In September 2016, the logo of the G20 Hangzhou Summit spread throughout the world. Twenty blue-green lines outline the shape of an arched bridge, with the arch and its reflection forming a perfect circle.

Designer Yuan Youmin said that the bridge has no prototype—it does not refer to any specific bridge, but is a "spiritual bridge" that represents openness, inclusiveness and mutual understanding between countries.

The actual landing point of that bridge is the Hangzhou International Expo Center on the south bank of the Qiantang River.

Looking back ten years later, this venue itself has become a constantly growing and connecting "bridge," connecting the world and China, connecting the Olympic venues and crowds, and now connecting its past and future.

"A Bridge of Spirituality"

It took Hangzhou Museum a full ten years to transform from an "isolated island" into a vibrant archipelago-like space.

In 2016, when Tang Xue was appointed general manager of the Hangzhou International Expo Center, the venue was still undergoing final cleaning and finishing touches. Within a week of taking office, the number of visitors exceeded 200,000—people just wanted to see "what a place where the G20 summit was held looks like."

But Tang Xue knew in her heart that simply relying on "checking in" couldn't support an 850,000-square-meter venue. In 2018, she put forward a very novel idea at the time: the venue could not just be a "landlord," but should become a "city operator," upgrading from a convention and exhibition service provider that provides functional services to an urban lifestyle platform that integrates diverse fashion trends.

At the time, many people didn't understand this argument. Isn't a convention center just a place for holding meetings and exhibitions? What else could it be?

Tang Xue explained at an industry forum that she divides the development of the Hangzhou Museum into three stages: 2017 to 2019 was the period of revenue and profit, 2022 to 2023 was the period of Asian Games support. The real leap will occur in 2026, with the completion and commissioning of the second phase of the Hangzhou Museum, which will truly realize the leap from a single venue to a vibrant urban landmark that integrates multiple functions, including exhibitions, competitions, performances, culture and sports.

The numbers speak for themselves. Over the past decade, Hangzhou Museum has hosted more than 11,100 conferences and events, and over 520 exhibitions, including 54 high-profile international conferences such as World Environment Day and the UN World Data Forum. In 2026, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) released the "2025 ICCA Country and Region Ranking Analysis Report," ranking Hangzhou 98th globally, 20th in the Asia-Pacific region, 3rd in mainland China, and 1st among sub-provincial cities in China, with 27 international conferences. This ranking reflects not only the increased international influence of Hangzhou but also the strong capacity of the city's professional venues. As a preferred venue for international conferences, Hangzhou Museum will host three ICCA-certified conferences in 2025: the IEEE Evolutionary Computation Conference, the 5th Biosphere Reserve Conference, and the 2025 IROS International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

But Tang Xue is more concerned about another set of data: young people under the age of 35 account for 70% of the population of Qianjiang Century City. She said that if a venue cannot make young people feel "this is my place", it is just a beautiful building.

The iconic bridge designed by Yuan Youmin is a global symbol; the Hangzhou Museum, built by Tang Xue's team over ten years, is a living, breathing structure. It supports not only the evolution of exhibition functions, but also the urban spirit of Hangzhou as it moves from the "West Lake Era" to the "Qiantang River Era," and from a "tourist city" to an "international event city."

"A Bridge Without Boundaries"

For many, the summer of 2024 might have been just an ordinary summer day—hot, humid, with occasional showers. But looking back from the perspective of the Hangzhou Museum's ten-year history, that year was definitely a year of "crossing mountains and seas."

The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Bridge No. 3 (hereinafter referred to as "Bridge No. 3"), which connects the Olympic venues, has been officially opened to traffic.

Transforming from a functional passageway into a public space, this bridge took only one summer. Before that, people hurried across it, rushing from one venue to another. That same year also saw the complete opening of elevated walkways such as Bridge No. 3 connecting the Olympic Sports Center venues, and the removal of walls from the Olympic Sports AT Center, opening its space to the public.

After Bridge No. 3 was completed, the bridge market opened as scheduled on the evening of August 3rd. More than 80 stalls lined up, selling handmade products, coffee, and vinyl records. Young people took selfies in the sunset with their drinks in hand, the elderly leaned against the railings to look at the river view, and children chased bubbles on the bridge.

From "walls" to "borderless," from "inside the venue" to "on the bridge," this bridge opens up not only a physical space, but also a whole set of solutions to the question of "how venues can become part of urban public life." "Bridge Market," "Under the Bridge Water Sports Club," "Garden Concert," "Bridge New Year's Market"... to date, the "Bridge" IP activities have attracted millions of participants. On the night CCTV's "News Broadcast" reported on it, someone wrote on their WeChat Moments: "The Olympic Sports Center is finally no longer just a backdrop."

