This year's Boao Forum for Asia, or BFA, will get underway tomorrow and run until the 25th March. Our reporter is already at Boao. She found out how the preparation work is going, and what's new at this year's event.
If you paid attention to the Boao Forum for Asia in the past years, you must be familiar with this setting, the signature fountain and the main conference area. The BFA had its inauguration in 2001, and since 2002, it has been holding its annual conference here. Although it will be the 15th one this year, it will still bring us fresh food for thought.
This is the largest meeting room for the forum this year. Staff are still busy with final preparation work. On 24th, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will make a key note speech on this stage. There are other smaller meeting rooms in the building. This year, the BAF will hold about 80 sessions. They will cover a wide range of issues, including macroeconomics, internet plus, and entrepreneurship.
As the BFA grows bigger, it has drawn more attention from media. Journalists used to gather inside the main conference area, but this time, a new media center will be up and running.This two-floor media center is 3,800 square meters and can accommodate 2,500 journalists.
The media center is separated in areas with different functions. This part is for the press, and on the other side, there are studios and rooms for interviews. It's empty today, but tomorrow, it will be packed with busy-running journalists.