The Complete Guide for Planning your Trip to the Canton Fair

The Canton Fair is held every six months on the island of Pazhou, at the China Import and Export Fair Complex (380, Yuejiang Zhong Road, Guangzhou).

This is the biggest Commercial Exhibition Fair on the planet. Just to cite a few numbers, in the Autumn edition of 2019, around 60,000 manufacturers (or wholesalers) and 180,000 potential buyers participated.

In this article, you’ll find all you’ll need to plan your trip to the fair.

If you’ve already decided that you want to attend the Canton Fair but you don’t want to worry about organizing your trip, we can suggest a trustworthy travel agency that will do it for you. Click here to contact us.

When is the Canton Fair held?

Below, you will find the dates of the Canton Fair 2020:

April – May

Phase 1: April 15-19

Phase 1 is dedicated to the following categories and products: Electronics & Household Electrical Appliances, Lighting Equipment, Vehicles & Spare Parts, Machinery, Hardware & Tools, Energy Resources, Chemical Products, Building Materials.

Phase 2: April 23-27

Phase 2 is dedicated to the following categories and products: Consumer Goods, Home Decorations, Gifts.

Phase 3: May 1-5

Phase 3 is dedicated to the following categories and products: Office Supplies, Cases & Bags, Recreation Products, Food, Medicines, Medical Devices, and Health Products, Textiles & Garments, Shoes.

October – November

Phase 1: October 15-19

Phase 2: October 23-27

Phase 3: October 31- November 4

How to sign up for the Canton Fair

To get into the fair, you’ll first need to register. Your application will be approved within 3 business days.

Once you receive an approval email, you can then log in by clicking here and request your IC Card (or the identification badge to get into the fair). To learn more about requesting your IC Card, click here.

You will also receive an invitation letter, which you can use to apply for a visa (required to enter China legally).

Note that registering is free (so long as you don’t have a Chinese passport, in which case you’ll have to pay 300 Yuan each day!).

One last bit of advice: remember to bring your passport with you since it is necessary for entering the fair.

Visa for the Canton Fair

The most appropriate visa for the Canton Fair is without a doubt a business visa (also called “M visa”). Once you get the invitation letter, you can request the visa at the CVASC, Chinese Embassy or Consulate in your own country (here you’ll find a complete list). Click here to read our complete guide on Chinese business visas.

International flights to China

Despite the fact that Guangzhou has an international airport, the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, there are no direct flights from Europe or the United States. It’s usually much easier to land at Hong Kong International Airport (and then take the train to Guangzhou, see the next section) or the Shanghai Pudong International Airport (and then take a domestic flight to Guangzhou).

Click here to read our complete guide on how to book an international flight to China (or a domestic flight in China).

How to get to Guangzhou from Hong Kong

If you land in Hong Kong all you have to do is take the MTR (the subway) to the Hung Hom Railway Station and, from there, stay on the train until Guangzhou East station. The price of the ticket is between 200-250 Yuan and the trip by train lasts about 2 hours.

Note that, during the fair, trains on the Hong Kong – Guangzhou line will be packed. I, therefore, recommend that you book your ticket in advance. Click here to read our guides on trains in China, where we also explain how to book tickets on the internet.

Organized trip to attend the Canton Fair

Traveling to China can be a bit complicated due to culture and language barriers. Because of this, many agencies have specialized in helping people with their business trips so that they don’t need to invest time in preparing their trip and so that it is as efficient as possible, avoiding the potential inconveniences of moving around an unfamiliar city.

In the case of the Canton Fair, a complete service tends to include the following:

• Hotel bookings

• Private transportation to the hotel and the fair

• Tourist visits to Guangzhou and the surrounding area

• Translation service and guide in Spanish or English

The price for this type of service for 2-4 people for 5 days tends to be between 10,000 and 12,000 Yuan (€1200 – €1500)

If you’ve already decided that you want to attend the Canton Fair but you don’t want to worry about organizing your trip, we can suggest a trustworthy travel agency that will do it for you. Click here to contact us.

Hotels for the Canton Fair

Just as with the trains, the hotels will also be packed. It is therefore essential to book your room in advance.

Click here to read our recommendations on hotels that you’ll find near the fair.

Health insurance

Traveling to Asia without trip insurance is, in our opinion, too big a risk: if an accident should happen, no hospital will accept you unless you can pay in cash (and the costs are often too high even if your credit card has a high limit) or you don’t have health insurance to cover the expense.

Click here to read our guide on trip insurance for China.

Internet and communications

You probably already know this, but I still want to warn you: many western sites (such as Gmail, Facebook or Youtube) are blocked in China. If you would like to access those sites without trouble, you should get a VPN service (it costs about 8-10 Euro). Click here to learn how to do so.

Getting around Guangzhou by taxi or metro

Here’s a map of the Guangzhou subway system. Note that, to get to the Canton Fair, you should get off at Pazhou station, which is along Line 8.

To get there from the airport, take Line 3 to the Airport South station (Panyu Square direction) and change for Line 8 at Kecun station (Wanshengwei direction).

To get there from the Guangzhou East train station, where the trains from Hong Kong arrive, take Line 3 to the Guangzhou East Railway Station (Panyu Square direction) and change for Line 8 at Kecun station (Wanshengwei direction).

If instead, you decide to get around by taxi (which in China is relatively cheap), it shouldn’t be difficult to find one, both at the airport or the train station or at the fair. I’d like to give you two recommendations:

First, only take “official” taxis and make sure that the driver uses the meter. Don’t get into a random car (black cab) because they will probably try to extort from you an astronomical sum.

Second, make sure you always have a ticket with the address in Chinese characters since Chinese taxi drivers don’t speak a word of English. If you intend to go to the fair, here is the name in Chinese: 中国进出口商品交易会.

Translators

The organizers of the fair offer translation services in English, Spanish, French, Italian and many other languages. It is possible to “hire” a translator directly inside the fair; if you’re fine with a Chinese-English translator all you have to do is book 24 hours in advance while for other languages, you have to book at least 72 hours ahead of time.

Prices vary between 400 Yuan a day for a Chinese-English translator up to 700 Yuan a day for other languages. The service lasts 8 hours and as a custom, you should also offer lunch to the translator. Here are the telephone numbers and email for booking a translator:

English: +862089268110, [email protected]

Other languages: +862089268105, [email protected]

Frequently asked questions

Do you need help organizing your trip to the Canton Fair?

If you need help attending the Canton Fair without having to worry about the logistics of it, you can fill out the form below and get a budget for the services that you need.

Photo Credits: Canton Fair by Shinsuke Ikegame