On December 11th, the grand opening ceremony of the 2018 China Sports Culture Expo & China Sports Tourism Expo. China Sports Culture Expo is hosted by the General Administration of Sport of China (GAS) and the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC). China Sports Tourism Expo is hosted by the All-China Sports Federation, Chinese Olympic Committee and the China Tourism Association. Both expositions are organized by the Guangzhou Municipal Government, Sports Culture Development Center of General Administration of Sport of China, International Data Group (IDG) and IDG Sports, was held in Guangzhou Poly World Trade Exhibition Hall (PWTC). At 10:00 am, the opening ceremony and China International Sports Culture and Sports Tourism Main Forum Agenda was held, which was attended and addressed by Li Yingchuan, deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China; Huang Ningsheng, deputy governor of Guangdong Province; and Wen Guohui, deputy secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Guangzhou. In addition, hosted by Wang Dong, deputy mayor of Guangzhou, the opening ceremony was attended by Liu Fumin, Director-General of the Economic Department of The General Administration of Sport of China; Tu Xiaodong, Director-General of the Publicity Department of General Administration of Sport of China; Tian Ye, Director of Sports Culture Development Center of General Administration of Sport of China; guests from relevant departments and subordinate units of the General Administration of Sports; provincial and municipal governments; sports bureaus of various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities; relevant international sports organizations; and some consulates in Guangzhou, as well as exhibitors and business representatives and media reporters. Themed with “New Era, New Sport, New Life”, the Expo will hold a series of activities such as summit forums, exhibitions, and industrial connection over the following two days.
The Expo covers more than 40,000 square meters and includes 400 exhibitors. It has the following six theme exhibition areas: sports culture theme exhibition area, sports tourism theme exhibition area, sports technology and big data health exhibition area, international sports organization exhibition area, sports brand and other exhibition areas, and sports culture and tourism exhibition area. They are highly regarded by visitors at the Expo.
Sports culture is extensive and profound
As the largest area with 3000 square meters in the Expo, the sports culture theme exhibition area is built by the Sports Culture Development Center of General Administration of Sport of China (China Sports Museum). It features the development and charm of Chinese sports culture through its four themes, including “Traditional China”, “Glory China”, “Healthy China” and “Grand China”. At the exhibition scene, visitors can appreciate the sophisticated ancient cultural relics, such as a copper mirror printed with Cuju (ball kicking, an ancient Chinese sport) and a Cuju-themed picture, arrow head in the warring states period, brick sculpture with traditional Chinese painting of chess-playing beautiful women and brick sculpture of polo playing. They not only embody the ancient people’s love and inheritance of sports, but also show the profound and brilliant achievements of Chinese sports culture. In the theme collections such as “Zero Breakthrough” and “Women’s Volleyball Spirit”, everyone can get close to Xu Haifeng’s first Olympic gold medal won at the 1984 Olympic Games, Yang Yang’s first Winter Olympics gold medal won at the 2002 Winter Olympics Games, the volleyball signed by the entire Chinese women’s volleyball team after they won the first five consecutive championships, from 1981 to 1985, in the history of world volleyball. These precious collections recorded the development path of China becoming a giant in sports and relate many touching stories.
Creative projects are rich in content
The sports tourism theme exhibition area covers various sports culture and tourism creative products as well as high-quality sports tourism service institutions, sports culture innovative institutions, sports education and talent training institutions in the industry. With the improvement of living standards, people pursue a better life. So people seek a better spiritual and cultural life and a deeper feeling of happiness. Against this backdrop, tourism, culture, sports, health and pension service have become the “five great industries for happiness”, among which culture, sports and tourism are complimentary to each other because culture and sports provide rich content products for tourism while tourism creates huge market room for culture and sports.
The integration of culture, tourism and sports enriches the content of tourism and increases the added value of culture and sports and the quality of tourism as well. In addition, they have greatly influenced the decision-making of tourists, which has been fully confirmed at the Expo. Enthusiasts of outdoor sports and historical culture and fans of the World Cup, football leagues, NBA and other well-known events IP showed keen interest in the sports tourism projects by consulting the on-site experts at the exhibition area.
