China's exhibition industry saw rapid expansion in 2021 against the backdrop of severe challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to offline exhibitions across the world, a recent report shows.

According to incomplete statistics, a total of 2,949 economic and trade exhibitions were held in China last year, jumping 48.6 percent year on year, as the resilience and vitality of the domestic exhibition industry began to increase, says a report from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

The exhibitions covered a total exhibition area of 92.99 million square meters in 2021, rising 27.2 percent from the previous year, the report says.

East China took the lead in terms of both exhibition quantity and area. Shanghai Municipality and Guangdong Province remained the top two localities in terms of the number and area of exhibitions held, with their respective exhibition areas exceeding 15 million square meters.

The report also says digital exhibitions have become an important complement to offline exhibitions amid the pandemic. As the shift from offline to digital exhibitions is accelerating, many Chinese exhibitions combined both online and offline modes to help Chinese and overseas companies better expand international trade channels.