UIA is delighted to welcome its newest Associate Member: the National Convention and Exhibition Center (NCEC) in Tianjin, China.

The National Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin represents a momentous project which has been co-developed by the Ministry of Commerce and the Tianjin Municipal People's Government. In addition to Shanghai and Guangzhou, Tianjin is now the third city in China where an exhibition center of international importance will be built. With a total square area of 1.34 million square meters, dedicated indoor exhibition floor space of 400,000 square meters, and an outdoor exhibition floor space of 158,000 square meters, the NCEC in Tianjin represents one of the world's largest exhibition centers.

The site is located at Tianjin Avenue, the main traffic artery which links Tianjin's historic center with the Binhai Development Area at the coast of the Yellow Sea. To the north, the site borders the river Haihe which is instrumental in shaping the character of the city. The exhibition ground's central access avenue runs between these two poles and thus generates a spatial connection between the traffic artery and the waterway.

The entire exhibition floor space is located on one level. The central access avenue is elevated 9 meters above the exhibition and road level. Access to the exhibition halls and the congress center is from here. The exhibition halls, which are arranged in a linear layout with a floor space of 12,500 square meters each, can be used separately or combined with an adjoining hall to provide a total of 25,000 square meters of space. The shed-type roof structure of the halls allows the ingress of daylight. With a display of gardens, open air areas and restaurants, the circulation areas provide a convivial atmosphere.