Smart technology leads to innovative products
Sports technology and big data health exhibition area boasts the largest number of “black technology” in the entire Expo. There are not only booths for sports technology, smart venue design and operation, sports media and platforms, but also an interactive experience zone. Additionally, exhibitors showed their respective innovative and smart products, such as Good Family, Lefit, Shenzhen Youyi, SportKote, Reaction Sports, Sunfoot, Jinlun, Yucheng Sports Center, Zhiqian Block Chain Center, Xunjia Software Technology and Sun-Sleep, etc.
Smart technology leads sports products to promote health. It has become the standard for the second generation universal fitness path. Products such as “outdoor smart gym”, “smart and dynamic bicycle room” and “smart fitness trail” integrate Internet, big data, cloud computing and IoT technology with fitness equipment and sports science. Human-computer interaction is realized through mobile APPs and PC management platforms, which is favored by many young people.
External exchange leads to cooperation and win-win
The international sports organization exhibition area can provide a chance to visit the national pavilions of different styles around the world without going abroad, and get close to international sports organizations such as marathon, skiing and cycling, international sports culture and sports events. Guangzhou, the host city of the Expo, has extensive experience in introducing branches of international sports organizations and making sports international. In addition to hosting international events of different projects, the World Badminton Federation and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) have set up an international training center in Guangzhou. This has provided more direct and vigorous support for the development of the project itself. On the other hand, the sound development of this sport can also promote the coordinated development of sports industry and sporting goods and achieve win-win goals.
The establishment of this exhibition area best shows the Expo’s openness toward enhancing the foreign exchange and cooperation of sports industry. Visitors spoke highly of the pavilions of the United States, Thailand, Northern Europe, Mariana and other countries and regions, the 2019 Chungju World Martial Arts Masterships Organizing Committee, and the International Snow Federation’s booth.
Brands banquet
The sports brand and other exhibition areas are home to many well-known sports brands and competition brands at home and abroad, including Shankai Sports, Lyon Xingzhi, Iqiyi Sports, Urban Green, Guoao Cross Country, Zhenxi Sports, Crystal Stone, Qidi Hongxing, Huaxia Geography, Wanzhong Star, Snow Mountain King, Airhouse, Elan, Shiqihua, Austria AST, Yukigassen, Yingke Law Firm, Weisu, Dayuan, Yinggeruimo, Antepolis, Qumatch, Tichuang Technology, AVG, Kebing Lawn, KLF, Tents Home, etc.
By “introducing international sports brand” and “exporting homemade sports brand”, the Expo is really creating an international, professional, market-based and sophisticated event. It is worth mentioning that the thematic setting of respective brand is so innovative that they become a hotspot for visitors to take pictures.
All local tourism bureau compete to build sports tourism complexs
The sports culture and tourism exhibition area gathers tourism bureaus from 30 provinces and cities, including Guangdong, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Hebei, Zhejiang and Jiangxi. They are quite attractive, showing excellent Chinese folk folklore, sports culture, sports and leisure towns, sports tourism demonstration bases, sports tourism scenic spots, sports tourism events, sports tourism routes, sports tourism destinations and sports theme parks, etc. Under the guidance of sports culture, all localities adhere to the development concept of “sports & tourism” and actively build a sports tourism complex.
Participating organizations in the Expo also include Lottery Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, Qigong Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Beijing Sports University and other subordinate units, as well as the Beijing Olympic Committee, the Beijing National Sports Association Riding and Shooting Branch, and China Federation of Camping and Caravanning, etc.
These six major exhibition areas with distinctive features show the spirit of Chinese sports and the latest development trend of China’s sports industry by highlighting the sports brand culture, regional sports culture, ice and snow sports culture, etc. They also push forward the integrated development of sports, culture, tourism, etc. and further promote the communication and exchange between the sports industries of China and other countries.
Moreover, there are many wonderful supporting activities on-site, including the children’s ice and snow theme park experience zone, the Stars Viking Snow Park, curling experience zone on real ice, etc. What’s most attractive is a basketball experience zone, which is more than 400 square meters and integrates the special surface of American streetball culture Rucker Park and a prefabricated rubber stadium sports surface from Topthink Sports for its floor. The wonderful games played here instantly aroused the enthusiasm of the audience.
The Expo will last until December 13th. Interested parties are invited to join the Expo to enjoy a professional and interesting Chinese sports and cultural extravaganza in the six featured exhibition areas.
