The preparatory meeting of the 2019 Smart China Expo is held in Liangjiang New Area. [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]

The preparations for the 2019 Smart China Expo, which will be held in Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing municipality this August, was recently held in Chongqing.

The first Smart China Expo was held in Liangjiang New Area last August with an exhibition area of 180,000 square meters and received 630,000 visitors.

A total of 501 projects involving 5G and AI technologies worth over 612 billion yuan ($91 billion) were signed at last year's expo. Following the success of its inaugural edition, the expo decided to be held in Chongqing permanently.

The first stage of preparation for this year's expo has been arranged. The executive leading group has set up 14 work groups and will use the experiences of large-scale exhibition organizations in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen for reference.

With objectives targeting the construction of international convention and exhibition clusters, ecological environment demonstration pilot areas, and international exchange bay areas, the work groups have implemented and planned a series of new, renovation, and expansion projects.

The projects include constructing and renovating a 14.7-kilometer road, creating a smart travel and parking guidance system, and building temporary parking lots with 4,000 parking spaces, as well as developing smart engineering projects and hotel clusters in the area.

The preparation work will focus on site security, food and beverage security, environment and service improvement, smart engineering project optimization, and reducing traffic congesting during the expo to create a more accessible and enjoy experience.