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China’s WAIC draws record crowds as heat and AI hype ramp demand
WAIC tickets priced at 168 yuan were reportedly scalped for more than 1,000 yuan as temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius, underscoring intense interest in agentic AI and jobs.
Traffic nearly ground to a halt about 2 km from the Shanghai Expo Centre on Friday as China’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference kicked off amid near 40 degrees Celsius heat, the South China Morning Post reports. Some attendees abandoned taxis to complete the remaining distance on foot.
The outlet says this year’s WAIC was the hottest and most crowded in its six years covering the event, and it described the atmosphere as especially vibrant at an exhibition hall a few hundred metres from the main venue.
According to SCMP Economy, enthusiasm was boosted by an endorsement from the top leader and by a global wave of interest in agentic AI, with ticket demand extending beyond industry insiders.
The report adds that tickets officially priced at 168 yuan, about US$24.82, were scalped for more than 1,000 yuan, bought by attendees seeking the latest AI trends, parents hoping to steer children toward a tech-focused future, and young graduates looking for work in a booming industry.