How to Work the Canton Fair

The Canton Fair has now run for 70 years and 140 sessions. For a first-time importer it is still the fastest way to see hundreds of suppliers for your category in a single week — and the fastest way to waste a week if you arrive without a plan. The 140th session opened in Guangzhou on 15 October 2026 and closes on 4 November: Phases 1 and 2 have already finished, and Phase 3 is running now. This guide covers what each phase is for, what to do in the four weeks after the halls close, how the buyer badge really works, the twelve questions worth asking at every booth, how to tell a factory from a trading company, why the price on the stand is not your cost, and the 30-day follow-up routine that decides whether the trip pays for itself.

What the fair is actually good for

Online platforms show you what a supplier chooses to publish. A fair shows you what they choose to carry across the country and put on a table in front of strangers: the actual sample, the actual finish, the actual salesman. That difference is why buyers still fly in for it.

In practice a well-planned buyer can screen 30 to 50 suppliers a day at the fair. In that same day you can hold the product, check the stitching or glaze or board thickness, ask the factory engineer a technical question the salesperson cannot answer, and compare three quotes for the same specification on the spot. None of that is possible from a listing page.

What the fair is not good for is closing. Prices quoted on a stand are opening positions, not offers; the person you meet is often a salesperson, not the decision-maker; and a booth in a good position tells you about marketing budget, not manufacturing quality. Treat the fair as the screening stage of a sourcing cycle that continues for another month at least — from sample to factory check to trial order. If you have not done that cycle before, our step-by-step guide to sourcing from China walks through the whole sequence.

The 140th session: dates, phases and themes

The fair runs in three phases with a two-day break between each. Everything is held at the Canton Fair Complex in Pazhou, Guangzhou, across four halls (A, B, C, D). Each phase covers completely different product categories, so arriving in the wrong week means your category is not there at all.

Phase	Dates (2026)	Theme and main categories	Who should attend
Phase 1	15–19 October	Advanced manufacturing — electronics and home appliances, industrial automation, vehicles and parts, new energy, service robots	Electronics, appliances, machinery, hardware buyers
Phase 2	23–27 October	Quality home and living — building materials and furniture, home products, gifts and decorations, fashion accessories	Furniture, home goods, decor, gifts, textiles buyers
Phase 3	31 Oct – 4 November	Better life — health and leisure, toys, baby and maternity, fashion, food	Toys, consumer and lifestyle goods buyers

Scale, for context: around 32,000 exhibitors showing roughly 4.88 million products across 75,000 booths, with about 340,000 overseas buyers expected over the three phases. This is the 70th anniversary edition, and it is also the first to run a Chinese time-honoured brands zone, the first with all ten categories of producer services on site, and the first with metre-level booth navigation across the whole complex through the official app.

If your interest is furniture, homeware or decor — the categories we source most — Phase 2 is your week. Phase 1 is where you go for electronics and appliances, and Phase 3 for toys and lifestyle goods.

Where things stand: 1 November 2026

Two of the three phases have closed. If your category is furniture, homeware, building materials, gifts or decor, Phase 2 finished on 27 October — the halls you needed are being dismantled right now. Phase 3 runs from 31 October to 4 November for toys, baby and maternity, health and leisure, fashion and food, and the fair closes on 4 November.

Most buyers treat the closing date as the end of the opportunity. It is the start of the part that actually produces orders. A booth conversation is a screening result; what happens in the four weeks afterwards is what turns a screening result into a purchase order — or lets it die quietly in an inbox.

Window	What it is for	What goes wrong if you skip it
Now – 7 November	Email every shortlisted booth while the salesperson still remembers your face and your conversation. Quote the booth number and the model back at them.	By mid-November you are one of four hundred emails. By December you are nobody.
8 – 20 November	Written quotations on your specification, then samples. Same spec for every supplier so the numbers are comparable.	Samples arrive in December, get approved in January, and the order misses the pre-holiday production window.
21 Nov – mid December	Verification, then a trial order with a deposit — early enough that production finishes before Chinese New Year.	Ordering in January for a March delivery. Every factory is full and the price reflects it.

