Each year, Guangzhou becomes the focal point of international trade through the China Import and Export Fair, famously known as the Canton Fair. The 135th session of Canton Fair officially opened its doors on April 15, 2024. This mega event serves as a vital platform for both established and emerging markets, promoting a diverse range of products from basic raw materials to advanced electronics and machinery. Strategic Importance and Government Support Zhou Shanqing, Director General of the Canton Fair Press Center and Deputy Director General of China Foreign Trade Center, detailed the extensive preparations that underscore the significance the Chinese government places on this event. Praised by Chinese President Xi Jinping through congratulatory letters and emphasized in the 2024 Government Work Report, the Canton Fair is crucial for stabilizing and expanding foreign trade. It serves as a strategic node for showcasing China's commitment to open economic policies and supporting global cooperation.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday (January 21, 2024) inaugurated the month-long Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) at Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre (BBCFEC) at Purbachal. Five foreign countries -- Turkey, India, Pakistan, Singapore and Iran -- alongside local companies are taking part in the 28th edition of the fair where exhibitors will showcase products. Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is also participating in it. The Prime Minister also declared Handicrafts Products as the product of the year for 2024. State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Mahbubul Alam and vice-chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) AHM Ahsan were also present on dais. Read: 4 Bangladeshi businesses participate in Mandalay International Trade Fair The fair will continue from January 21 to February 20. The Ministry of Commerce and the EPB have been organising trade fairs since 1995. The DITF usually commences on 1 January each year. However, the EPB postponed the fair due to the 12th national elections held on January 7. The trade fair will run from 10 am to 9 pm daily and to 10 pm on weekends. The entry fee is Tk 50 for adults and Tk 25 for children. Freedom fighters and the physically challenged people need no fee. BRTC buses have been arranged from Farmgate and Kuril Biswa Road to the fair premises for the convenience of general visitors. Read: BGMEA, Oxfam discuss ways to collaborate with buyers to make trade fairer A total of 330 stalls have been allotted along with 23 pavilions and 27 mini pavilions. There will also be 15 food stalls of different categories which can accommodate up to 500 people. There are also a prayer room, children's playground, media corner, office rooms, medical rooms, guest-rooms for officials, and stores. The parking area can provide facilities for 500 vehicles. Read more: Month-long trade fair in Chattogram kicks off today

The month-long 30th Chattogram International Trade Fair (CITF) kicks off today at the Railway Pologround. Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud will inaugurate the trade fair at 3 pm. The fair, being hosted by Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industries, will remain open to visitors from 10 am to 10 pm every day. Like every year, India, Thailand, Iran and other countries will showcase their products at the fair. There will be 20 premier pavilions, 56 premier stalls, 94 gold stalls, 48 mega stalls and 11 food stalls at the fair while 300 organizations will showcase their products at 400 stalls in three separate zones. Also read: Prime Minister opens month long DITF-2023 Law enforcement agencies will perform their duties in three shifts to ensure security at the fair premises. Besides, the trade fair has an open plaza on 12,320 square feet. Visitors have to pay Tk 20 for entering the fair but students — from playgroup to class 7 — can attend for free.  

A daylong bird fair will be held at Jahangirnagar University (JU) on Friday, aiming to create mass awareness about wildlife conservation and preserving birds.The Zoology Department in association with WildLife Rescue Centre, Bangladesh Bird Club, Aronnyok Foundation, Prokriti O Jibon Foundation, Bangladesh Zoological Society and International Union for Conservation of Nature will organise the fair, said a press release.JU vice-chancellor professor Nurul Alam will inaugurate the programme in the morning on Zahir Raihan auditorium premises of the university. Read more: 6th convocation of Jahangirnagar University on February 25Convener of the fair professor Md Kamrul Hasan said, ‘We are expecting a successful fair as the previous years. Moreover, the fair will bring more hype this year as we could not organise the fair last two years due to the Covid pandemic.’The daylong fair will include an inaugural session, competition of bird identification through audio and video, debate on environment and bird painting competition for children, award giving session and others.Besides, a total of 7 bird conservationists will be awarded under three categories - Big Bird Bangladesh Award, Conservation Media Award and Scientific Publication Award.

