A shopping carnival featuring imported goods debuted at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) on June 6, displaying top-quality imported goods and sparking passion for the third China International Import Expo.

The event consisted of five major sections, namely a gourmet festival, music performances, top-quality imported goods presentation, cultural creative products, and a convention and exhibition center tour that presented highlights of the past editions of the CIIE.

About 50 exhibitors from the Food and Agricultural Products, Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products and Consumer Goods exhibition areas presented their star products, allowing consumers to enjoy the goods at rock bottom prices. These exhibitors have signed up for the third edition to be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10 this year.

Sun Chenghai, deputy director general of the CIIE Bureau, said the event is set to offer a direct channel linking exhibitors and buyers, as well as a move to spur the economy and shore up consumption.

Preparations for the third CIIE are in full swing, with over 90 percent of planned exhibition areas booked so far.

The event also marked the debut of a Zigong lantern show, a national intangible cultural heritage that originated in Zigong city, Southwest China's Sichuan province, thousands of years ago. Zigong government and the CIIE Bureau inked a deal on June 6 to further cultural and tourism cooperation.

The CIIE is now playing an active part in promoting intangible cultural heritage from China and around the world as an effort to prompt cultural exchanges worldwide. In the second CIIE, nearly 100 cultural performances by nations and Chinese provinces and 170-plus interactive sessions of intangible cultural heritage and Chinese time-honored brands were hosted.