The China (Nanjing) International Software Product and Information Service Trade Fair, sensibly also known as CIS Nanjing, got underway with much fanfare this morning, 31 August, at the Nanjing International Expo and Conference Centre in the city’s Olympiad area.
Billed as China’s largest, most internationalised and influential ICT exhibition, there was no shortage of visitors to CIS Nanjing as early as 9.30 am, serving as testament to the fact that this is the 14th outing for the annual expo.
Spread over four halls of the behemoth expo centre, the first hall is entirely occupied by the heavyweights of the software and IT industries; Tencent, Alibaba, Suning being among those who had had not pinched pennies on their big booths and LED screens.
Yet, the effect is overkill, and with each and every one offering more of the same cloud-based computing solutions that defy specificity, it means the real interest is to be had in the remaining three halls, occupied by smaller companies and the startups of the IT world, in an eye-opening array of industries.
Therein are to be found fascinating IT solutions for agriculture and aquatics; robotic tomato pickers, for example. Elsewhere, with fun and practicality to be had, where augmented reality meets fitness training, the expo lives up to its reputation as a sign of things to come.
CIS Nanjing runs until Monday, 3 September. Entrance is free, with registration. No ID required.
