The Smart City Expo China 2017 came to an end in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on Sept 10, after attracting the highest number of visitors in its seven-year history.

More than 71,000 people attended the three-day expo, with an extra 1.5 million people tuning in to the live streams of the event online, according to the expo organizers.

The expo also proved hugely effective as a platform for promoting investment, trade and cooperation in smart city technologies and solutions.

Around 45,000 industry professionals from around the world attended the expo with a view to exploring new business opportunities, according to the organizers.

The event was also attended by a multitude of delegations from national and municipal government bodies and organizations.

The visiting business and government leaders were able to browse more than 3,000 technologies, applications and solutions on show in the expo's exhibition hall.

This led to deals for 45 major projects being signed in Ningbo during the event, worth a combined 10.7 billion yuan ($1.6 billion).

The agreements are expected to promote investment in several key industries, particularly high-end equipment, smart manufacturing and integrated circuits.

Ningbo municipal government also cemented a partnership during the expo, signing a deal with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology to work together on industrial innovation.

The partnership will benefit the city's smart city projects and economic development.

Several summits, seminars and forums were also held on the sidelines of the expo, which brought academics, researchers and business leaders together to share their experiences and discuss how to accelerate the application and development of smart technology.