The Canton Fair, also known as The China Import and Export Fair, is China’s largest trade fair having the largest attendance and business turnover since 1957. It is now one of the most well-known trade fairs in the world.

The Canton Fair is held twice a year in Guangzhou in southern China. Each session has three phases, each phase lasts 5 days, and there is normally a five-day-break between the phases. Different suppliers exhibit at each phase, see further on in this note for the best phase for you to attend.

Traditionally dedicated to supporting exports from China, the Canton Fair covers most goods and services in commercial and industrial fields, such as machinery, electronics, construction, chemistry, health products, textiles, consumer goods, furniture, toys, sports and travel etc.

The Canton Fair is one of the most popular destinations for first time business travelers from Ireland. It provides an ideal shop-window to the possibilities China offers.

To get an idea of the scope of the Canton Fair, the 107th Session took place from April 15th to May 5th, 2010 and saw 56,915 booths attract 203,996 visitors who did €34.30bn worth of business.

The 108th session of the Canton Fair will be held in Oct & Nov 2010. The dates are as follows:

• Phase One: 15th-19th October, 2010
• Phase Two: 23rd-27th October, 2010
• Phase Three: October 31st – 4th November, 2010

If you are planning to visit Canton Fair be sure to plan ahead!

The Canton Fair is like Christmas in Guangzhou, hotels and flights, when available are expensive so reserve your accommodation early.

Arrange your China visa in advance as processing delays can arise due to the increase in applications.

• Plan your time at the fair, you cannot see every exhibitor and its easy to get distracted.
• Similarly, familiarize yourself with basic aspects of Chinese business culture to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
• Pack layers of light clothing ( 30oC outside and frigid air conditioning inside), comfortable shoes (for all that walking) and a suitcase on wheels (for all the brochures)
• Allow time on first day to register – at the 107th session this took more than 3hrs.

Visiting the Canton Fair

ChinaGreen will work with you to ensure you are well prepared to make the most out of your trip to The Canton Fair:

• Training & Workshops | Briefing on Chinese Business Culture
• Visa Services | China Visa application processing
• Trip Planning | Design & print of business cards in Chinese
• Trip Planning |In-China business support
• Trip Planning |Follow up support as required

Contact us about visiting the Canton Fair

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