Phase 1 of Canton Fair is April 15-19. Phase 2 is April 23-27. Phase 3 is May 1-5. I’ve been going for years. Here’s what nobody tells you.
Before You Fly
Book your hotel in Pazhou. The fair is at the Pazhou Complex. If you stay downtown, you’ll spend 45 minutes each way in Guangzhou traffic. The Westin Pazhou and Shangri-La are walking distance. Book 6-8 weeks ahead — they fill up.
Register online before you go. Canton Fair has a website. Register. Upload your photo. Get your badge mailed or pick it up at the gate. Don’t register at the door. The line is longer than the flight.
Build your booth list. The fair’s website lists every exhibitor by hall and product category. Search your product category. Identify 15-20 booths. Mark them on the floor plan. This is the difference between “I walked the fair” and “I found suppliers.”
What to Bring
Comfortable shoes. You’ll walk 20,000 steps a day on concrete floors. A portable charger — the halls have outlets but they’re always taken. A notebook — your phone will die, and typing notes in a crowded booth is awkward. Business cards — yes, still. Chinese suppliers exchange cards as a ritual. Skip the card and you skip the relationship.
The Three-Day Plan
Day 1: Walk and filter. Walk your target halls. Don’t stop at booths. Look at the products from the aisle. Note booth numbers that look promising. Eliminate the obvious trading companies — they have too many unrelated product categories in one booth. A real factory shows one category. A trading company shows everything.
Day 2: Visit and question. Visit your top 10 booths. Handle the samples. Ask: “Is this made in your factory?” Watch their face when they answer. Ask: “Can I visit your factory this week?” A real factory says yes. A trading company makes excuses.
Day 3: Deepen and decide. Revisit your top 3-5. Bring your spec sheet. Discuss MOQ, pricing, and lead time. Collect their business license for verification. Take photos of them in their booth — with their products. These photos go into your verification file.
What Not to Do
Don’t collect 200 brochures. You’ll throw them away at the hotel. A photo of the booth + a business card is lighter and more useful.
Don’t commit to orders at the fair. The booth staff are salespeople. Their job is to get you to say yes. Say: “I’ll review and get back to you within a week.” Then verify everything they told you.
Don’t skip the smaller booths in the corners. The big booths in the center aisles pay more for placement — not for better products. Some of the best factories I’ve found were in the back row of Hall 15 with a 3x3 meter booth and no English signage.
Don’t eat the fair food. Pazhou has a food court. It’s edible. But the restaurants across the street in the Poly World Trade Center are better — and half the price.
After the Fair
Within 48 hours, email every supplier you met. Reference something specific from your conversation — not “nice to meet you” but “I remember you mentioned your plating line is in-house.” This separates you from the 50 other buyers they met that day.
Then verify. Business license. Factory video tour. Client references. The verification process is the same whether you found them at a fair or online →
Related reading: