It's show time for Pudong New Area this year.
In the first half of this year, Pudong has hosted 81 international conferences, including the World Poverty Conference and the conference of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Another 514 national conferences and exhibitions like the 14th East China Fair and the 14th China International Bicycle and Motor Fair, have also chosen the district as a hosting venue.
The total exhibition space used in the first six months of this year in Pudong soared to 970,000 square meters, up 200 percent year-on-year.
Exhibition renting space is expected to grow 90 percent in the year's second half.
The area says the year's surging growth is partly attributed to the gloomy expo market last year due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.
But the increasing amount of floor space is also an important reason for the industry's boom this year. After the opening of two new halls in Shanghai New International Expo Center, Pudong's exhibition area has accounted 60 percent of the city's total.
The district has two influential exhibition and conference centers, Shanghai New International Expo Center and Shanghai International Convention Center, having accommodated massive events like APEC 2001.
After adding the two new exhibition halls, the Shanghai New International Expo Center's coverage reaches 125,500 square meters, accounting for 52 percent of Shanghai's total exhibition area.
According to Pudong New Area, the Shanghai New International Expo Center is the only choice for exhibitions and conferences asking for at least 30,000 square meters of space.
From January to June, Shanghai New International Expo Center has held three events covering more than 80,000 square meters of floor space. And SportShow 2004, a national sporting goods exhibition, was the biggest of the three. Its floor space hit 100,000 square meters.
Thus far this year Shanghai New International Expo Center has rented 1.7 million square meters of space for exhibitions, up 67 percent year-on-year.
Established in 2001, the pillar-free center features seven halls with 80,500-square meters of indoor space. After completion, the center will have 17 exhibition rooms, with a total area up to 250,000 square meters. The completed center will be like a town integrating exhibition halls with business centers, post offices, banks and restaurants.
Despite the two exhibition centers, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, a flying bird shaped science center, is also a popular exhibition place.
The museum is now a fairy land for kids to learn and enjoy science with its six maintenance halls, Earth Exploration, Children's Technoland, Light of Wisdom, AV (Audio and Video) Paradise, Spectrum Of Life and Cradle of Design.