Backgrounder: Main Convention Venue of APEC MRT MeetingThe 2001 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) opened Wednesday morning at the Shanghai International Convention Center, the main venue of the meeting.Located at the riverside of Huangpu River and facing the Bund, the Shanghai International Convention Center, a typical product that integrated the oriental and western architectural styles, was selected as one of the top ten elite buildings in the city over the past half century. The center is itself a five-star hotel, named Oriental Riverside Hotel, with 260 rooms and suites. It is equipped with various advanced conference facilities. The grand banquet hall, covering over 4,400 square meters, is said to be the largest banquet hall in Asia currently. The hall may entertain 3,000 people and admit 4,000 people for a meeting. The treats of 99' Fortune Forum were also held in the banquet hall in 1999. The international hall of the convention center may hold 800 persons and provide simultaneous interpretation service in 10 languages. Twenty-four meeting rooms of different size in the center, are equipped with state-of-the-art audio and video facilities. |
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