The reason this calendar is tight rather than arbitrary: Chinese New Year falls in early February 2027, Guangdong factories typically close for two to four weeks around it, and the six weeks before the holiday are the most congested production weeks of the year. Ordering in November for February shipment is normal. Ordering in January for the same shipment is a negotiation you will lose. If you are still pricing the order rather than placing it, use the landed cost breakdown now — the freight side alone moves enough in the run-up to the holiday to change whether the product works.

If you missed Phase 2

You do not have to wait a year. Three routes work, in order of speed:

• Go to the clusters instead of the fair. The exhibitors you wanted are still in Guangdong. Furniture is concentrated in Shunde (Lecong and Longjiang) and Dongguan's Houjie district; ceramics and tiles in Foshan; lighting in Guzhen, Zhongshan. You are visiting the same companies a week later, on their own floor, where the person who can quote and decide is actually sitting — which is rarely true of the person on the stand.
• Use the post-fair weeks. Once the halls close, sales teams are back at their desks and production is between waves. In our experience factory visits and video walk-throughs are easier to arrange in November than in the weeks before a fair, when every salesperson is preparing for it.
• Plan for the spring session. The fair runs twice a year, in April and October. The 141st session is expected in April 2027; official dates and phase themes are published on cantonfair.org.cn. Between today and then there is exactly enough time to run one full sample → trial order → repeat order cycle — which is the position you want to be in before you negotiate volume prices at a booth.

Whatever route you take, the verification work does not change because you skipped the fair. Licence check, account-name match, live video of the actual workshop: our eight-step supplier verification checklist is the same whether you met the supplier across a folding table in Pazhou or found them on 1688.

Before you fly: registration and the buyer badge

The single most common mistake first-time visitors make is treating online pre-registration as an entry ticket. It is not. Pre-registration tells the fair you are coming; the overseas buyer badge is what gets you through the gate, and it is issued separately.

The process runs through the official Buyer Service System on cantonfair.org.cn:

1. Register an account with a working email and complete your personal and company details, keeping them consistent with your passport or travel document.
2. Fill in your sourcing interests honestly — this is a trade fair for buyers and traders, and incomplete profiles slow down the badge application.
3. Apply for the overseas buyer badge. Once approved you receive a collection QR code.
4. Collect the physical badge at an official counter, either at one of the remote city counters or at the fairground badge centre.

What to bring: your passport (or Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao residents, or Taiwan Compatriots Travel Permit) in original form, a company business card, and the QR code receipt. New badges, replacements and renewals are issued free of charge.

Two rules worth knowing. If you still hold a valid badge from a previous session you can walk straight in without re-applying — but badges issued before and including the 134th session using a Chinese passport plus overseas work visa were invalidated, and holders now apply for a buyer representative badge instead. And the organisers never authorise third-party agencies to handle badge applications; any website or agent charging an "expedited badge fee" is selling you something that does not exist. Apply through the official system, and treat any paid "guaranteed badge" offer as a scam — the same instinct that protects you from the classic China sourcing scams.

Five days on site: a working schedule

The complex is 1.55 million square metres. Foot traffic over a day runs into 15 to 20 kilometres, so the plan matters more than the shoes.

Day	Focus	Output you should leave with
Day 1	Walk the whole hall for your category, hall by hall. Stop only where the sample looks right.	A shortlist of 15–20 booths with photos, cards and rough prices
Day 2–3	Return to the shortlist. Sit down, ask the twelve questions, get a written spec and quotation.	6–8 suppliers with comparable written quotes
Day 4	Second-round comparison, negotiate MOQ and packaging, order samples.	2–3 sample orders placed, tooling or logo questions answered
Day 5	Fill gaps, revisit weak quotes, agree factory visits for the following week.	Factory visits booked, follow-up list ranked

Practical habits that separate buyers who get something out of the trip from those who come home with a bag of catalogues:

• Shoot three things at every booth: the booth number and sign, the product itself, and the quotation or spec sheet. Photos without a booth number are useless a week later.
• Write up your notes the same evening. One hour at the hotel, while you still remember which salesperson promised what. By day three every booth looks identical in memory.
• Carry printed cards with your company name, what you buy and your email. Hand-writing details on a catalogue guarantees they get lost.
• Use the official app. Metre-level booth navigation and the e-business-card feature save real time in a complex this size.
• Plan transport: Metro Line 8 (Pazhou and Xingang Dong stations) or Line 11 (Pazhou). Stay in Pazhou or Kecun if you can, and be at the gate by 9:00 — by 10:00 the queues are long.
• Book an interpreter in advance if you need one. Volunteer interpreters exist but are stretched; a professional costs roughly USD 150–300 per day and pays for itself in a single negotiation.

