A commemorative activity to celebrate the first anniversary of 18th SCO summit takes place at Qingdao International Conference Center on June 9. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The commemorative activity to celebrate the first anniversary of 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit was launched at Qingdao International Conference Center on June 9.

Wang Hong, chairman of Qingdao Tourism Group, made the opening speech. Then a SCO commemorative envelope and stamp album were revealed at the ceremony. A SCO Themed Post Office of The Qingdao International Conference Center was also officially put into use.

The center gained its fame as the main venue for SCO in 2018. To better provide services for residents, the center will be open to the public for free during the activity. Visitors could learn more about the center and SCO summits through the free guide services, and artwork and photo exhibitions.

On the day, the center prepared postcards as gifts for the visitors who could get commemorative postmarks for the cards at each hall along the visit route.

Another highlight of the activity was an exhibition of a state banquet which was the same as those during the 2018 SOC summit and "State-guest level" conference services which could be regarded as a demonstration of Qingdao service standards.

The commemorative activity was designed to build a new tourism brand themed on SCO summits which is expected to be held annually from now on.