The Light of Internet Expo of the 1st World Internet Conference, which was held at the Zhenshui Resort Hotel in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, Nov 18-21, 2014, features three areas — a Carving Hall, a walkway between the Carving Hall and the Dragon-Phoenix Palace, and a Wind-and-Rain Corridor outside the hotel.

The expo was hosted by the China Cyberspace Administration and the Zhejiang government, with help from the provincial Smart City Promotion Association and provincial Economic and Information Commission’s Smart City Research Institute.

The Expo was themed “inter-connection and inter-activity, governed by all”, with the focus on Internet development concepts, Internet development history, and Internet enterprises. China’s common view on Internet development and cyberspace was on display, along with the 23 years of development of China’s Internet, its achievements and the latest technologies and applications in China and abroad. During the Expo, major Chinese Internet companies, such as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, and the country’s three major communications operators — China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom — showcased their latest technologies, innovation, and services through multimedia devices, which attracted a lot of attention.

43 exhibitors displayed their newest products. For example, the popular Xbox family game console from Microsoft rendered visitors a chance to play the most popular interactive games; LinkedIn, the world’s largest social networking site, displayed its interactive experience services, such as office portraits, and more than 300 people had an ID photo; and a DIY postcard project from China Post combined the traditional postcard with Internet technology to produce more than 4,000 DIY postcards.

Lu Wei, minister of the State Internet Information Office, and Li Qiang, Zhejiang governor, attended the expo. Some senior government officials, and exhibitors were also present at the expo, such as Shen Xiangyang, executive vice-president of Microsoft, Qin Lei, general manager of IBM Smart Logistics, Xiong Qunli, general manager of China Electronics Technology (Group) Corp (CETC), Zhang Dongchen, deputy general manager of CETC, Wu Manqing, chief engineer of CETC, Chen Zongnian, chairman of CETHIK, Chang Xiaobing, chairman of China Unicom, Shao Guanglu, deputy general manager of China Unicom, and Ma Yun, chairman of the board of Alibaba. 

Participants were from about 100 countries and more than 600 journalists covered the expo and the Internet conference.