Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center (Huizhan Zhongxing)

This article was originally published on August 29, 2011, in the Shenzhen Daily.
The information was accurate at that time, and may be outdated now. Use with caution.

The huge Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, seen from the northeast

There's a building in Shenzhen that's so massive that, whenever we pass it, my wife comments that it's bigger than the airport in her hometown.

Well, that may be a little exaggeration, but there's no doubt that the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center (SCEC, called "Huizhan Zhongxin" in Chinese) is huge. According to their homepage, the floor area of the building's exhibition halls is 105,000 square meters, and the overall area (including service areas, lobbies, etc.) is a quarter of a million square meters!

A small part of the SCEC's massive interior

(For comparison: a standard association football pitch [soccer field to the Yanks] is 7140 square meters; you could fit nearly 15 in the exhibition halls, and over 35 in the whole building!)

What's more, the building is up to 28 meters high "without any supporting pillar."

Yes, it's big.

Whimsical displays outside the doors

It's also interesting, even if you're not involved in an event. On a recent Sunday I popped in and saw costumed youngsters headed in for a comic convention, and dreamy couples bound for a wedding exhibition.

Coming up before the year is over [that was 2011] are a jewelry fair, a healthcare expo, a "science and living fair," a motor carnival, the 19th China (Shenzhen) International Toys and Gifts Fair, and the world renowned China Hi-Tech Fair in November, among many, many others.

The west entrance to the Shenzhen Conference and Exhibition Center

So stop by the Exhibition center for a gander; there's even a food court on the lower floor. It's located south of Huizhan Zhongxin (会展中心) Metro Station, at the crossing of Lines 1 (the Luobao Line) and 4 (the Longhua Line), in the very heart of the Central Business District.

GPS Info:

• 22.53079, 114.06017

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