The 31st IAPH World Ports Conference opened in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province on May 8.

The biennial event is an important platform for representatives from famous global ports and shipping industries to exchange ideas and talk about future development.

Early on May 6, the city of Guangzhou invited the conference attendees to tour the southern Chinese metropolis and experience its unique culture.

The opening ceremony of the IAPH 2019 World Ports Conference is held at Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center on May 8. [Photo/ycwb.com]

The conference has invited many well-known enterprises, including China Communications Construction, COSCO Shipping, Maersk, Huawei, and other Fortune 500 companies. Port companies from home and overseas countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, and other countries will set up booths during the event to promote themselves and seek out business cooperation opportunities.

Enterprises from home and abroad set up booths to promote themselves, as well as seek out business cooperation opportunities. [Photo/ycwb.com]

The conference will feature an opening and closing ceremony, theme forums, keynote speeches, plenary sessions, group discussions, and parallel forums. In addition, attendees from the global economic, port, and shipping industries will focus on a number of issues to explore new ideas and raise proposals on promoting global economic development.

An attendee poses for a group photo with promoters of Cantonese Opera. [Photo/ycwb.com]