Canton Fair & Guangzhou Exhibition Cluster (广交会 / 广州会展产业带)

Company Overview

The Canton Fair, formally known as the China Import and Export Fair (中国进出口商品交易会), is one of the oldest and largest trade exhibitions in the world. It has been held in Guangzhou since 1957 and runs twice a year, in spring and autumn, at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in the Pazhou district of Guangzhou. The fair is organised under the auspices of China's Ministry of Commerce and the Guangdong provincial government, and it is a fixture on the calendar of most serious overseas buyers sourcing from China.

Rather than being a single company, the Canton Fair is a venue and event ecosystem: tens of thousands of exhibitors, a large number of trade delegations and buyers, and an entire support industry of translation, logistics, and sourcing agencies that has grown up around it. Because exhibition phases, dates, registration rules, and attendance policies change from session to session, buyers should always confirm the current schedule and registration requirements on the official website rather than relying on older references.

Main Products / What It Offers

Multi-phase exhibition covering consumer goods, home products, textiles and apparel, electronics and appliances, building materials, machinery, vehicles, and more.
Direct access to manufacturers, many of which exhibit at the fair specifically to meet overseas buyers.
On-site and nearby sourcing-support services: translation, sampling, quality inspection referrals, and logistics.
A large surrounding ecosystem of hotels, transport, and business services that operate on the exhibition calendar.

Key Facts

Type: international trade exhibition / sourcing event (not a single manufacturer).
Location: China Import and Export Fair Complex, Pazhou, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
History: held since 1957, twice yearly (spring and autumn sessions).
Organiser: officially associated with China's Ministry of Commerce and Guangdong provincial authorities.
Scale: one of the largest trade fairs in the world, with exhibitors across many product phases.

Why Buyers Use It

For a first-time buyer, the fair compresses months of factory visits into a few days and lets you compare suppliers side by side. For a returning buyer, it is where new products and capacity appear before they show up on platforms. The trade-off is that the busiest exhibitors are often already established, and the fair is not a substitute for factory due diligence. Many attendees use the fair to shortlist, then travel to the factory afterwards.

Contact / Official Website

The authoritative source for dates, phases, exhibitor lists, and visitor registration is the official Canton Fair website (以官网为准). Buyers should register through the official site and confirm current entry rules, as these are updated every session.

Official website: www.cantonfair.org.cn