At the 6th China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, China's leading fair for high-end consumer goods, with more than 3,400 participants from around the world, the Italian Pavilion sets out to present Made in Italy in a different way. Not only products on display, but processes, know-how and direct contact with the public. Food, fashion, design, training and tourism are presented as parts of the same system.
The pavilion is coordinated by the Salotto Italia–Cina, an Italian cultural salon in Sanya, together with the Consorzio Leonardo da Vinci World Wide. It brings together companies, institutions, trainers and cultural operators. On show at the Salotto's stand is Figlia del Mare (Daughter of the Sea) by the sculptor Aldo Flecchia. He carved it in Haikou between late March and early April from a block of Carrara marble, working alongside local stonemasons, and then donated it to the city. During the fair Flecchia receives the Sculptor of the Year award of the Global Gift – Hainan Expo Selection. A collective mural, "Building the bridge between Italy and Hainan", invites visitors to leave their mark.
Taking part in CICPE also marks the public presentation of a wider project centred on Sanya and the Hainan Free Trade Port: the Salotto Italia–Cina and the future Leonardo da Vinci Museum Sanya, as permanent platforms for relations between Italy and China. During the fair the pavilion also hosts a delegation of more than ten Italian entrepreneurs on a mission to the island.
Figlia del Mare: Aldo Flecchia's story →
Before, in Hainan, April 2026: Mission of Italian Entrepreneurs →
Next, in Beijing, June 2026: Liguria and Hainan sign in Beijing →
![Simona Romagnoli, "Aldo Flecchia è lo scultore dell'anno" [Aldo Flecchia is sculptor of the year], La Stampa – Edizione di Biella, May 2026 (print edition)](/assets/percorsi/2026-cicpe-haikou/la_stampa_biella_flecchia.jpg)