Local service sector staff showcase their skills in a competition in Xuhui District on Thursday.

A skills competition among the city’s service sectors kicked off in downtown Xuhui District on Thursday in preparation for the first China International Import Expo to be hosted in Shanghai this November.

About 200 employees from local shopping malls, hotels, banks and hospitals, as well as sanitation and transport companies,took part in the inaugural contest at the Hua Ting Hotel.

They showcased and competed with each other in skills such as flower arrangement, carpentry, tea art, facial make-up, Western pastry making, product wrapping, coffee making and food sculpture.

A judge panel composed of nearby residents and pedestrians picked out the final winners, who will be granted professional titles and lead colleagues to improve their skills, according to the Xuhui District government.

Yang Jian / SHINE

A tea art master showcases her skills at a competition for local service sectors in Xuhui District on Thursday.

Yang Jian / SHINE

A resident takes a photo of a food sculpture at a skillscompetitionin Xuhui District on Thursday.

Yang Jian / SHINE

A resident checks out wooden sculpture artworks at a skills competition in Xuhui District on Thursday.

More skills competitions will be held for the city’s tourism, eatery and housekeeping industries.

“The competition aims to enhance the skills of downtown service sectors for the import expo when a large number of participants from both home and abroad will come to the city,” said Xu Ning, a national model worker with the Oriental Shopping Center in Xuhui.

He asked employees in local service sectors to gear up for the event, to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from November 5 to 10.

A volunteer league was established on Tuesday in Xuhui District to serve residents and tourists at landmarks such as the West Bund waterfront and the Hengshan-Fuxing roads historical sceneryprotection zone.

More such skills competitions have been planned in other districts to improve the services and image of the city up until the opening of the event, which is shaping up to be the city's biggest event since World Expo 2010.