Twelve questions to ask at every booth

Most buyers ask for a price, take a card, and leave. The price is the least useful piece of information on the stand until you know who is quoting it and what the quote includes. These twelve questions take about fifteen minutes and separate a real manufacturer from a reseller.

#	Question	What you are actually testing
1	Are you the manufacturer or a trading company?	Who is quoting you. A straight answer is a good sign; evasion is not.
2	Where is your factory, and which workshop makes this exact model?	Whether they can name a real production site, not just a showroom address.
3	Can I see a video of the production line, or visit the factory next week?	Factories say yes. Trading companies negotiate their way out of it.
4	What is the MOQ for this model, and can I mix colours or sizes?	Real flexibility, and where the hidden minimums sit.
5	Is this price EXW or FOB, and from which port?	Whether the two quotes you are comparing are actually comparable.
6	What is included — export carton, inner box, manual, certification?	The most common source of a 15–30% surprise later.
7	What is the lead time for a full 40HQ container?	Production capacity, not the sample-room lead time.
8	Which certifications do you hold for my market?	CE, FCC, CARB, TB117, EN71 — whatever your category and country require.
9	What does a sample cost, how long does it take, and is it deductible from the bulk order?	Sample terms, and whether they treat you as a real buyer.
10	What is your defect rate, and what happens if a batch fails inspection?	The answer to the only question that matters when something goes wrong.
11	Can you do our packaging, logo or private label? What is the tooling cost?	Whether customisation is routine for them or a first-time experiment.
12	Who is my contact after the fair, and can we continue on WeChat or email?	Whether the relationship survives the flight home.

Write the answers down in the booth. Between the noise, the crowd and the third coffee, anything not written is gone.

Who is really behind the booth

Three kinds of seller occupy stands that look identical. None of them is automatically the right choice — the mistake is not knowing which one you are talking to.

Type	How to recognise it	What it means for you
Manufacturer	Can name the plant, the workshop and the machines; engineers on or near the stand; a narrow product range done deeply	Best price at volume, full control of specs and packaging — but usually the highest MOQ and the least patience for small trial orders
Trading company	Wide catalogue across unrelated categories; cannot answer detailed technical questions; "our factory" never gets a name	Adds 5–20% but brings export experience, multi-category consolidation, lower MOQs and fluent English — often the better partner for a first order
Export agent or sourcing office	Sells a service rather than a product; talks about inspections, consolidation and shipping more than models	Useful when you need several suppliers coordinated under one shipment and one QC standard

The tell is always the factory address and the video call. Ask for both, and check that the business licence name matches the name on the quotation. If the supplier cannot or will not produce either, budget for the possibility that your order will be subcontracted to a third party you have never assessed.

Why the booth price is not your cost

A quote given across a folding table is a display price. By the time the order ships it has moved, usually upward. The common reasons:

• Base-configuration quoting. The stand price is for the simplest version — thinner material, lower grade foam, no logo, standard carton. Your actual specification costs more.
• Exclusions. Certification, testing, export packing, palletising, inner boxes and manuals are frequently quoted "extra" and only appear on the proforma invoice.
• Quantity cliffs. Booth prices assume a container. At a quarter of that volume the unit price can rise 10–25%.
• Trade term drift. EXW prices look cheapest until you add inland haulage, export clearance and loading — all of which are already inside a proper FOB quote.
• Freight and duty. The two biggest numbers on your landed cost are not on the stand at all.

So do not compare FOB numbers from the fair. Convert each shortlisted quote to a landed cost at your real volume — goods, freight, duty, import VAT, fees, inspection and service — and compare those. Our landed cost breakdown sets out the eight layers and the multipliers to expect, and FOB vs EXW vs DDP explains why two quotes for the same product are rarely quoting the same thing.