The Bangla language has always been at the forefront of our national identity. Amar Ekushey Boi Mela (Book Fair) is a significant part of Bangladesh’s history, culture and literature. Every year, the book fair is held in the month of February. It is the biggest book fair in the country where publishers display and sell printed books under diverse categories. This fair offers great opportunities for the readers to meet their favourite writers, poets, novelists, and publishers face-to-face. Besides serving as a platform to encourage readers to read and buy books, the Boi Mela also works as a monthlong cultural hub – showcasing the diversity of Bangladesh. Let’s look into the history of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela. CHITTARANJAN SAHA: STARTING BOI MELA FROM A MAT AT BANGLA ACADEMY PREMISES   Chittaranjan Saha was born in the Noakhali district in 1927. His publishing house Punthighar Prokashoni, located at Banglabazar in Dhaka, was burnt down in 1971. Chittaranjan Saha left Dhaka after March 26. He took shelter in Agartala and then moved to Calcutta (Kolkata) during the Liberation War. During the Liberation War, many prominent writers, artists, and journalists from Bangladesh had to stay in Calcutta as refugees. During that period, Chittaranjan arranged a meeting with some of the most prominent litterateurs residing in Calcutta. They decided to write and publish about the injustice and war in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). Thus, Muktodhara was born. In February, 1972, Chittaranjan Saha laid a mat under the tree in front of the Bangla Academy building and put on display about 32 (33 according to some sources) books as a homage to the Language Movement martyrs of 1952. Though Chittaranjan Saha initiated the Boi Mela from a humble beginning, according to some sources, he was not the first person who started selling books at Bangla Academy premises in February. Ruhul Amin Nizami of Standard Publishers started displaying Russian books. Those books were very popular at that time for their rich content and affordable prices. Read More: Ekushey Book Fair to span entire February again after two years HISTORY BEHIND THE FIRST BOOK FAIR IN BANGLADESH Though Chittaranjan Saha is recognised as the initiator of Ekushey Boi Mela, the root of the book fair goes deeper. The first book fair in then East Pakistan was held in 1965. The initiative was taken by Sardar Jainuddin, who was born in 1918 in Pabna. In 1965, he started displaying some children’s books on the ground floor of the Dhaka University Library. At that time, he was working on a project for UNESCO regarding children’s books. In 1970, Jainuddin organised a book fair in Narayanganj in association with Narayanganj Club. As UNESCO declared 1972 the ‘International Book Year’, in December, Jainuddin took initiative to arrange a book fair inside Bangla Academy. Since then, Bangla Academy got directly involved with book fair events. Read More: Bangabandhu Memorial Museum: Witness to History and Tragedy THE JOURNEY OF EKUSHEY BOI MELA Chittaranjan Saha continued putting books on display and selling them at the Bangla Academy premises for a few more years. In 1976, getting inspired by this idea of selling books, other publishers came together and joined in. Bangla Academy merged with this initiative in 1978. Ashraf Siddiqui was the director general of Bangla Academy at that time, and he had an active role in the association of academy with the book fair. Bangla Academy’s association took Boi Mela to another level. In 1979, a book fair was held at the courtyard of Bangla Academy with the collaboration of ‘Bangladesh Pustok Bikreta O Prokashok Samity’ (founded by Chittaranjan Saha) and the Bangla Academy authority. Read More: Top Sculptures in Dhaka City

A 10 day ‘City IT Mega Fair-2022’ is going to be launched from Thursday at BCS Computer City in IDB Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon area. BCS Computer City (IDB) is organising the fair which they claim is the country’s largest computer and laptop fair with the theme ‘Reach the pinnacle of excellence with the technology’. Starting from December 29 this year the fair will continue till January 7, next year. Read More: Oppo celebrates O'Fans Fest with the theme 'making memories' The organisers made these announcements at a press conference at the BCS Computer City where AL Mozher Imam Chowdhury (Pinu Chowdhury), president of BCS Computer City, its General Secretary Md Mahbubur Rahman and the fair committee’s Convener Md Jahed Ali Bhuiyan among others were present there. Organisers informed that there will be 6 pavilion stalls from the sponsors (Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, and Logitech) at the fair this year. Apart from this sponsor companies, internet provider Stargate Communication Limited, security surveillance brand Seemo, consultancy firm AHZ Associate, and Bangladesh Telephone Shilpa Sangstha’s Doel Laptop will participate in the fair. Read more: Dhaka International Trade Fair kicks off at Purbachal Visitors will have the opportunity to experience a gaming competition offered by MSI, an art competition by XP-pen & a photography competition by Tenda Router. BCS Computer City President AL Mozher said, ‘buyers will get various offers and discounts throughout the market on the occasion of the country’s largest computer and laptop fair. Sponsor organisations will give additional paybacks to the buyers. Organisers will take all measures to make the fair a success’. Convener Jahed Ali said, ‘we are prioritising students' needs. Apart from this, we also arrange attractive events, including a gaming competition, a best PC builder competition, and a raffle draw for buyers and visitors. Read more: ‘Int’l Clean Technology Fair’ kicks off Wednesday

