Four expos and fairs held in Xiamen won awards from the Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations on Nov 11.

The China International Fair for Investment & Trade won third place in the Outstanding Trade Exhibition Award. The 2015 International Investment Forum won the participation award for Outstanding Convention Congress. The 15 Xiamen International Stone Fair and the ninth International Buddhist Items Crafts Fair won participation awards for Outstanding Trade Exhibition.

The award list was unveiled during the AEC+ Expo 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, an expo for the ASEAN Economic Community.

AFECA, founded in Singapore in 2005, is the only international association for the expo business in Asia. It has 28 member associations that cover more than 5,000 companies from several economies including China, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia.

It was the first time the organization has handed out the awards to recognize the contributions of its members in the global marketplace.

Xiamen started its expo business in the 1980s, one of the earliest in China. The city attracts event organizers with its advanced infrastructure, abundant tourism resources and natural beauty, said local government officials.

Last year, expos and fairs in Xiamen took up a total exhibition area of more than 1.7 million square meters, an increase from the 627,000 sq m in 2008.

The events attracted 856,400 people from outside the city last year, increasing nearly 20 percent on average since 2008.

The city government issued preferential policies in 2003 to encourage the development of the expo industry, which was expanded to include the convention business in 2009. It regards the industry as a top priority in the modern service sector, according to a plan unveiled last year.

Xiamen has hosted nearly 60 expos of various businesses so far this year, with total area of more than 1.3 million sq m. The area is expected to reach 1.9 million sq m by the end of the year.

The events have included trade fairs, industry fairs and brand exhibitions, as well as forums and conferences.

The city has also been awarded as one of China's top 10 conference destinations, China's best green conference city and China's best brand exhibition city.