1st int’l intelligent building industry expo opens in south China’s Shenzhen

The 2024 International (Shenzhen) Intelligent Building Industry Expo kicked off on Sunday in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, showcasing more than 1,000 innovative products.

As the first specialized expo covering all links, factors and the entire lifecycle of the building industry in China, the two-day event features debuts of a host of the latest intelligent, green and digital technologies, which represent the country's new quality productive forces in the field of intelligent construction.

Among the debuts is a basalt reinforced concrete-based material with ductility of over one percent, which is expected to eliminate steel bars in infrastructure building; an antique screen wall built completely through the assembly of renewable modules with the help of digital technology, a new method that can improve efficiency and reduce costs by 40 percent; and China's first self-supporting full-lifecycle management and collaboration platform for the building industry, which covers all links from design, material processing to construction and, as an example, can triple construction efficiency in the field of decoration.

"This expo focuses on seven key areas, including intelligent construction equipment, industrialized architectural components and intelligent production, smart home and intelligent operation and maintenance, green and low-carbon. More than 140 innovative enterprises from 11 countries and regions are exhibiting more than 1,000 innovative products, which represent the latest outcomes in intelligent construction. So far, agreements valuing a total of four billion yuan (about 560 million U.S. dollars) have been signed on the trade of innovative products via the expo," said Chen Weiguo, chief organizer of the expo and executive director of the China Construction Industry Association.

1st int’l intelligent building industry expo opens in south China’s Shenzhen

More than a month ahead of the Chinese New Year, restaurants across China have reported a booming demand for reunion dinners, with popular places already fully reserved.

The family reunion dinners on the eve of the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the most important meal of the year for Chinese people. It has long been an essential part of celebrating the Chinese New Year. This year, the festival falls on Feb 17.

In Taiyuan, capital city of north China's Shanxi Province, one restaurant said all tables for the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner have been reserved.

"We now have 36 private rooms and 13 tables in the hall. The New Year's Eve dinner is fully booked. Many families started reserving as early as November 2025," said Han Huiyan, a restaurant manager.

To meet the demand, many restaurants start to offer takeaway banquet package that can be easily prepared at home, allowing families to enjoy a variety of festive dishes without dining out.

In Ningbo, a city in east China's Zhejiang Province, many popular restaurants said that they are approaching full reservation levels. To reduce peak demand, some restaurants now offer off-peak reunion dinners starting later at night.

"We now offer a 'second round' of New Year's Eve dinners, which start at 19:30. We also offer discount for such New Year's Eve dinners, a promotion of 20 percent off set menus," said Sun Lijuan, a restaurant manager.

In Lianyungang, a city in east China's Jiangsu Province, smaller private rooms of a local restaurant have been nearly sold out, and customized menus and home-delivery services have drawn strong interest.

"This year we have specially launched the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner delivery service. Bookings are very strong and customers really like this option," said Geng Maoran, a restaurant general manager.

Restaurants see surge in bookings for Chinese New Year's Eve dinners