Taipei World Trade Center

Infobox Modern building

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caption = Aerial bridge that connects Taipei World Trade Center and Taipei 101 Shopping Mall
name = Taipei World Trade Center
location_town = Xinyi District, Taipei City
location_country = ROC-TW
architect = Haigo T. H. Shen
client = Taiwan External Trade Development Council
construction_start_date= October 16, 1982
completion_date = December, 1985

Taipei World Trade Center, TWTC, was started in January, 1986 by Taiwan's foremost trade promotion organization, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), to provide a single, modern venue that would combine exhibition space, conference facilities, offices, and hotel accommodation for international business. TWTC combines every possible service that brings together a vast consulting service on trade-related issues, trading partners, suppliers, and markets.

This four-in-one complex, located in the city's Xinyi District, is designed to accommodate the needs of the international business community, which is why there is not just one, but four structures at the TWTC. The Exhibition Hall, International Convention Center, International Trade Building and Grand Hyatt Taipei, all comprise one integrated business complex.

Establishment

The current Taipei World Trade Center only saw completion in 1985 following many drawbacks in construction and development. However, the history of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) began on July 1, 1970. Where in an effort by the Republic of China Government to further develop international trade activities following accelerated economic growth in the 1970s.

Initially, TAITRA did not have a specialized exhibition hall to accommodate the exhibitions of export goods. As a result of the lack of facilities, in March, 1974 the Taipei Grand Hotel was chosen for the first ever Taipei Trade Shows - "Taiwan Export Clothings Exhibition". Subsequently, the necessity of a new exhibition hall allowed for the establishment of the TAITRA exhibition hall set up at Taipei Songshan Airport. Yet shortly afterwards due to Taiwan's rapid economic growth as one of the Four Asian Tigers, TAITRA again found itself having to facilitate even larger scale exhibitions.

On December 31, 1985 the Taipei World Trade Center had its inaugural exhibition for IT Month, which coincided with the opening of the Exhibition Hall. Following suit, the International Tourist Hotel (completed in1987, renamed the Grand Hyatt Taipei), the International Trade Building (completed in 1988) and International Convention Center (completed in 1989, now as TICC) were opened for use. Hence from January 8, 1990 the Taipei World Trade Center exists in its present form as an all-purpose four-in-one complex.

Main Buildings

Exhibition Building (Hall 1)

Exhibition Hall

*1st floor: Usually referred to as "Exhibition Hall 1". Showroom floor area is 23450 square metres, accommodates 1304 display booths, and is divided into 4 quadrants (A, B, C, D). Popularly, Taipei Trade Shows and other larger exhibitions are held here.
*2nd floor: Also known as "Area H", has a aerial bridge that connects to Taipei 101, floor area of 4789 square meters, accommodates 250 standard sized exhibition booths. Exhibitions in this area typically range from small to mid-sized local expositions or education related expositions.

Convention Room

Located on the 2nd floor, divided into 3 rooms, mainly functions as meeting or board room for exhibition organizers, additionally, the 3rd and 4th rooms can be connected accordingly to accommodate varying delegations.

TAITRA Book Store

Open for business during weekdays, or on holidays when there is and exhibition. Book collection is mainly compromised of sales trading related items. When Taipei Trade Shows are going on at the time, it also provides exhibitor directory lists.

Trade Market (Sales Display)

Catering to different needs, the 2nd to 6th floors are set as an "Export Market", with the 7th floor as the "Import Market". First opened in June 1985 for product export companies to register for sales. There are currently 1052 displays.

Exhibition Hall 3

Start to use from 2003 September 18, showground area is 7481 square meter, able to accommodate 365 display booths, and floors above 2nd floor are planned into parking area. During large exhibition periods, the parking rate will adjust accordingly.

Important Exhibitions

:Note: Exhibitions are listed below according to the holding time for some of the more important annual exhibitions. For more information, please refer to the timetable provided by Taipei World Trade Center or the exhibition organizer respectively.
*Taipei International Book Exhibition ( [http://www.tibe.org.tw/] )
*COMPUTEX ( [http://www.computextaipei.com.tw/] )
*Taipei Computer Application Show ( [http://www.tica.tw/] )
*IT Month ( [http://www.itmonth.org.tw/] )
*Taipei International Travel Fair ( [http://www.taipeiitf.org.tw/] )
*TAITRA Taipei Trade Shows( [http://www.taipeitradeshows.com.tw/] )

External links

* [http://www.computextaipei.com.tw/ Official COMPUTEX website] - TAITRA
* [http://www.taipeitradeshows.com.tw/ Taipei Trade Shows]
* [http://www.taitra.org.tw/ TAITRA]
* [http://www.taiwantrade.com.tw/ TAIWANTRADE]
* [http://www.twtc.org.tw/ Taipei World Trade Center]
* [http://www.twtcmart.com.tw/ Taipei World Trade Center Export and Import Mart]
*Grand Hyatt Taipei