So much more than a pink mountain bike

Résumé détaillé

After 70 years, the fair has developed into one of the most important global trade events, with exhibition space growing from its first session with 18,000 square meters to its…

My daughter, who is beginning her freshman year at Shenzhen University in Guangdong province, recently bought a mountain bicycle for nearly 1,500 yuan ($225) because she says the campus is too large for her to walk from the dormitory to classrooms every day.

In addition to its lovely pink-color design, the bicycle — under the brand XDS — a partner of China's national mountain bike team, has a gear transmission system that enables her to ride easily on roads throughout the campus.

When she sent me a picture of the bicycle via social media platform WeChat and asked if I could pay for it, I was reminded of a very old fashioned bicycle I had seen not long ago.

The old-fashioned bicycle was displayed at the original site of the first session of the China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair, as part of an exhibition tracing the development of the 70-year-old trade event.

Without new materials or technologies such as a gear transmission system, the bicycle, under the Chinese brand Phoenix, was one of many hot items popular with foreign buyers during the 83rd session of the fair in 1998.

Made of sturdy steel with smooth lines, it featured a slanted-beam design, with the swallow-shaped handlebars giving the overall design a simple appearance.

Along with the Phoenix bicycle, 110 photos and 145 vintage items were on display at the exhibition, which features six parts and showcases a panoramic view of the fair's history since its inception in 1957.

It was launched in line with the opening of the 140th session of the fair, which attracted more than 210,000 international buyers and 32,000 Chinese companies.

After 70 years, the fair has developed into one of the most important global trade events, with exhibition space growing from its first session with 18,000 square meters to its current size of 1.55 million sq m at the Pazhou Complex in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.

Début de l'article, extrait de China Daily Business. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.