Canton Fair in Guangzhou

Phases and dates

• 15 – 19 April 2027Phase 1: Advanced Manufacturing
• 20 – 22 April 2027Closed between phases
• 23 – 27 April 2027Phase 2: Quality Home Life
• 28 – 30 April 2027Closed between phases
• 1 – 5 May 2027Phase 3: Better Life

Plan the trip in order

1. Pick the phase that carries what you buy: Canton Fair Phase 1: Advanced Manufacturing (15 – 19 April 2027) · Canton Fair Phase 2: Quality Home Life (23 – 27 April 2027) · Canton Fair Phase 3: Better Life (1 – 5 May 2027).
2. Apply for the invitation letter if the visa needs one, then book the visa appointment.
3. Pre-register for onsite attendance; the badge is issued against that record.
4. Work through the first-time checklist for what to bring and how to work the halls.
5. Fill the closed days between phases with factories and wholesale markets, or start from the districts.

Before you travel

Everything factual here comes from the organiser. We do not reprint dates we have not checked.

• Invitation letter for a China visaopens 12 AugIssued free by the organiser; the document most visa applicants rely on.
• Pre-registration before you travel3 channelsAsked of all overseas buyers, first-timers and regulars alike.
• First-time checklistfirst visitWhat to settle before booking, what to bring, how to work the halls.
• Sourcing the Fair: what it is and why buyers returnpracticalThe China Import and Export Fair has run in Guangzhou every spring and autumn since 1957. The organiser's own numbers on scale and attendance, how the three phases move product groups, and how the Fair and the city's markets combine in one sourcing trip.
• Collecting Your Buyer Badge: where, when and what to bringpracticalThe Buyer Badge is the only document that gets you through the gates of the Canton Fair Complex. Where the free registration offices are, what to carry, and when collecting saves you a queue.
• Choosing Your Phase: which five days carry your product categorypracticalThe Fair splits every session into three five-day phases, and the product groups move with them. How the split works, where the official category list lives, and what choosing the wrong phase costs.
• Avoiding the Canton Fair mistakes buyers make most oftenpracticalFive mistakes that repeat on every phase calendar: walking halls without notes, paying at the booth, comparing mismatched quotes, booking the wrong phase, and leaving the Complex with no freight plan.
• Your Second Fair: exhibitor lists, appointments and a different trippracticalA second visit is not a repeat of the first. Use the year-round exhibitor directory to shortlist factories, then pre-arrange booth appointments in the app.
• Planning the Money: what a Canton Fair trip actually costspracticalHotel prices track the Fair calendar, flight prices track the phase dates, and the daily spend is smaller than both. How the cost structure works and the three levers that actually move it.
• Buying Small at the Canton Fair: samples, trial orders and a realistic MOQpracticalThe Fair is not only for container buyers. Samples first, a trial order as the test, and the wholesale markets as the companion channel.
• Which Channel: when to source at the Fair and when at the marketspracticalThe Fair and Guangzhou's wholesale markets answer different sourcing questions. How to choose between them, and how to combine both into one trip.
• The Spring Session: April's Fair and who it suitspracticalThe spring session mirrors the autumn in structure, size and process. What changes with the season, who the April dates suit, and how the planning differs.
• Working the Fair: a buyer's day in the hallspracticalHow a sourcing day at the Canton Fair usually goes, what to write down at each booth, and what a usable quotation has to contain. This is our own working practice, not organiser guidance.
• After the Fair: turning booth notes into orderspracticalThe week after the Fair decides whether the trip was worth the flight. What we do with booth notes, samples and quotations, and what has to be in writing before any deposit moves.
• China visa for the Canton Fair: how to applypracticalA trade visit is a business purpose. How to apply for a China visa for the Canton Fair, what the organiser's invitation letter is and is not, and what to prepare before you book.
• Getting to the Complex: transport, timing and where to staypracticalPractical logistics for a three-phase exhibition in the same place: how the site is served, why you should sleep on the line rather than beside the halls, and what the phase calendar does to hotel prices.
• Tech in the Spotlight: a Malaysian Buyer Walks Again at the 140th SessionpracticalOn opening day of the 140th Canton Fair, Malaysian businessman Leaw Cheeeyrn stood up and walked with a RoboCT exoskeleton. His walk captured the edition in miniature: AI-driven medical devices were among the most sought-after exhibits.
• The 140th Session Opens: From Selling to the World to Linking Supply ChainspracticalThe 140th Canton Fair opened in Guangzhou on October 14, 2026, with a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping and a keynote speech by Premier Li Qiang. Exhibitors and buyers framed the 70-year arc as China's evolution from selling to the world to linking the global supply chain.
• 140th Canton Fair Opens With Smart and Green Innovation Front and CenterpracticalThe 140th Canton Fair opened to visitors in Guangzhou on October 15, 2026, marking the 70th anniversary of the event. It covers 1.55 million square meters and runs in three phases through November 4, with innovation, green technology and smart manufacturing front and center.
• 139th Session Closes With Records: 314,000 Buyers and $25.7 Billion in Intended OrderspracticalThe 139th Canton Fair closed on May 5, 2026 with new benchmarks for buyer attendance, top-buyer turnout, and innovative, sustainable and intelligent exhibits: 314,000 overseas buyers from 220 countries and regions and $25.7 billion in on-site intended orders.
• 140th Session Set to Open With Over 220,000 Pre-Registered BuyerspracticalBy late September 2026, more than 220,000 overseas buyers from 197 countries and regions had pre-registered for the 140th Canton Fair, with professional buyers making up nearly 80 percent. The edition runs October 15 to November 4 with over 32,000 enterprises exhibiting.
• New Momentum in China-Germany Intelligent Manufacturing CooperationpracticalAt the Canton Fair's first dedicated drone zone, Chinese makers pitched system-level solutions instead of hardware alone, and German buyers listened. Metro, Lidl and Kaufland sent procurement teams; Severin has attended for over 30 years and now scouts future product technologies.
• The 141st Canton Fair (Spring 2027): full phase tablereferenceEach phase, the closed days in between, and the International Pavilion.
• Past sessions: attendance and deals by editionhistory14 editions with official figures (127th–140th)
• The 141st Canton Fair (Spring 2027)not published yetDates, the recent Spring-session pattern, preparation steps.
• Canton Fair Phase 1: Advanced Manufacturing15 – 19 April 2027The categories this phase carries, the closed days around it, and which wholesale markets pair with it.
• Canton Fair Phase 2: Quality Home Life23 – 27 April 2027The categories this phase carries, the closed days around it, and which wholesale markets pair with it.
• Canton Fair Phase 3: Better Life1 – 5 May 2027The categories this phase carries, the closed days around it, and which wholesale markets pair with it.