Oriental Plaza, on Beijing's Wangfujing Street, is a large complex that contains hotels, commercial property, and shopping malls. Photos Provided to China Daily

Beijing will be holding an international brands festival, Sept 3 to 5 to help turn a major shopping thoroughfare - Wangfujing St - into a place for exchanges between domestic and international brands and for more business and trade cooperation with the rest of the world.

This is the 2nd Wangfujing International Brands Festival and will come with forums, discussions and exhibitions at the same time. It is expected to attract more top brands and famous enterprises to the city's Dongcheng district for investment purposes.

Sponsor of the event is the Dongcheng district and other authorities, with support coming from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

Senior MOC officials, Beijing municipal government officials, and representatives of international organizations, multinationals, and domestic and international brands will be present.

This year's theme is "International Brands; World City", and it will contain the following activities:

Opening ceremony and welcoming banquet

The following have been invited for the opening, on Sept 3, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the Beijing Hotel's Golden Hall: representatives of famous international and domestic brands; international and domestic retailers; financial institutions, commercial real estate companies, and consulting companies; major hotels; foreign embassies and chambers of commerce; and international sister cities.

The Brand China Industry Union will present the Dongcheng district with one of the "Top 10 major brand cities of China, 2011" awards.

Jinbao Street Carnival (live broadcast)

There will be a parade consisting of cheerleaders, cavalry soldiers, military drummers, flag performers, motorcycles, sports teams, floats and other processional operations serving up an unprecedented feast on Jinbao St, on Sept 4, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am.

It is worth noticing that, during rehearsals and the carnival itself, traffic will be restricted so drivers and pedestrians both may need to choose alternate routes.

Brand Development and Service Innovation Forum

This will be held Sept 4, from 2:30pm to 5:30 in the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel's Conference Room on the 2nd floor.

Those present will include ministry representatives; municipal and district officials; experts and scholars; as well as representatives of famous international and domestic famous, hotels, foreign embassies and chambers of commerce, and Wangfujing businesses.

Topics will include: brand developments and service innovations, brand heritage, service innovations, branding and brand services, strategies, service management, brand building and commercial innovations, brand marketing, and consumer trends.

Other topics are Wangfujing's commercial development and outlook, its strategic development plan, and the Twelfth Five Year Plan, and the Trends Media Group will publish its 2011 fashion index of Chinese cities.

BQ Cultural Contribution Awards ceremony

This will attract heads of various Beijing and Dongcheng district government departments, Beijing Youth Weekly principals, watch fanciers, Beijing Youth Weekly readers, top industry guests, cultural icons, artists, and the media, on Sept 4, from 7:30pm to 9:30, in the Beijing Grand Hyatt Hotel's Ballrooms 1 & 2. Awards will be given for outstanding contribution to China's watch industry, and there will be cultural events, and a watch show for officials, watch industry executives and experts.

Wangfujing brands list and closing awards ceremony

The morning of Sept 5, there will be a closing ceremony for the festival at Regent Hotel.

A highlight will be the 2011 Wangfujing brands list, which gives the top 10 events and top 10 most popular brands or trademarks. There will also be awards for the top 10 brands, including Chinese time-honored brands. The China General Chamber of Commerce will confer the Wangfujing International Brands Festival a "Famous National Brand Festival" award.

In addition to the abovementioned activities, there will be a Brand Creativity Exhibit and Brand Activities, Sept 2 to Oct 7 on Wangfujing St.

The exhibit will convey an atmosphere for brand building during the festival, and recall the history of fashionable brands. There will be individual exhibitions by famous brands such as Estee Lauder, Lancome, SK-II, Ernest Borel, Adidas, Columbia Outdoors, Suzuki, TCL, Intel, and others to increase brand appeal and public awareness of the festival. Some booths around the Beijing Department Store, Dong'an Shopping Center, Oriental Plaza, Beijing APM, Intime Lotte, and Gongmei Tower will also have a lot of activities for consumers, including a press release, models on runways, art sculptures, and jewelry appraisal.

The Beijing Wangfujing International Brands Festival's microblog has officially opened to provide information on the festival.

Additional Wangfujing St infomation

Wangfujing is Beijing's most famous commercial area, known far and wide with a sort of "Golden Street" reputation. It is located in central Beijing and dates as far back as the 1360s, or more than 700 years ago.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) records tell of 10 princes and three princesses residing on this street, hence the "Wangfu", or "residence of the aristocrats".

In the 31st year of the Guangxu emperor (1905), the name was revised, with "jing" (meaning "well", or, a hole in the ground) being added to describe refreshing water available somewhere along the street.

Wangfujing St has been engaged in commercial activities since the middle of the Ming. The Dong'an Market was set up on a former training field for soldiers in the 29th year of the Guangxu emperor (1903), and several banks and stores ultimately settled there, turning it into a proper business street.

The coming of the People's Republic brought with it the Wangfujing Department Store - the first State-run emporium in Beijing.

Other renowned companies from Tianjin and Shanghai followed, and the street became a symbol of development in the new China and its capital, as well as the country's most famous shopping street.

By now the street has undergone three major renovations, and 21st century Wangfujing embodies human-friendly design concepts. Much of the spacious street is off-limits to motor vehicles, and has plenty of support facilities. It now blends modern shopping with historical significance.

The streets businesses cover a 1.5-million-square-meter area in all, providing plenty of space and an attractive environment for visitors, shoppers or those wanting to relax.

(China Daily 09/02/2011 page7)