Events
1. Urumqi Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Fair
Urumqi Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Fair, also called Urumqi Fair for short, is the largest of its kind in western China. With the approval by the Ministry of Commerce of China, Urumqi Fair is held every year.
Since 1992, Urumqi Fair has been held successfully for 15 times. Aimed at promoting trade and bilateral investment between China and Central and West Asian countries, it is a showcase to learn about Central, West and South Asia as well as Russia.
Time: Sept 1 to 5 every year
Place: Urumqi City
2. Central and South Asia Commodities Fair
Central and West Asia Commodities Fair is held every year in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. The fair is also called Kargash Fair. The purpose of the fair is to set up a platform for economic and trade cooperation of China with Central and West Asian countries, attract more businesses to Kashgar for opening international markets and enhance economic cooperation in Kashgar, Xinjiang. Since 2005, Kashgar Fair has been held successfully for two times.
Time: May to June every year
Place: Kashgar city, Xinjiang
3. China-Eurasia Expo
Prior to the China-Eurasia expo, a lower profile annual trade fair was held in Urumqi every year since 1992 called the Urumqi Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Fair. In 2010 this fair was upgraded to be the leading trade platform in the region. This trading event is not just for Central and South Asia but also to the entire Asia and Europe. The 1st China-Eurasia Expo is held on September 1, 2011 in Urumqi Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The sixth China-Eurasia Expo, a three-day international fair, opened Thursday in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in 2018. Under the theme of "The Belt and Road -- Wide Discussion, Joint Contribution and Shared Benefits", the expo drew participants from more than 700 domestic and foreign companies.
The exhibition area covered 70,000 square meters, with various display zones involving investment and cooperation, poverty alleviation, and featured products. Since China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has deepened pragmatic cooperation with other countries under the framework of the initiative, yielding substantial achievements, Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua said at the opening ceremony of the 2018 China-Eurasia Expo.
China is willing to expand areas of cooperation with other countries, create new trade growth points, enhance investment and industrial cooperation, and speed up interconnectivity networks through the projects in railways, highways, ports, energy, and telecom.
China will deepen reform in all areas, expand opening-up, improve trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, according to a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
Enterprises in Asian and European countries are encouraged to seize the opportunity and work together with their Chinese counterparts to develop more extensive and in-depth cooperation. The central government grants much support for Xinjiang to open wider to outside world and play a bigger role in China's opening up.The China-Eurasia Expo serves as an important platform for exchanges and cooperation between different countries and regions.
The 2018 expo attracted over 700 Chinese and foreign companies, including world's leading companies and China's corporate stars. Latest data from China's Ministry of Commerce showed that trade between China and countries and regions participating in the BRI exceeded $5 trillion recently, growing at 1.1 percent annually on average over the past five years.
Chinese overseas direct investment or ODI in BRI participants was more than $70 billion, and has been growing at 7.2 percent annually on average. The organizing committee of the expo said that the event has emerged as an important platform for exchanges and cooperation between China and Eurasian countries. It helped showcase Xinjiang's rapid development, the committee said.
The previous five editions saw nearly 35 heads of state and directors of international organizations deliberate with more than 1,100 ministerial-level guests to forge cooperation and trade initiatives.
4. China Xinjiang International Agriculture Fair
China Xinjiang International Agricultural Expo is a 5A-level exhibition approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and a UFI exhibition certificated by the International Exhibition Industry Association.
The theme of the exhibition is “Efficient, Accurate and Intelligent”. As an agricultural exchange platform, it serves the provinces (regions) and countries along the Silk Road and has become a window for agricultural communication. It is also an important platform for resource shareing among central Asian countries.
The Xinjiang Agricultural Fair is hosted by Zhenwei Exhibition Group with the approval of the Ministry of Commerce. It is held regularly in Urumqi every August.
As the country's largest agricultural exhibition, six exhibition halls and one outdoor plaza will be opened for the 19th CIAF. The number of exhibitors will reach 1,500, with an exhibition area of 45,000 square meters. It is now China's largest agricultural event.
The exhibition will be held in the same period with Agricultural Development Summit along the Belt and Road Initiative", China (Northwest) Water and Fertilizer Integration Leadership Summit, Intelligent Equipment Application Prospect.
Exhibition time: August to September every year
Address: Xinjiang International Convention and Exhibition Center
Address of the Organizing Committee: Room 3 to 4, 7th Floor, Kangyuan Fortune Center, 223 Beijing South Road, Urumqi,Xinjiang
Postcode: 830000
Tel: 09913638 169
Fax: 0991 2321 606
5. Eid Adha
Eid Adha, also called the "Festival of the Sacrifice", is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated in Xinjiang and the world each year, the other being Eid al-Fitr, and considered the holier of the two.
The festival was set to honor Abraham who sacrificed his son as an act of obedience to God's command. In the story, before Abraham could sacrifice his son, however, God provided a lamb to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this, an animal is sacrificed at the festival and divided into three parts: one is given to the poor and needy; second part is for the home, third is given to relatives.
In the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah. In the international calendar, the dates vary from year to year drifting approximately 11 days earlier each year.
During the day, men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing to perform Eid prayer in a large congregation in an open field called Eidgah or mosque. Affluent Muslims who can afford it will sacrifice their finest domestic animals as a symbol of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son to God.