CIFIT's Fujian Pavilion. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]

In the first three quarters of this year, Xiamen has hosted 136 exhibitions and 3,135 conferences. This November, a diverse lineup of events, from the 16th Cross-Strait (Xiamen) Cultural Industries Fair to the more specialized Xiamen International Optics Fair, will take place in the city.

Xiamen is transforming the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industry from an economic barometer into reality through a dynamic calendar of influential trade shows, actively building its reputation as a premier "International MICE City".

Xiamen Stone Fair attracts many foreign exhibitors. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]

Xiamen Stone Fair, the world's largest of its kind, marks 25 years of success built on a robust local ecosystem. Its location is key: just 53 kilometers from Shuitou, Nan'an, the world's top stone-processing base, with over 60 percent of China's stone trade flowing through Xiamen, attracting a critical mass of industry leaders.

This increasingly close-knit relationship is why various sectors maintain an optimistic outlook for the development of Xiamen's MICE industry. 

Panda plush toys on display at the exhibition. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]

Over the past two years, positive developments in Xiamen's industrial clusters — such as electronic information, mechanical equipment, commerce and logistics, and financial services — have coincided with a corresponding rise in the activity levels of related MICE.

This year, Xiamen has released its measures to further promote the development of the MICE industry, providing substantial financial support to help exhibition enterprises expand and strengthen, enhancing the industry's internationalization, branding, specialization, and marketization.