A livestreaming promotion is held during the Shanxi (Yuncheng) International Fruit Trade Expo. [Photo by Li Ningbo for China Daily]

The seventh Shanxi (Yuncheng) International Fruit Trade Expo that concluded in Yuncheng, North China's Shanxi province, on Oct 30, proved to be a huge success with record-breaking numbers.

The eight-day event, beginning on Oct 23, saw the participation of more than 870 enterprises, which showcased more than 100 types of branded fruits and agricultural products at the main venue in the city of Yuncheng, as well as at two subvenues in Linyi and Wanrong counties.

The event consisted of 20 activities, including livestreaming sessions with internet celebrities and well-known e-commerce influencers. Agreements on a total of 79 projects were signed, amounting to a total contract value of 6.9 billion yuan ($943.19 million).

The exhibitions and diverse activities attracted large crowds, with about 280,000 visitors coming to the event to buy products, identify cooperative partners and make deals.

Yuncheng, the host city of the event, is the leading fruit-growing city in Shanxi province. Local statistics show its annual output of various fruits is about 6 million metric tons and the annual revenue from this sector is about 23 billion yuan.

Since 2016, the city has held seven sessions of the expo. With a growing level of professionalism, the event has become an important platform for the local fruit industry to gain increasing influence in the country and in the world.

This session of the Yuncheng fruit expo attracted the participation of business representatives, trade associations and diplomats from 11 countries from South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.

Yuncheng's businesses in the fruit industry and other farming sectors viewed this event as a prime venue to showcase their products, equipment, technologies and techniques to the professional visitors and industry insiders from across the country and throughout the world.

Local exhibitors have displayed more than 300 varieties of fruits, vegetables and agricultural products at the expo. The exhibits, under the geographical indication-marked labels of "Yuncheng Apple", "Yuncheng Flour" and "Yuncheng Vegetable", were especially popular among visitors.

Food and beverages made from Yuncheng's fruits and other farm produce also attracted the attention of many buyers and dealers.

On Oct 28, Yuan Ciyan, a businessman from East China's Zhejiang province, stopped at the booth of a fruit wine producer based in Yuncheng's Jiangxi county.

"Our market research shows that fruit wines made from fruits like cherry and hawthorn have great potential in the market," Yuan said after tasting some of the wines at the booth. "We are here to seek potential suppliers as we know that Yuncheng has a mature industry in fruit processing and beverage production."

For local fruit growers, the expo was also a great opportunity to learn about the latest operational models, market trends and production technologies.

A fruit industry development center in the county of Pinglu, for instance, arranged a research tour of the expo for nearly 200 fruit growers.

"Our planned scale for the tour was about 100 people, but it kept growing as more people applied," said Li Shoufeng, an official at the center.

He said the aim of the tour was to help farmers get access to the latest technologies, introduce high-quality fruit seedlings and learn about the latest operational models like e-commerce and livestreaming sales.

Li Ningbo contributed to this story.