The exhibition area named “Friendly Shandong, Hometown of Confucius” covers an area of 576 square meters. [Photo/dzng.com]

The 2019 New Growth Drivers Qingdao Forum opened in Qingdao, Shandong province on Oct 19 to promote the province's opening-up and international cooperation.

The 576-square meter exhibition area named “Friendly Shandong, Hometown of Confucius” includes three major zones, a pavilion for outstanding design works, an experiential zone, an acting zone, a reception zone and a negotiation zone.

The three major exhibition zones showcase 16 new enterprises from 16 cities, 11 operating projects and 19 projects under construction, presenting the achievements that have been made during the conversion of growth drivers in the culture and tourism industry.

The award-winning works of the first Shandong cultural and tourist product design competition are on display, and visitors can engage with several intangible cultural heritages in the experiential zone.

Performances are given in the acting zone at 10 am and 2:30 pm during Oct 19-21, attracting lots of exhibitors and visitors from home and abroad.

Shandong has made several achievements in the culture and tourism industry in recent years.

In 2017, the added value of the province's cultural industry reached 312 billion yuan ($44.06 billion). In 2018, the number of inbound tourists increased to 5.13 million with a total consumption of $3.36 billion.