Canton Fair 2026, three phases by category

The complex is large enough to waste a day between the wrong halls. We start from the list, not from the aisle that looks busy. Ten minutes at a stand is enough to learn whether the person can name the plant, the MOQ and the lead time.

If they cannot, we move. The fair rewards a short list with answers, not a long list of logos.

Dates for the rest of the year sit on China trade fairs 2026.

Many stands sell goods they do not make. That can be a valid trader for a small test. It is not a valid story when you need the same lot for a year.

The check is simple. Who owns the line. Where it sits. Whether you can stand on it this week. Papillon books that visit before you fly, so the hall day and the plant day are one trip.

Phase 1 points at Shenzhen, Dongguan and the electronics belt. Phase 2 points at Foshan and the furniture towns around Guangzhou. Phase 3 points at the textile side of the delta, not at a furniture plant you passed in a brochure.

Guangzhou also has wholesale streets that run outside the fair. They are a second look, not a substitute for the line. Consolidation from this region makes sense when the factories are actually here.

After the hall: sample, written approval, purchase order, production, QC, then freight. A sample that is not already in your hand takes about 2–5 weeks. Sea freight takes about 35–52 days once the box is sealed.

QC is before loading. Landed cost, with duty and origin papers, is what you look at before the deposit. A trade agreement applies only when the HS code and the certificate of origin say so. The fair does not grant that.

A report with who stays and who drops. MOQ, lead time, factory or trader, and whether the plant visit confirmed the booth. Then a decision: series, another sample, or stop.

Business travel covers the trip and the report. Sourcing management covers the chain after you decide to order. The fair page is not a promise that every stand becomes a supplier.