SHANGHAI — At an exhibition pavilion, guitars were hung on the wall, not to showcase the power of music but to symbolize tremendous changes that have taken place in a remote Chinese county.

Over 10 years, Zheng'an county in Southwest China's Guizhou province has created a prosperous guitar manufacturing business, producing more than 6 million guitars annually and creating jobs for nearly 15,000 residents.

The local success earned the guitars a place at the Guizhou pavilion during the China International Import Expo (CIIE) currently held in Shanghai, along with other distinct exhibits from the province, such as delicate traditional ethnic silverware, and a model of a spectacular modern bridge.

At this year's CIIE, the fifth edition of the event, a special exhibition area is dedicated to demonstrating China's achievements in opening-up over the past decade. Dozens of pavilions, like the one in Guizhou, offer snapshots of modern China to the world.

In the pavilion of North China's Tianjin municipality, visitors can enjoy a driving simulation of China's high-speed train. The country boasts the world's largest high-speed railway network.

In the Hainan pavilion, the elements of rocket launches, cruise ships, and tax-free shopping stand out. The southern island province has Wenchang, one of China's major satellite launch centers. It is also a free-trade port that is witnessing booming tourism.

Posters showcasing large machinery and trains manufactured in Central China's Hunan province are an eye-catcher in the province's pavilion. Among them are double-decker multiple units that can travel up to 200 km per hour. The units are expected to run in five European countries next year.

In the pavilions of China's western region, high-tech, green and creative products are featured.

An advanced ultrahigh-voltage DC converter transformer is exhibited in the Xinjiang pavilion; a sand table showcasing applications of new-energy batteries envisions a greener city in the Sichuan pavilion, and creative ceramics artworks featuring local elements are demonstrated in the Tibet pavilion.

Wang Haizhu, a guide of Hezhen ethnicity in the Heilongjiang pavilion, introduced to visitors fish-skin painting, a cultural heritage of the Hezhen ethnicity. She also livestreams her experience at CIIE on social media.

Wang said many foreign companies and business people are present at CIIE, and these exhibitions offer them a great opportunity to learn more about modern China and the changes in the country over the past decade.

"Many audiences are curious about the Hezhen exhibits I brought here, and I'm also very interested in the broader world that CIIE has shown me and would like to explore more," Wang said.