Shanghai will host a series of major new and expanded exhibitions in 2026 and 2027, according to information released at the Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit 2026 on June 16.

The two-day summit held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) brought together more than 300 exhibition industry executives from countries and regions including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy.

Shanghai hosted 978 exhibitions covering 19.34 million square meters in 2025. International exhibitions accounted for more than 80 percent of the city's total exhibition area.

New launches and a major expansion

The inaugural Hongqiao Tech Week will be held at National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from Nov 20 to 22.

Organized by Informa Markets China, the event will feature conferences, exhibitions, and networking activities, convening startups, investors, and technology solution providers from around the world.

Bauma Shanghai 2026 will expand to two venues in the Pudong New Area. The Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center will host the event from Nov 23 to 26, while the Shanghai New International Expo Centre will host it from Nov 24 to 27.

The trade fair for construction machinery, building material machinery, mining equipment, and construction vehicles will cover about 400,000 square meters, making it the largest edition since the event debuted in China in 2002.

Messe Muenchen Shanghai will launch automatica Shanghai, the first international edition of the globally recognized automatica trade fair, at Shanghai New International Expo Centre from March 8 to 10, 2027.

The summit also explored ways to better integrate exhibitions with shopping, dining, tourism, culture, and sports. Proposed initiatives included pre-event programs, themed markets and festivals, industry awards, and music events.

Source: Shanghai Observer