Canton Fair 2026: dates, phases and the visitor’s playbook.

What the Canton Fair actually is

The China Import and Export Fair — universally called the Canton Fair (广交会) — has been held in Guangzhou since 1957. It is the largest and longest-running trade fair in China, and for a great many importers it is the single most efficient week of the year: tens of thousands of exhibitors under one roof, across essentially every manufactured category.

Two sessions run annually, in spring and autumn. Each session is divided into three phases by product category, because no venue on earth could host all exhibitors simultaneously. This phasing is the single most important operational fact for a visitor: go in the wrong week and your suppliers are simply not there.

Canton Fair 2026 autumn dates and phases

Phase	Dates	Main categories
Phase 1	15–19 October 2026	Electronics & household electrical appliances, machinery, hardware & tools, vehicles & spare parts, building materials, lighting, chemical products, energy resources.
Phase 2	23–27 October 2026	Consumer goods, gifts & premiums, home decorations, ceramics, glassware, furniture, toys, garden products, kitchenware.
Phase 3	31 Oct – 4 Nov 2026	Textiles & apparel, shoes, bags & cases, office supplies, food, medicines & medical devices, health products.

Venue: Canton Fair Complex, Pazhou, Haizhu District, Guangzhou. The site is enormous — multiple connected halls across several areas — and the changeover between phases involves a complete physical rebuild of the exhibition floor.

Which phase do you need?

Start from your product, not the calendar. If you import LED lighting, Phase 1 is your fair and Phases 2 and 3 are irrelevant. If you buy both hardware and homeware, you face a genuine decision: two separate trips, or one long stay bridging the changeover gap.

For most buyers, our advice is straightforward:

• Single category? Fly in for that phase, allow 3–4 days on the floor, and use the remaining time for factory visits.
• Two adjacent categories? Consider staying through the gap and using those days productively — factory visits in the Pearl River Delta, or a run up to Yiwu.
• Exploratory, no fixed category? Phase 2 usually offers the broadest general-consumer overview and is the most approachable first visit.

Registration and entry

Overseas buyers register in advance through the official Canton Fair website to obtain a buyer badge. Register early rather than on arrival: badge collection queues on opening day are substantial, and pre-registration gives you access to the exhibitor directory so you can build a target list before you land.

• Registration requires your passport details and company information.
• You will need your physical passport at the venue for badge collection and entry.
• A badge covers a full phase — it does not carry across into the next phase.
• Business cards are essential. Bring several hundred; you will hand out more in three days than in a normal quarter.

Note that a fair badge is separate from your visa. Depending on your passport, you may need a China business visa — and an invitation letter, which the fair or your supplier can often issue.

Where to stay

Hotel demand during the fair is intense and pricing reflects it — rates commonly multiply during peak phases. Three sensible zones:

• Pazhou — walking distance or one metro stop from the halls. Maximum convenience, highest price, books out first.
• Zhujiang New Town (Tianhe) — the modern CBD, strong hotel and restaurant selection, roughly 20–30 minutes to the venue by metro. Our usual recommendation for a balanced stay.
• Along Metro Line 8 — the line serving Pazhou. Any stop on it gives you a direct, transfer-free run to the fair, often at materially lower rates.

Book as early as you can. Six to eight weeks before the session is late, not early.

How to work the fair

The failure mode at Canton is not finding too little — it is drowning. A first-time visitor who wanders the halls will collect a suitcase of catalogues, a phone full of unlabelled photos and no usable follow-up list.

Before you go

• Build a shortlist from the online exhibitor directory and map booth numbers by hall. Two hours of preparation saves a full day on the floor.
• Decide your qualifying questions in advance: minimum order quantity, lead time, certifications, OEM capability, existing export markets.
• Prepare a one-page company profile in English and Chinese to hand over — it dramatically improves the quality of follow-up you receive.

On the floor

• Photograph the booth sign together with each product, so your photos remain traceable to a supplier.
• Write your qualifying answers directly onto the received business card, on the spot. You will not remember by evening.
• Distinguish trading companies from actual manufacturers — ask directly, and ask where the factory is. Both have their place, but you should know which you are talking to.
• Set a hall-per-day pace and take real breaks. Fifteen kilometres of walking a day is normal.

After

• Send follow-ups within 72 hours, while your name is still fresh among the hundreds they met.
• Move serious conversations onto WeChat — response rates there are far higher than email.
• Where a supplier matters, visit the factory before ordering. Many are within a two-hour drive of Guangzhou.

Beyond the halls

The Canton Fair sits inside the Pearl River Delta, the densest manufacturing region in the world. The days around your phase are a strategic asset, not dead time:

• Factory visits across Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan and Shenzhen — most within a couple of hours by road.
• Shenzhen for electronics and hardware, under an hour away by high-speed rail.
• Yiwu for permanent small-commodity sourcing, if your categories fit — a different and complementary model to the fair.
• Guangzhou itself — Cantonese cuisine at its source, the Canton Tower, and the Pearl River at night. See our Guangzhou guide.

Is it worth going?

For importers, manufacturers and product companies: overwhelmingly yes. The concentration of suppliers is unmatched anywhere, and meeting a factory representative face to face — handling the samples, reading the room — resolves in twenty minutes what months of email cannot.

The caveat is that value is a function of preparation. A prepared buyer with a target list, qualifying questions and a booked interpreter comes home with a shortlist and negotiating leverage. An unprepared one comes home tired.

That gap is exactly what we close: badge registration, phase selection, hotels in the right district, interpreters who understand your product, factory visits scheduled around the fair, and structured follow-up afterwards. Talk to us if the October session is on your calendar.

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Frequently asked questions