinping unveiled plans for the event last May at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, a conference centered on another of the nation's plans to boost international cooperation and development.

"It is not just another expo in an ordinary sense, but a major policy initiative and commitment taken of our own accord to open up the Chinese market," Xi said in April at the Boao Forum for Asia, the continent's equivalent to the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos.

The exhibition center's main hall can house 2,000 people, and there are several smaller areas for parallel forums, said Fu Haicong, chief architect at the East China Architectural Design & Research Institute and lead designer behind the project.

The main hall is decorated in traditional Shanghai style, fusing ancient Chinese architecture with abstract Shanghai culture symbols, he added. The roof of the reception hall will don ceiling lamps arranged in the shape of a flower.

There will also be an 847-meter floating corridor on the second floor, a car park with 2,000 spaces and flower beds at the south square, the main access route for guests.

Editor: James Boynton

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Keywords:   China International Import Expo