CIFTIS 2026 shows how China’s smart construction empowers better living
A view of the prefabricated modular housing system from China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Photo: Liu Yang/GT)
Walking into the engineering consulting and construction services exhibition area at the ongoing 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), visitors can see modular buildings — global favorites that can be assembled in days, innovative coatings that enable buildings to cool passively, and a construction site "smart brain" that manages schedules, quality, and safety in an integrated way.
Design is the first step in construction. The prefabricated homes that have proven so popular overseas have a counterpart at CIFTIS — the prefabricated concrete modular housing system from China Construction First Group Corporation.
At the booth, drawer-like housing modules are stacked together. Like building blocks, they form the main structure of a building. A staff member surnamed Zhu told the Global Times on Friday that a key feature of the housing system on display at this year’s CIFTIS is its alternating module layout, which greatly cuts construction time and costs.
“It’s like a Lego brick — the modules can be used interchangeably,” Zhu said. According to Zhu, the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, interior finishes and main structure are integrated into a single design, with smart home features embedded.
In addition, it requires no on-site processing, cutting material waste and on-site pollution, making the process more environmentally friendly. Zhu noted that the structural design service life is 50 years, and the technology has already been deployed in Saudi Arabia.
At another booth of the corporation, a smart construction site platform showcases the underlying logic of China’s intelligent construction.
According to another staffer Liu Shouhang, traditional construction sites suffer from scattered information. The smart construction site project management system demonstrated during the CIFTIS integrates IoT, AI and 3D visualization, connecting the five key elements — people, machinery, materials, methods, and environment — to manage the three core goals of schedule, quality, and safety in an integrated way.
At the booth, the reporter noticed a smart safety helmet powered by holographic imaging and AI algorithms. Liu told the Global Times that when inspection staff wear the helmet while walking around a construction site, it captures and uploads video footage — building an image archive while allowing remote verification of project progress.
With the smart brain keeping the site under control, the green performance of the building itself matters just as much. A radiative cooling coating caught the reporter’s eyes.
Liu Hanqing, senior research manager at State Construction Engineering Corporation, told the Global Times that the radiative cooling coating is a green new material that requires neither electricity nor refrigerants. It achieves passive cooling through a combination of solar reflection and mid-infrared radiative heat dissipation.
After being applied to storage oil tank, the coating can reduce tank surface temperatures by an average of 20°C, while temperature reductions of more than 30°C have been achieved for building components in certain applications. The product also features weather resistance and corrosion protection, with a service life of up to 15 years after a single application.
The product portfolio now covers coatings, films, and glass materials, and has been applied in multiple scenarios, including railway bridge piers, outdoor oil tanks and photovoltaic power stations, significantly improving safety, comfort and energy efficiency of buildings and industrial facilities.
The product has also been applied in overseas markets. “Especially in regions with high temperatures and intense solar radiation, such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, this technology shows strong potential in energy-saving and cooling applications,” Liu noted.
From breakthroughs in construction methods to advances in building materials, China’s smart construction is offering a complete, ready-to-deploy and replicable solution across the entire building lifecycle for better living worldwide.