AWE 2026 showcases AI innovations for future smart living for global market

China's flagship expo for global appliance and electronics industry, the 2026 Appliance and Electronics World Expo (AWE2026), opened in Shanghai on Thursday, spotlighting a host of AI-powered innovations and technologies shaping the future of smart living for worldwide markets.

For the first time, the expo features a "one exhibition, two zones" format. In addition to the core main exhibition area at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, a parallel sub-exhibition zone has been established for the first time at the Shanghai Eastern Hub International Business Cooperation Zone.

Leveraging the hub's strategic location and policy advantages, invited overseas participants can enjoy visa-free entry and a 30-day stay, enabling a "visit upon arrival" experience that significantly reduces communication costs for international merchants and provides a higher-level platform for global industry cooperation. The event has so far attracted over 1,200 domestic and international companies.

"As a top-tier global event in the field of home appliances and consumer electronics, AWE has adopted the 'one exhibition, two zones' model for the first time this year. In particular, using the business cooperation zone as a new platform for high-level opening-up deeply connects global resources and helps AWE achieve a new leap in both its functional capacity and scale," said Chen Jie, vice mayor of Shanghai.

The main exhibition area spans 13 halls covering 170,000 square meters. It encompasses core sectors such as intelligent terminals, smart mobility, health technology, embodied intelligence, and computing power infrastructure. From advanced display technologies and AI-powered wearable devices to domestic service robots and whole-house smart solutions, the innovations on display outline a comprehensive new blueprint for intelligent life.

"At this year's AWE, new display technologies are breaking the boundaries of interaction and becoming vital carriers connecting the digital and physical worlds. AI smartphones and AI glasses are accelerating their roles as the next generation of personal intelligent portals. With more tech companies joining, more cutting-edge applications have debuted in terms of embodied AI products, such as humanoid and service robots. As a result, AWE is becoming a crucial window for observing the future technology of China's consumer electronics and smart living," said Tao Xiaonian, chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association.

AWE 2026 showcases AI innovations for future smart living for global market

China is continuing to experience a box office boom this year, driven by a nationwide campaign to spur consumption with cheaper cinema tickets while a series of big summer releases are also enticing film fans out to theaters up and down the country.

Seen as one of the most lucrative periods of the year, China's summer box office season, which officially runs from June 1 to August 31, has now generated more than 10.7 billion yuan in box office revenue as of midday Thursday.

This has helped propel China's total box office revenue for 2026 above 26.5 billion yuan (over 3.9 billion U.S. dollars) as of Thursday afternoon, with more than 670 million moviegoers and over 96 million screenings recorded, according to the latest data from a leading Chinese ticketing platform.

The diverse line-up of summer blockbusters covers a broad range of genres, including comedy, animation, sci-fi, war, and suspense and action, offering audiences more choices and helping attract viewers from different age groups and with different interests.

Among the best performers is the anti-war film "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East," which tells the story of a chef working at a Chinese restaurant in the Middle East when war breaks out in the 2000s. It has drawn positive feedback both for its perspective on war and the vivid portrayal of life in the Middle East.

In just 10 days since its release on Aug. 11, the film has raked in over 1.2 billion yuan, catapulting it up the box office charts as it closes in on the year's biggest grossing films.

Ticketing data shows that the current top four on China's annual box office chart are the auto-racing sequel "Pegasus 3", Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's sports comedy "Kung Fu Soccer" about a team of female footballers, the touching family drama "Dear You", and animated film "All Wishes Come True!"

China launched a nationwide campaign this year to boost the cinema sector, with at least 1.2 billion yuan in subsidies planned throughout 2026 to make movie-going more affordable. Data shows the average ticket price for domestic-made movies has dropped to 39.5 yuan (less than 6 U.S. dollars) this year, some 20 percent lower in 2025.

China's summer film season continues as consumption campaign entices moviegoers