A butterfly fair was held Friday at Jahangirnagar University amid festivity. JU pro-vice chancellor Prof Sheikh Md Munjurul Haque inaugurated the fair in front of Zahir Raihan Auditorium around 10 am. The Zoology department, led by its entomology unit arranged it. With the aim of conservation of butterflies and raising public awareness, various events of the day-long fair included dance, butterfly painting competition for children and teenagers, butterfly photography exhibition, butterfly photography competition, butterfly hut visit, butterfly kite flying, origami competition, barwari debate, butterfly recognition. Competition, butterfly documentary exhibition, prize distribution and closing ceremony were organized. This year, 'Butterfly Award 2022' was given to Tarupallab organization and 'Butterfly Young Enthusiast Award' was given to Deepta Biswas, a student of zoology department of Dhaka University, for special contribution to nature conservation. Read: Promoting local products, 10-day SME fair kicks off tomorrow Meanwhile, on the occasion of the fair, a large crowd of butterfly lovers has been observed in the campus. Butterfly lovers from different parts of the country rushed to the campus to see the butterfly fair. Children are especially excited to see colorful butterflies. Aiman came from Dhaka's Dhanmondi to see the butterfly fair with his father. Ayman, a small child, said it was good to see the red and blue butterflies at the fair. Painting and flying kites feels great. I bought two books on butterflies. In the speech of the chief guest on the occasion, the Pro Vice-Chancellor said, the beauty of butterflies fills our minds. Without butterflies there would be no pollination. So butterflies should be sustained in nature. Environment is our daily companion. If nature is good, people will be good. Everyone should behave responsibly to maintain a healthy environment. The convener of the fair Professor of Zoology Department, Manowar Hossain said, "We have been organizing the butterfly fair for the past one era. When biodiversity is endangered, nature also behaves adversely." Butterflies are a perfect example of how little insects can move us. The number of species is constantly decreasing due to lack of proper environment.  Earlier, four and a half hundred species of butterflies could be observed in Bangladesh. That number has now come down. Earlier, 110 species of butterflies could be observed at Jahangirnagar University. Now this has come down to 52. To protect the butterfly, the environment must be well preserved. Read: Bdjobs Job fair kicks off Thursday in Khulna At that time, the registrar of the university, Rahima Kaniz, the former chief conservator of the forest department, Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmed, the in-charge of the cute pavilion, Matlub Akhtar, the president of the department of zoology, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Monirul Hasan Khan and others. It is to be noted that the Butterfly Fair was held in the campus for the first time in 2010 to create public awareness about butterflies. Since then butterfly fair is being held every year.

Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) has arranged the 113th edition of popular wrestling competition ‘Jabbar er Boli Khela’ after two years of hiatus caused by the Covid pandemic. The competition will be held Monday afternoon on the road of Laldighi Zilla Parishad Market premises under a special arrangement. Hundreds of wrestlers from different regions including Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Noakhali and Cumilla will take part in the competition. Traders from different parts of the country have come to the fair with various household and traditional products. Meanwhile, due to the Boli Khela and 3-day Baishakhi Mela vehicle movement has been restricted for several days in Laldighi, KC De Road, Boksirhat, Cinema Palace, Amanat Shah Road, Khatunganj-Asadganj Road and other areas. Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) has taken extensive security measures and CCTV cameras have been installed across the areas. In addition, members of the white-clad police, DB, SWAT team will also be in charge of maintaining overall security. CMP Deputy Commissioner (South) Mohammad Jasim Uddin said four check-posts are being set up by Kotwali police station to strengthen security at the fair. 'Boli Khela’ was introduced in the early 20th century by Abdul Jabbar Saodagar, a local trader. He wanted to cultivate a sport that would prepare youths to fight the British. The traditional form of wrestling was named after Jabbar. The first competition was held in 1909.

Chattogram City Corporation have decided to hold the 111th edition of popular wrestling competition ‘Jabbar er Boli Khela’ from April 24 to 26 this year on the Kotwali to Andarkilla road in the port city. CCC Mayor Rezaul Karim Chwodhury made the announcement in a press briefing on Saturday after a meeting with the committee members for arranging the Jabbar er Boli Khela wrestling competition and fair at his residence. Earlier on April 13, the committee announced suspension of this year’s Jabbarer Boli Khela as the traditional site for arranging the competition, Laldighi ground, was being renovated. Also read: ‘Jabbar er Boli Khela’: Shahjalal emerges as new champion Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said, “The earlier announcement disheartened people and they requested us to not suspend it so we decided to arrange it anyway.” “This year the competition will be held on the road in front of the Laldighi ground area from 3 pm to 5 pm. The competition used to be held for five days but this year it will be a three day long competition along with a fair,” he said. After holding the 110th edition in 2019 Jabbar er Boli Khela remained suspended for two years due to Covid-19 pandemic. Also read: A fair in Rangamati you can't miss before Boisabi! 'Boli Khela’ was introduced in the early 20th century by Abdul Jabbar Saodagar, a local trader. He wanted to cultivate a sport that would prepare youths to fight the British. The traditional form of wrestling was named after Jabbar. The first competition was held in 1909.

A five-day fair began in Rangamati on Monday ahead of the traditional New Year festival of different ethnic communities living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, known as ‘Boisabi’. The word 'Boisabi' is a combination of the Bengali acronyms for various indigenous festivals like Boishuk of the Tripura community, Sangrai of the Marma community and Biju of the Chakma community. The festival, jointly arranged by the Rangamati district administration and Khudro Nrigosthi Sangskritik Institute in Khagrachari, was inaugurated by Dipankar Talukdar, Member of Parliament from Rangamati constituency and president of the parliamentary standing committee on ministry of food on the Institute premises