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Those who took part in last year's China International Import Expo couldn't help but be wowed by some of the high-tech products on display.
Among them, a flying car, a large gantry milling machine, a coin-sized pacemaker and a robot that played pingpong with humans.
But not happy to rest on last year's success, organizers say this November's event in Shanghai will be on an even larger scale, showcasing more innovation, and displaying even more unique and high-level products.
More than 18-hundred companies from close to 80 different countries and regions have already signed up for this year's Expo.
As such, Expo Bureau vice-Director Sun Chenghai says organizers have decided to make more room available.
"The scale is larger than that of the previous one, because the CIIE has drawn attention of the world. Last year, we planned an exhibition area of 210,000 square meters but we expanded it to 270,000 square meters later due to more enthusiasm and demand than was first anticipated. This year, people also have great expectations for the CIIE, so we plan to increase the company pavillion area from 270,000 to 300,000 square meters."
Sun Chenghai says the expanded CIIE is going to move beyond the walls of the National Exhibition and Convention Center.
"We've also established outdoor exhibition zones this time. Last last year they were all indoor exhibits. The outdoor zones are going to showcase large mechanical equipment, as well as vehicles. We are also adding indoor exhibition zones for high-end consumer products. These are just some of the highlights for this year's CIIE."
Organizers say AR and VR technology, the Internet of Things and blockchain technology will be more prevalent this year.
Deloitte is planning to use both augmented and virtual reality to showcase its solutions for smart cities, smart healthcare and smart manufacturing.
German home appliance maker Vorwerk is also headed back to Shanghai in November.
The company was a stand-out at last year's Expo, with three of its smart home appliances gaining celebrity-like status in China.
Beyond high-tech products, other, more low-tech oriented companies are also hoping to make a splash in Shanghai.
They include French cosmetics giant L'Oreal.
Already eyeing a major expansion into the Chinese market, L'Oreal is suggesting the success of last year's Expo, combined with the new business and foreign-friendly policy changes being rolled out by the Chinese government, made attendance in Shanghai this November a no-brainer.
This year's Expo is also going to feature more sideline events, including seminars and other non-commercial activities.
Among them, French yeast maker Lesaffre is going to use the Expo to stage the Asian leg of its World Bakery Cup competition.
CIIE organizers say stronger on-line and off-line promotional campaigns this year should help convince more companies - be they small, medium or multi-national, to book a spot in Shanghai this November.
Over 36-hundred companies took part in last year's CIIE, signing nearly 58-billion US dollars worth of business deals.
In a bid to surpass those totals this year, expo organizers say a more streamlined application and customs-clearance process should also make it easier for companies to get their products in-country, then on display in Shanghai.
For CRI, I'm Zhou Fang.
