Each year, many of my International Trade students volunteer to work at the SE Asia Trade Fair held here in Kunming. I always like to go and visit them, asking questions about their business to see what they are learning. 
There were hundreds of officers on-site this year for crowd control. They aggressively enforced a relatively new rule in this culture — waiting in line:
Once inside, a huge display of roses greeted visitors (flowers are big business in Kunming):
The most notable thing about the Expo this year was the density of the crowd:
Before I came to China, I would get nervous standing in a crowded place. Perhaps it helps when you are a head taller than most people, but I am thankful that crowds don’t seem to bother me any more. When there was a little open space, visitors relished the opportunity to move a few steps on their own:
Unfortunately, the crowd was so massive that I wasn’t able to find any of my students in the multiple venues. As I walked around, I saw the usual jewelry displays from Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia:
I was interested to find a bicycle built in Shanghai using metal, wood, and leather:
Speaking of wood, there were machine tools for mass production of potentially “hand carved” wooden items:
Locally built truck engines:
and solar panels (just in case you happen to be following the EU trade dispute):
There are also many cities seeking new business partners. I’m really excited about going to Macao, which seems to be popular with mice:
Business was really brisk, and many customers were carrying big items out of the gates. When the items got big enough, some folks had to use their heads:
Here’s a long photo to bring this lengthy, crowded blog to an end:
Wow — that is pretty neat. Makes me feel more optimistic about the Chinese economy than the recent statistics would suggest. With that many people engaged in productive / innovative activity, the possibilities are exciting.