Rotating between Shanghai and Beijing, the international granite and marble exhibition, Stonetech, has become an important meeting site for the stone industry each year. The 2002 exhibition was held in Shanghai from April 9 to 12, and by most accounts it was a successful event. Traffic was strong throughout the four days of the show, and most companies experienced positive results from visitors to their stands.

Turkey had a major presence at the event, with two pavilions, and the Italians and Brazilians were also represented with their own pavilions. Some of the other countries that were represented were Finland, India, Spain and the U.S. (Although Stone World was the only exhibitor from the U.S., a number of American buyers and quarriers were in attendance). Because the show had grown from previous years, there was not enough space in the original exhibition hall, and this did cause some problems for exhibitors who were not in the main location. A second convention center was utilized for approximately 30% of the exhibitors, including the Italian and Brazilian pavilions, and this building did not get the same number of attendees as the main hall, especially on the first two days, when there was not sufficient promotion of the second building.

Overall, though, the show was useful for attendees and exhibitors alike, and because of the continued economic growth and booming construction market in China, the outlook for future exhibitions in China is strong.