Venue project
Shenzhen World: a big leap into China’s future
Paul Colston takes a preview peak at China’s huge new exhibition venue pearl,
Shenzhen World, set to become the biggest indoor tradefair facility in the world
n a matter of weeks
China is set to open
Phase 1 of what will
become the largest
exhibition venue in the world. The
new Shenzhen World complex is
located just across the border from
Hong Kong and is a truly breathtaking
achievement of planning and
engineering.
With Shenzhen transforming
itself in recent decades from a small
fishing town of 30,000 people, to a
19m population super city that boasts
a GDP third only in China to Beijing
and Shanghai, the Shenzhen World
Exhibition and Convention Center is
set to be the main platform for the
industries of the Pearl River Delta to
showcase their products to the world,
as China’s economy powers ahead.
Shenzhen World is set for a soft
opening in November 2019 and
already has a pipeline of tradeshows
booked in, management told EW.
Shows include a leading Chinese
furniture fair in March 2020, which
is set to take over a significant part
of the Phase 1 capacity of over
400,000sqm space across 16 standard
indoor halls, one mega hall of
48,000sqm, one conference centre
and one more event centre hall with a
capacity for 13,500 attendees.
The opening of Shenzhen World
will allow the show to transfer from
the city’s old exhibition centre where
it had maxed out at 110,000sqm.
With a fishbone style roof running
the length of the new 1.75km
construction, the project is striking
to say the least. There are also two
lobbies, each of 6,000sqm.
Exhibition industry consultants
JWC have ensured a very high
specification all through, and there
are to be four hotels on site when the
Phase 2 completion adds a further
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Issue 5 2019
100,000sqm of event space. SMG has a
contract for supporting operations at
the venue.
Shenzhen World will have two
metro stations and is close to the
Airport New Town, lying at the top
of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao
Greater Bay Area and at the centre of
the Pearl River Delta and Guangdong
Free Trade Zone.
High-tech is not only embedded
in the venue building but expected
to power business with high-tech
enterprises such as Huawei, Tencent
and DJI based in the city.
Shenzhen’s growth rate of 7.6% is
higher than Beijing and Shanghai and
Jochen Witt of JWC Consultants said
that over 50% of all exhibition space
sold in China is in the Pearl River
Delta.
Shenzhen World CEO Mr Ma Jun
told EW that 2.2m sqm had been
booked for 2020 and forecast 2.5m -
3m sqm for 2021.
He expected the centre to break
even after 4-5 years, once all the
surrounding infrastructure was
Above:
Shenzhen
World
Shenzhen World
• Phase 1 will deliver 400,000sqm
of purpose-built indoor
exhibition space
• Phase 2 will add a further
100,000sqm
• The venue is designed with an
organising spine to connect 19
halls arranged symmetrically
along a central corridor.
• There are two main registration
lobbies directly connected to the
subway, two VIP entrances to
the west, plus the grand South
Entrance.
• A two-level central corridor
moves visitors efficiently from
North to South
• Shenzhen World is 3km from
Shenzhen Airport and 75km
from Hong Kong Airport
• The venue is served by two
metro stations
completed.
“We often compare Shenzhen to
the US because it is home to many
immigrants from across China and
has a very young population with an
average age of 32,” Mr Ma added, and
explained this as a big contributor to
the vibrancy of the city and its high-
tech orientation.
With wages higher than elsewhere
in the country and the city and region
strong in many IT and future-looking
sectors, Mr Ma is predicting a bright
future for the project and the city.
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk