The first Yunnan Cultural Industry Expo, which will open on August 9, has so many attractions that visitors cannot see them all in one day.

Unprecedented scale of seven exhibition halls

The expo will use all seven exhibition halls of the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center and South Square, covering an area of 47,000 square meters indoors and 10,000 sq m outdoors, according to a principal of the Kunming cultural industries office. Because the expo received a wide range of publicity during the previous China-South Asia Expo and other international exhibitions, companies from nine countries - Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and South Korea - are expected to participate, making the expo more international.

The particular exhibitions include an exhibition of jade carving master works and jewelry/jade trade, a sales exhibition of creative designs, a sales exhibition of ethnic and folk handicrafts, an animation exhibition, Kunming hall, an exhibition of leading enterprises in Yunnan cultural industries, and a regional delicacies culture square.

Debut of bronze version of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains

People can see the completed sculpture Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains at the base of 12 modern female body sculptures, which were created by 12 sculptors over six months. Each sculpture is 2.8 meters high. There are only two copies in the world of each sculpture, so they are invaluable.

Distinctive features of two auctions

Since the first Exhibition of Work by Yunnan Jade Carving Masters was held in 2011, the exhibition has become the most influential jade carving gathering in Yunnan. Besides the exhibition, this year’s expo will also set up over 200 sales exhibitions of jewelry and jade.

The Jade Phoenix Show held by Jade Phoenix (Beijing) Culture & Media Co will invite governors, entrepreneurs and artists from Southeast Asian countries and representatives of Global 500 firms to the awards ceremony and auctions. The vice-president and minister of social security of Indonesia will then head a nongovernmental delegation to attend the expo and auctions. The organizer plans to include an unfinished work from the famous jade sculptor Hong Fushou in the auction.

Creative ideas go for up to 1 million yuan ($162,892)

After several months of preparation, the clothing design activity of the expo has reached its final stage. A total of 628 works have been submitted, with 191 of them validated, according to Chen Yongqiang, the head of the Kunming cultural industries planning division. He said that many big enterprises have joined in the activity. Some purchased t-shirt designs for 100 yuan, while others, like Yunnan Tea Culture Museum, purchased an entire visual identity design for 1 million yuan.

The animation hall is popular amongst teenagers. The sixth Yunnan Kunming Animation Exhibition will offer cartoon gift packs worth 10,000 yuan. A total of 300 cosplay groups and 8,000 participants will attend the six-day festival.