Ｔｈｅ　Ｃｏｎｆｅｒｅｎｃｅ　ａｎｄ　Ｅｘｈｉｂｉｔｉｏｎ　Ｉｎｄｕｓｔｒｙ　ｉｎ　Ｇｕｉｙａｎｇ：.docVIP

Ｔｈｅ　Ｃｏｎｆｅｒｅｎｃｅ　ａｎｄ　Ｅｘｈｉｂｉｔｉｏｎ　Ｉｎｄｕｓｔｒｙ　ｉｎ　Ｇｕｉｙａｎｇ： 　　The conference and exhibition industry holds great promise in modern economies and countries that are well-positioned to tap into this can reap rich rewards. A good example is Davos, the small Swiss town in the Alps. Site of the World Economic Forum, the revenues and fame of this sparsely populated town are quite disproportionate to its size. 　　 　　This has obviously inspired Guiyang, a scenic hilly city in Guizhou Province. Like Davos, Guiyang is a tourist resort known for its otherworldly serenity, natural beauty and an all-year long salubrious climate. Its karst landscape, which covers 85 percent of the city’s territory, creates splendid canyons, peaks, limestone caves and waterfalls, and hot springs can be found in its every district and county. With a long history of human activity and a mixed population drawn from various ethnic groups, Guiyang’s cultural appeal is another big advantage. 　　 　　Well-Connected 　　 　　A meeting point of central, southern and southwestern China, Guiyang lies 500 kilometers from Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming and Nanning. It is also close to a number of trans-provincial expressways, such as Xiamen-Chengdu, Guiyang-Guangzhou, Shanghai-Kunming and Lanzhou-Haikou, and several railway trunk lines, including the Guiyang-Guangzhou, Chengdu-Guiyang, Chongqing-Guiyang and Shanghai-Kunming lines. 　　Guiyang hopes these factors will draw exhibitors and conference organizers. To enhance its appeal to this sector, the city is building a huge conference and exhibition center in the downtown area, close to the municipal government compound. With a total floorage of 976,300 square meters, the center will be the largest and best appointed of its kind in southwestern China. The main building is scheduled to be completed at the end of the year, and the whole project at the end of 2010. The total investment is estimated to reach RMB 2.9 billion, most of which will come from the Zhongtian Urban Deve