Exhibitions, A New Concept of   Products       Ms Gao Shuying, the managing director of Shenzhen Mingyu Exhibition Co.,Ltd             Under market economy, holding exhibitions become commercial activities, and not administrative activities anymore. As products have after-sale service, exhibitions also have an intact set of services from preparation to the end. Exhibitors and buyers are the god for organizers and co-organizers. Therefore, exhibitions are just like products, which need cultivation and free competition to grow up in market economy. That is what I recognize from over ten years experiences as an exhibition organizer. In 1988, my colleagues and I organized the first session of watches and clocks exhibition in Shenzhen. At that time we were totally green hands in this industry. What we did was just like fulfilling the task assigned by government. Fortunately, after the government wouldn't provide free venue for exhibitions organizers, we were still insistent on opening on time while other associations had given up their exhibitions. We sent our invitations to the all watches and clocks manufacturers in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and for the convenience of them we enclosed envelopes with stamps and our address in order to invite them to attend 1988 Shenzhen Watch & Clock Exhibition held from May 3rd to 6th in the show room of Shenzhen Aviation Industrial Co., Ltd in Shenzhen ShangBu Industrial Zone. It was such an adventuring and somewhat legendary exhibition that everything happened on May 3rd was unforgettable for me life long. In 300m2 exhibition hall, 13 watch enterprises spread around the four sides. At the same time the counters in the middle were open to the customers as before. The opening ceremony hosted by myself was in the exhibition hall's steps outside next to the street. Cutting the ribbon, Zhu Yuening, the Shenzhen vice mayor and Duan Zijun, the vice minister of ministry of Aviation & Aeronautics Industry attended the ceremony. The delegates from Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades & Industries and Hong Kong Watch Manufactures Association Ltd. congratulated us on the site for the event. After receiving the exhibitors' invitations, hundreds of people from inland department stores attended, making the whole hall full of visitors.       It is the Shenzhen first exhibition organized by civil organization and the China first vertical exhibition by watchmakers. What we did was turning a brand new page of the watch & clock trade show in Shenzhen, which also made me start loving exhibition industry. In 1990, the exhibition was renamed "Shenzhen International Watch Clock & Jewellery Expo" held in Shenzhen International Convention & Exhibition Center presenting itself to oversea exhibitors. Here's the story of China's famous trade show brand " China Watch Jewellery & Gifts Fair" . In the past there were many traditional exhibitions held in China annually. All of them belonged to government and were full of political colors without manufacturers and exhibition halls. During 1990s with a rapid economic growth in China, a large number of exhibition halls were built up in each province. In accordance with this trend, different kinds of exhibitions were opened. Although at that time exhibition industry wasn't monopolized by government, it was still under the control of government counted for political achievements. Summoned by government, all enterprises actively attended this kind of exhibitions to present their images regardless of its economic outcome. In addition to financial support from government, the exhibition was able to survive as long as there was no change in China's exhibition policy. However, these enterprises were feeling more and more pressured to attend these official exhibitions especially those horizontal shows, which failed to meet enterprises' practical needs. This pressure drove them begin to search vertical commercial shows to receive orders. As a result, the associations and professional exhibition companies were developing under such situation. They always stress on absorbing the most advanced exhibition ideas abroad, setting up service sense, learning from international counterparts to improve their professionalism. Due to marketing and business operation their exhibitions posses much business features. Exhibitors and buyers could trade wholeheartedly and no social activities would disturb them.           Just like competition among various commodities on the markets, exhibitions compete fiercely as well. Enterprises are entitled to choose the most suitable trade shows and decline other invitations from other organizers, who are incompetent to bring them any economic benefit. At very first trade show organizers should think over their future and decide their developing orientation to promote their shows similar to manufacturers exploring their products according to their advantages and consumers they serve. China, as a huge factory in the world with an ample supply of manufacturers resources, should raise some professional exhibition companies to build a platform for international trade and communication. In April 2003, an incident happening in the Baselworld, cast a shadow on me. When a Chinese exhibitor delegation arrived at Basel, they were refused for entry by Swiss government for fear of spreading SARS. What's more was that three hundred watch enterprises were forced to go home with a great loss. The worldwide intense competition in the watch market triggered the incident. In the same year, I establish my own exhibition company and a new trade fair "China Import & Export Watch & Gifts Trade Fair" which was co-organized by China Council for the Promotion of Int'l Trade Shenzhen Sub-Council. In order to make it publicized, we give prominence to the features of our trade fair by " FACE-TO-FACE BUSINESS WITH CHINESE MANUFACTURERS", strengthening that Shenzhen is the biggest export and manufacturing base of watches, gifts and ornaments in China. At the same time, I advocate all trade show organizers should realize that internationalization is based on domestic resources, and make their efforts to explore and raise native exhibitions. The customer service is an important standard to assess an exhibition organizer's professionalism. A successful exhibition should serve its customers from very beginning in marketing, advertisement, information, accommodation, transportation and on-site service and so on. As competition trends to be fierce day by day, a comprehensive services have become a must. Considerate services are a essential element of attracting customers and can test an exhibition organizer's service sense and exhibition culture. Among so many kinds of services, marketing service is the key of high quality of an exhibition, of retaining customers and enlarging the number of its customers. The marketing service is to attract professional buyers for exhibitors, to create a good commercial atmosphere for trading and for exhibitors to get economic benefit from exhibitions. Nowadays in China some trade shows merely pay attention to exhibitors making shows full of visitors without trade buyers and civilized commercial atmosphere. On the contrary, those world famous trade shows try the most to make a quiet trading surrounding. After the entry to WTO, China has to fulfill her promise welcoming oversea service industry to China markets including finance, exhibition, insurance and so on. Some well-known German and Italian exhibition companies have opened their subsidiaries in China, which will be a huge impact on China exhibition industry. After the impact, China exhibition industry will develop prosperously. Either government or associations or exhibition companies should follow market, commercialized, professionalized rules to run their own trade shows. The market needs competition rather than monopoly. The government has to amplify rules and laws to regulate exhibition market creating a creditable and fair competition system. Only by doing this, Chinese exhibitions (Wherever they are) can attract buyers and exhibitors home and abroad to realize internationalization and globalization, and China professional exhibition companies are able to set up a good relationship with foreign exhibition companies for cooperation.