Li Hao
ALONG with the world s captains of industry, residents swarmed to the 12th China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) over the weekend to feast their eyes on the state-of-the-art products on display at the six-day event, which closed yesterday.
Science and technology fans, students and seniors alike surrounded each exhibition booth, recording goings-on with their cameras and phones.
For 41-year-old Zhang Weihua, the fair has become an annual chance to give his 11-year-old son a science and technology lesson.
The fair gathers many advanced technologies and products which children cannot see at school. Their imagination and creativity can be enhanced through visiting the fair, said Zhang, who takes his son to the fair every year.
It s amazing to touch the robots capable of free conversation with human beings. I had only seen them in science fiction films before, said Zhang s son, Zhang Wenyu.
There were 73 different robots on display at this year s fair the widest variety of robots seen since the CHTF was first held in 1999.
The father and son arrived at the fair early yesterday morning to enjoy a journey of discovery.
Li Bojun, 28, a self-professed high-tech fan, was more interested by a system that enables drivers to start a car using only their fingerprints.
It s cool and safe. Although it s only for military use now, I m sure it will not take long for its application in civilian use, Li said, using a digital video camera to record the system and upload it to his blog.
I d like to share my findings with my friends online who are also tech fans, he said. Li s blog is like a mini hi-tech fair, gathering the latest scientific and technological inventions.
However, Li remarked that as a representation of the latest technological trends the fair should create a virtual 3-D version of all the exhibition halls on the Internet, so even people who could not visit the fair in person could have a look around.
In addition, the fair organizers should consider enlarging the exhibition area next year so that more enterprises can display their products in an all-round way, he added.
