In addition to its cool climate and fresh air in summer, Guiyang is earning a reputation for its busy schedule of exhibitions and conferences.

With an average temperature of 14.9 C, the city is now widely favored by event organizers due to its natural environment.

Statistics show that Guiyang hosted some 150 events in 2013 including exhibitions, professional conferences, sports events and festivals.

Yet the industry did not get off to a great start.

Back in the mid-1990s, the city government tried to promote exhibitions but didn't do well due to lack of infrastructure and "soft power", said He Xiaojun, director of the Guiyang exhibition and conference administration department.

"The province has many well-known liquor and tea brands, but we couldn't even host a proper exhibition to showcase them," said He.

"A large event requires the provision of human resources and exhibition venues - we couldn't find any back 20 years ago," he explained.

Almost starting from scratch, the industry has made substantial progress to become one of the fastest growing sectors in the city.

A modern exhibition center completed in 2011 gave additional power to the industry.

Large events in the past five years include the Ecological Civilization Guiyang International Forum, an international wine expo, an animation fair and the Ninth National Ethnic Games.

In addition to facilities, improved services also contributed to the flourishing industry. Volunteer work is particularly prominent, local officials said.

"The number of registered volunteers in Guizhou has surpassed 1.47 million," said Chen Rui, an official at the volunteer management center of Guizhou province.

They serve at all kinds of conferences and exhibitions held in Guiyang as "an indispensable link in the convention", said Chen.

"It is hard for any host organization to run an event smoothly with only its own staff. The manpower shortage is always happening," Chen said.

"That's why volunteer services are so crucial for any successful large convention or exhibition."

According to Chen, volunteers at exhibitions and conventions are mainly work in reception and guide services. Most are from local universities. Before starting the job, they all take etiquette training given by experts.

"Every volunteer believes it is a heartwarming act to help people in need," Chen said.

A volunteer association was founded in Guizhou in 1996, but in comparison with more developed cities and regions, the work stalled due to lack of support funds.

"Before 2001, there were 30,000 registered volunteers in the entire province," said Guo Ming who has been volunteering for more than a decade. Most volunteers then helped the elderly and did some community work.

"There were only a few people involved and even fewer people had an idea of what we had been doing," Guo recalled.

Along with development, Guiyang locals are more enthusiastic about being a volunteer.

Today the membership is not only limited to university students, Chen said.

"We receive many phone calls every day from ordinary people who want to join us and offer spontaneous help. They will be trained together with university student candidates."

zhaokai@chinadaily.com.cn