The Sixth China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) ended Sunday (Oct 17) with a record of almost 500,000 people passing through the turnstiles.

At the closing ceremony at Wuzhou Guesthouse, Shenzhen Mayor Li Hongzhong applauded this year's fair as a truly international high-tech spectacular.

A total of 4,041 delegations brought 9,674 projects and 1,882 investors. They included 36 delegations from China's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, 62 multinational companies, 31 renowned universities as well as 21 foreign countries and international organizations.

The fair met its objective of an international forum of latest technologies. Based on a "China Hi-Tech Forum," the fair featured a "World Technology and Economy Forum," attracting high-ranking government officials, celebrated experts and business tycoons.

There were seven keynote addresses and 10 seminars during the forum, keeping participants abreast of the most updated trends and information in scientific and economic fields.

The first China high-tech talent fair, the new highlight of the Sixth CHTF, attracted 1,050 enterprises from home and abroad as well as 90,000 jobseekers. In the end, the fair hired 12,000 and closed deals with 24 foreign talent introduction projects.

A total of 56 projects by overseas Chinese enterprises reached partnership deals.

The Industrial Development Organization of the United Nations attended the fair for the first time. They decided that from next year, they would set up a special award for the top 10 profitable technologies in energy recycling.

At the closing ceremony, 62 delegations and 34 delegations received excellent organization awards and excellent participation awards. A total of 96 products were honored with an excellent product award while 17 projects were granted the high-tech achievement transformation award. Delegations from Germany, America, France, Italy, Russia, along with eight other foreign countries, and Hong Kong and Macao were granted excellent organization awards.

Although the fair is over, the CHTF Web site will continue to provide service for investors and researchers, making it an evergreen trading platform.

The Seventh China Hi-Tech Fair will go abroad next April to Vienna, Austria. The CHTF organizing committee has already reached an agreement of intent with Austria to hold an Austrian edition of the seventh fair to be held from Oct. 12 to 17 next year. In addition, the organizing committee plans to stage a branch of the CHTF in Silicon Valley in the United States.

Editor: Donald