Jiang Shenglan, a member of the Hangzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was not surprised by this "phenomenon." He has studied Hangzhou's convention and exhibition industry for many years and participated in writing a development report on the industry. In his view, "Conventions and exhibitions should be closely related to people's lives; this is a question that those in the convention and exhibition industry need to consider."

He examines the century-long evolution of Hangzhou's convention and exhibition industry within the macro context of urban development: In 1929, the first West Lake Expo opened, "From the perspective of us in the convention and exhibition industry, it was already a comprehensive project integrating exhibitions, conferences, competitions, and performances." In 2000, the West Lake Expo was restarted, becoming a significant declaration of Hangzhou's transition from the "West Lake Era" to the "Qiantang River Era." The 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit truly made Hangzhou's name known to the world. Conventions and exhibitions have always been an important witness to Hangzhou's urban development.

Clearly, Hangzhou Museum's practice over the past decade has precisely answered the question of "exhibitions and conventions being closely related to people's lives." Through the deep integration of "competitions, performances, exhibitions, commerce, and tourism," exhibition activities have been truly integrated into daily life. New terms, new spaces, and new scenarios have emerged one after another, such as "Tide-themed Illusion," "Vertical Run," "World Cup Consumption Season," "Hangzhou Museum No. 7 Open-Air Cinema," and "International Fencing Competitions." Hangzhou Museum is no longer a "traditional exhibition hall," but a "creative showcase" that constantly generates new things. This is precisely the value of "content is king."

As one industry media outlet commented, "Borderless" refers not only to the space itself, but also to the mindset of the operators. Through the planning of IPs such as "On the Bridge," Hangzhou Museum has successfully transformed the "gray space" of the Olympic Sports Center into a generator of urban public life.

"A Bridge to the Future"

In May 2026, the second phase of the Hangzhou Museum officially opened. A double-layered sky bridge connects the old and new venues from the first to the second phase. Below, vehicles travel between the two banks of the Qiantang River; to the left is the first-phase venue, carrying memories of the G20 summit; to the right is the brand-new second-phase exhibition hall, resembling a giant white box, quietly awaiting dozens of upcoming major exhibitions. The second phase has a total construction area of 460,000 square meters, a total investment of nearly 8 billion yuan, and a net exhibition area of 150,000 square meters. Most impressively, the first-floor 10,000-square-meter column-free, full-height exhibition hall boasts a maximum clear height of 26 meters and a maximum single span of 84 meters.

The first major exhibition after the second phase of construction was put into operation was the 36th China (Hangzhou) International Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Expo. Nine halls operated simultaneously, with an exhibition area of over 100,000 square meters and more than 3,000 exhibitors. Two years ago, such a scale would have been unimaginable.

More noteworthy than the expansion of buildings is the breakthrough in systems and mechanisms. In December 2025, the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Exhibition and Tourism Group was officially established. Zhang Wenbo, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Qianjiang Century City, defined it as a "strategic move," "a key step to meet the needs of the times, break through development bottlenecks, and enhance the city's capabilities."

It is reported that Hangzhou Olympic Sports Exhibition & Tourism Group, with a holistic approach, coordinates resources across the Qianjiang Century City Olympic Sports District, including exhibitions, events, hotels, cultural tourism, and commerce, establishing a strategic positioning as an "integrated ecosystem operator for sports, performances, exhibitions, commerce, and tourism." Exhibitions serve as a traffic entry point, cultural tourism as a content carrier, and hotels as a service hub. These three elements mutually empower each other, constructing a closed-loop ecosystem of "traffic import—content extension—consumption fulfillment." In July 2026, the group further established four specialized business divisions: hotels, cultural tourism, property management, and venues, completely breaking down the old barriers of fragmented venue management and services. This integrated operation model for the Olympic Sports District has taken root in this CBD.

From the perspective of Qianjiang Century City, the solution to this "bridge" is more worthy of in-depth study than the architecture itself. As the core area hosting both the G20 Summit and the Hangzhou Asian Games, Qianjiang Century City regards the event economy as one of its core economic forms, and has launched an action plan for high-quality development of the performing arts and event industry. It plans to attract and cultivate more than 100 leading projects in the performing arts industry within five years, and strive to form a first-class performing arts industry ecosystem in China by 2029.

Let's return to that "bridge." Dismantling walls, organizing events, and building an ecosystem—ultimately, it all boils down to one thing: truly revitalizing Hangzhou's top-tier event resources. Any "dilemmas" are resolved and even "grown" through these bridging connections. Clearly, the meaning of this "bridge" extends far beyond physical connections, encompassing institutional and industrial connections. People, spaces, and systems are finally linked together by the same "bridge." It connects not only the past and the future, but also the city's entire ambition to "transform event traffic into sustainable development."

In the next decade, the "bridge" will continue to extend, and the narrative of the "bridge" will continue to "grow".

(Source: China.com, Author: Feng Yi)

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