One more note for buyers comparing the fair against domestic channels: a number of Phase 2 exhibitors also run stores on 1688, where the same goods sit at domestic prices with none of the export service attached. If you are weighing the two routes, start with how to buy from 1688 as an overseas buyer.

The 30 days after the fair

Most of the value of the trip is created after the flight home. This is the schedule that separates buyers who place orders from buyers who collect catalogues.

When	What to do
Within 48 hours	Email your shortlist. Reference the exact model, the quantity discussed and the booth number — salespeople meet hundreds of buyers and remember only the ones who quote their own conversation back.
Day 4–7	Request a written quotation on your specification: unit price, trade term, MOQ, packaging, lead time, validity. Compare on one spreadsheet, not on memory.
Day 8–14	Order samples. Brief the sample in writing, and record what "approval" means before you approve it.
Day 15–21	Verify each shortlisted supplier: licence check, video factory tour, and a visit or an audit if volume justifies it. This is the step that catches the well-presented booth with no factory behind it.
Day 22–30	Place a trial order with the two best suppliers. Pay through a milestone structure, confirm bank details by voice before the first transfer, and inspect before the balance.

If you cannot travel, the fair is still workable through a sourcing partner: booth visits against your checklist, on-stand photos and video of the exact samples, price benchmarking against your target, sample collection and consolidation, and factory visits in the weeks afterwards. Trade-fair support in Guangdong is typically quoted per day (roughly USD 150–300 for on-site interpretation, notes and same-day reporting) or folded into a sourcing mandate at the commission rates we use across all our work: 5–15% of order value, 3–5% on large repeat volumes. Have a look at what a sourcing agent does and how they charge before you compare any proposals.

FAQ

Can I attend the Canton Fair without an invitation?

Yes. Buyers do not need an invitation letter to attend — you register on the official Buyer Service System, apply for the overseas buyer badge and collect it on arrival. An invitation letter is only useful if you need one for a visa application.

Which phase should I attend?

Match the phase to your category, not your travel dates. Electronics and appliances are Phase 1, furniture, homeware, building materials and gifts are Phase 2, toys, baby products, fashion and food are Phase 3. A furniture buyer who comes during Phase 1 will find almost nothing relevant.

How much does it cost to attend?

The badge itself is free — new, replacement and renewal badges are all issued at no charge, and the organisers never authorise third parties to sell badges. Budget for flights, a hotel in Pazhou or Kecun, meals, and an interpreter if you need one. The real variable cost is samples: assume USD 50–300 per sample set plus courier, depending on category.

Can I order samples at the fair?

Yes, most exhibitors accept sample orders on the stand. Agree the sample price, the lead time and whether the cost is deductible from a bulk order, and get it in writing. Sample lead time is usually one to two weeks after the fair.

Are the prices I am quoted final?

No. Booth prices are display prices for a base configuration and an assumed volume. Expect them to move once your specification, packaging, certification and real order quantity are on the table — usually upward. The correct comparison is landed cost at your volume, not the number on the card.

Is one visit enough to choose a supplier?

No. The fair is a screening exercise. A supplier is only chosen after a sample has been approved, the factory has been seen or audited, payment terms are agreed in writing, and a trial order has shipped. Plan for at least a month between the last day of the fair and your first deposit.

I missed Phase 2 — is it still worth flying to Guangzhou?

Yes, if you go to the factories rather than the fairground. The furniture and home goods suppliers you wanted are in Shunde, Dongguan, Foshan and Zhongshan, all within a few hours of Guangzhou, and they are easier to see in November than in the weeks before a fair. You need no buyer badge to visit a factory, only an appointment. What you will not get is the side-by-side comparison of forty booths in one afternoon — so plan two or three days and a shortlist made in advance.

When is the next Canton Fair?

The fair runs twice a year, in spring (April) and autumn (October), always in three phases at the Pazhou complex. The 141st session is expected in April 2027. Confirm the exact dates, phase themes and badge rules on the official site, cantonfair.org.cn, before booking anything — dates shift slightly between sessions and third-party sites often publish last year's calendar.

Keep reading

• How to Source from China: The Complete Guide for First-Time Importers
• How to Verify a Chinese Supplier Before You Send Money
• The Real Cost of Importing from China: A Landed Cost Breakdown
• Sourcing Furniture and Home Goods from China: Costs, MOQs, Quality