Yunnan reinforces aspirations with Kunming Dian-chi Intl. Convention and Exhibition Centre

Kunming Dian-chi International Convention and Exhibition Centre (KDICEC), located on the eastern bank of Dian-chi Lake is the premier venue of China South Asia Expo which is currently on in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.  

The project covers a land area of 128 hectares with an architectural area of four million square metres. 

It comprises a mega convention and exhibition centre halls and supporting facilities in use now as well as tourism towns, the Central Business District, Ocean Park, hotels and residential buildings under construction. The cost of the mega complex is over 37 billion RMB (around $ 7 billion) whilst the investment in to KDICEC was around 7.5 billion RMB ($ 1.2 billion).

KDICEC has a unique design concept and resembles a peacock spreading its tail. Peacock is the national bird of Kunming. 

Work on the sprawling complex began in 2012 with Yunnan Province handing over the task to its Urban Construction and Investment Group Co Ltd. 

The architectural area of the KDICEC is alone 1.17 million square metres including indoor exhibition area of 300,000 square metres for 12,000 standard booths and an outdoor exhibition area of 100,000 square metres. Additionally there are 100,000 square metres of meeting and banquet facilities from direct exhibition service and 108 VIP meeting rooms,

Besides, the KDICEC also has 200,000 square metres for commercial use and 350,000 square metres for underground parking lot with a capacity for 10,000 vehicles.

Built to the future, the entire complex reinforces Kunming’s aspirations to become a thriving commercial hub. Kunming is considered as China’s gateway to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa.

Yunnan Province Government is positioning the KDICEC as an important international commercial platform of China for South Asia and Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean markets. Its recent opening with the five-day China South Asia Expo on 12 June and future events will effectively open doors of Yunnan Province and Southwest China to rest of the world including those nearby countries. Yunnan province shares land borders with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. 

Officials said that KDICEC will combine convention and exhibition economy with tourism and form a low-carbon multi-functional ecology international convention and exhibition and tourism culture performance area. 

The theme park of KDICEC will introduce internationally advanced large theme amusement projects including theatre, showcase field, large cinema, business areas, hotels, fashion, retail and department stores, gourmet areas etc.  KDICEC will be the symbol for a new cultural tourism of Kunming and become the new window to showcase Yunnan to the world. 

The third China-South Asia Expo, a pragmatic action to push forward the Belt and Road Initiatives, to promote trade balance in the region, to enhance regional prosperity, kicked off on 12 June in Kunming. The 23rd Kunming Import and Export Fair opened simultaneously with the Expo.

With the theme of ‘amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness for win-win cooperation’, the expo is the platform for China and South Asian countries to develop all-round cooperation.

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and foreign leaders or senior officials from Maldives, Laos, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia attended the opening ceremony.

The five-day expo has drawn 3,179 exhibitors and buyers from 75 countries or regions, according to organizers. It provides 12 exhibition halls, which covers an exhibition area of 123,000 square meters. 6,150 standard booths have been set up, mainly including the South Asian Pavilion, the ASEAN Pavilion, the Japanese and Korean Pavilion, the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Pavilion and other special exhibition zones.

Sri Lanka Pavilion has nearly 130 private and public sector organisations on display.

The main activities of this year’s Expo are Export Fair, the 10th China-South Asia Business Forum, the 7th GMS economic Corridor Week, the 13th Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs Conference, and the 6th China-South Asia TV Art Week, etc.

China-South Asia Expo is a comprehensive international exposition approved by the State Council of China. The Expo is co-hosted by China’s Ministry of Commerce and the People’s Government of Yunnan Province, and commercial departments of the South Asian countries are invited to join forces in holding the event. The predecessor of CSA Expo was the Commodities Exhibition of the South Asian Countries that had been held for 5 sessions. The event has been upgraded since 2013.

Yunnan is China’s gateway to South East Asia and South Asia. It is also important because of its role in facilitating the Belt and Road Initiative, which are to advance the construction of an international transport corridor connecting China with neighbouring countries, to develop a new highlight of economic cooperation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and to make the region a pivot of China’s opening-up to South and Southeast Asia.  

Kunming Changshui International Airport is one of China’s five largest international airports, with both international and regional carriers operating. SriLankan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines operate direct flights that span only four and half hours, three times a week. 

Yunnan is the eighth largest among all provinces in China in terms of size. Its population is 47 million and capital city Kunming has over seven million people with its GDP estimated at 345 billion yuan ($ 55.22 billion), which is around 70% of Sri Lanka’s entire GDP.  (NC)