January
January in China is the most important holiday time when the focus is on the celebration of the traditional Spring Festival. That reduces the number of major events taking place. Temple fairs will be the major events of the month in Beijing. Details will be featured in our listings pages in coming weeks. |
February
The Chinese edition of Forbes will present a celebrity list of the most important figures whose influence has been recognized in the fields of entertainment, sport, culture and the media.
China's national men's soccer squad will embark on its 10-month-long competition in the Asian region for a place in the World Cup 2006. China is placed with Hong Kong, Malaysia and Kowait in Group 4. |
March
The Chinese Olympic Football Team meanwhile will begin Asian preliminary contests against South Korea on March 3 for a place at this year's Olympics in Athens.
The Xiamen International Marathon will be held in Xiamen in Guangdong Province on March 27. And the construction of Shanghai's F1 Circuit will be completed by the end of the month. |
April
April will see Beijing focus on fashion. Chic Beijing will be held from March 30 to April 7 and Style Hong Kong, featuring fashion from Hong Kong, will be held from March 31 to April 3 in Beijing.
The FIM Endurance World Championship, one of FIM's three major motorcycle competitions, will be held for the first time in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province from April 30 to May 2 to test the physical capabilities of riders in six-hour non-stop riding on the circuit. |
May
The annual high-tech exchange fair, the China Beijing International High-tech Expo (CHITEC), will enter its seventh year from 22 to 26 in Beijing. And the China Super League, which is set up as an equivalent to the English Premier League, will replace Chinese Football League Group A this month. |
June
Auto China 2004, the most popular car show in China, will be held in Beijing International Exhibition Centre from 9 to 16. Entering its eighth year, the auto exposition has grown into the biggest and most influential one attended by car makers and enthusiasts.
The Olympic torch lit in Greece for the Athens Olympics will arrive in Beijing on June 8 after a relay tour in 174 cities in 27 countries since March 25. |
July
Football fever will start to rage from this month when the competitions for the Asian Cup China 2004 begin on the 17th. It will be the first time China has hosted the Asian Cup since it staged it in 1956 as a member of the Asian Football Association (AFC). The 13th Asian Cup will be held in Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu and Jinan from July 17 to August 7 with host China, defending champions Japan and another 14 teams representing the highest level of Asian football competing for regional supremacy. |
August
The Asian Education Beijing Forum will be held from 22 to 26 in the capital. Organized by Boao Asian Forum, UNESCO and China Scholarship Council, the event aims to promote educational exchanges within the region to produce more educated talents to help Asia ensure sustainable economic development in the future. |
September
China Open, the first world-ranking tennis tournament sanctioned by the Association of Tennis Professionals, will be staged from 13 to 19 in Beijing. Heineken Open Shanghai and Polo Cup, two major tennis tournaments will also be held in Shanghai.
Meanwhile, the long-anticipated Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai is scheduled to take place at Asia's largest circuit on 26. |
October
The National Grand Theatre being built west of the Great Hall of the People is expected to be completed in October.
NBA teams will play two pre-season matches in Beijing and Shanghai after a one-year postponement of the original plan.
Beijing Music Festival will start as usual in the latter part of the month and run until the end of November. Beijing International Cultural Tourism Festival is also scheduled in October.
The acclaimed Beijing International Marathon will also be held in Beijing on the 17th. |
November
Air Show China, China's largest and highest-level aviation event , will be held from November 1 to 7 in Zhuhai of Guangdong Province. It will be the fifth year for the robustly-growing air show which is becoming an internationally acknowledged event.
China Fashion Week will hit the catwalk in Beijing this month, previewing the latest fashion trends for next spring and summer. |
December
China will conduct its first ever overall economic survey on December 31, 2004.
The targeted survey includes all the legal person corporation businesses, industrial activity establishments and individual private businesses within China's territory. It will be held every five years from then on. |
