The Shanghai International IT & Electronics Fair (SIIEF) opened on March 18 with great fanfare during a grand opening ceremony and finished off with a cheerful exhibitor evening at the Hofbräuhaus in Shanghai's Pudong's district.
The gates had not yet opened on Tuesday morning, however, thousands of Chinese were already waiting at the entrance area of the trade show grounds to be allowed in. When it was time, they swarmed directly past the opening ceremony that began at 8:30 a.m. with the festive rhythms of Chinese march music at which time the representatives of the four trade shows, combined under the umbrella of SIIEF arrived, among them Klaus Dittrich, CEO of Messe München International, and Hartmut Schauerte, Parliamentary State Secretary for the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology. The representatives stood next to one another on stage and - amidst the thunderous applause from the invited guests and visitors as well as showers of confetti - received buttonholes from charming, festively dressed women. There followed speeches from Xu Lin, Executive Member of Shanghai Party & Party Secretary of Pudong Authority, as well as Hartmut Schauerte, Parliamentary State Secretary for the Federal Minister for Economics and Technology. In his speech, Schauerte emphasized that the LASER World of PHOTONICS China was launched for the first time two years previously in Shanghai and is already the most important industry trade show for the international photonics industry in China.

A very different kind of get-together was then held at 7:00 in the evening at the Bavarian Höfbräuhaus in Shanghai. Besides the German and Chinese exhibitors from LASER World of Photonics China and electronica & Productronica China the participating official partners were also invited, who got an in-depth look at Bavarian customs and traditions while enjoying Leberkaese (type of Bavarian meatloaf), bratwurst, and sauerkraut, Bavarian beer as well as the music of a Bavarian Band based in Shanghai. The evening was introduced with a few brief welcoming words from the State Secretary Schauerte and Mr. Dittrich. And, as always the custom in China, once the food is gone, everyone goes home. So the evening of German-Chinese friendship ended around 8:45 p.m.