The 16th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) is set to open on Nov 16 in South China's Shenzhen city and will take place online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preparations for the fair have been completed and exhibitors are debugging the online exhibition system. During the five-day event, over 3,200 enterprises from 30 countries and regions will display over 21,000 exhibits, a 40.3 percent increase compared to the previous fair. The ICIF usually takes place in May but this year it was postponed to November due to the pandemic.

"We hope to have better promotional effects through this year's virtual exhibitions, and at the same time build connections with more upstream and downstream enterprises in the national supply chain," said Wei Suying, chairperson of Shenzhen Oriental Secret Cultural Industries Co Ltd.

"As a State-level comprehensive international cultural industry fair supported by the state, ICIF has been successfully held for 15 years," said Wu Yihuan, vice-mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, at a press conference.

The virtual fair will involve an online opening ceremony, online exhibitions, online trade, and online contract signing with the support of 5G, virtual reality (VR), cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

The ICIF will run from November 16 to 20 this year.