Hangzhou opens G20 summit arena to general public

An aerial photo taken on Sept 25 shows Hangzhou International Expo Center, the main venue of the G20 summit, which was held in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, from Sept 4-5. [Photo/IC]

When a big summit takes place, ordinary folks usually do not get a ringside view of the venue. But Hangzhou has decided to change all that.

From Sunday, it opened the reception zone, main conference hall and luncheon area of Hangzhou International Expo Center where the G20 Hangzhou summit was held to general public for 150 yuan ($22.5) per single ticket. Booking online will save tourists 30 yuan, and group ticket will cost 100 yuan.

First stop for visitors is the 7,400-square-meter reception area on the second floor. They will see six pairs of "moon gates", which are designed to send a welcoming message to friends afar. Name cards indicating where leaders attending the G20 summit stood for a group photo are still there in the Welcome Hall, according to thepaper.cn.

The 2,000-square-meter main conference hall is on the fourth floor. Many Chinese elements such as blue and white porcelain and architecture characteristics of regions south of the Yangtze River have been incorporated in its design.

The luncheon area, which was not shown during the media's coverage of G20, has been unveiled to the public for the first time. Screens with drawings of the 24 solar terms of East Asian lunisolar calendar decorate the area. The hanging garden outside the luncheon area spread over 62,000 square meters is the biggest one with the best ecological environment in China.

Many visitors who went to the expo center on Sunday said that the main conference hall and the hanging gardens are the most attractive places to visit, according to thepaper.cn.

Hangzhou International Expo Center takes up 190,000 square meters with five floors on ground and two floors underground. It's comprised of 61 conference rooms and 90,000 square meters of exhibition areas.