Canton Fair, autumn 2026: dates, phases and how to prepare

The 140th Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair) takes place in Guangzhou from 15 October to 4 November 2026, at the Pazhou complex in Haizhu district. As every edition, it runs in three back-to-back phases, separated by a few days of stand rebuilding, and each phase covers different product families. Show up for the wrong phase and you walk aisles that have nothing to do with what you came for.

Phase 1, 15–19 October, is industry and technology: consumer electronics and home appliances, machinery and industrial equipment, hardware and tools, building materials, vehicles and parts, new energy. This is the phase to target if you source electronics or equipment.

Phase 2, 23–27 October, is the home-and-gift phase: houseware, decoration, gifts, furniture, tableware, lighting. It is the key window for furniture and décor, where a single morning lets you compare dozens of makers of the same kind of product.

Phase 3, 31 October–4 November, gathers textiles and the rest of consumer goods: apparel, footwear, home textiles, office and school supplies, sports and leisure, medical products, and food. Textile and food sourcing therefore happen at the tail of the fair.

Why does the split matter? Because a furniture buyer has no reason to block the week of 15 October, and an electronics importer none to come on the 31st. Booking your flight, hotel and badge around the right phase saves days and money. The business visa and badge registration are handled ahead of time: leave it late and you risk losing half a day to on-site registration.

In practice, entry is free for trade buyers who register in advance, but Guangzhou fills up: hotels near Pazhou book out weeks ahead and rates climb over the fair dates. Plan how you will carry or ship the samples you keep, and bring business cards in volume; gathering qualified contacts is most of what you take home.

The classic mistake is trying to close at the booth. The fair is for shortlisting, comparing and collecting samples, not for signing or wiring a deposit in the excitement of a demo. A price quoted in five minutes is no firm quote: it has to be tested against the real MOQ, payment terms, lead times and an approved sample. We leave with qualified leads and a ranking, never with a commitment made on impulse.

The fair is only a starting point. We arrive with a written brief and a short list of suppliers to see, not to wander. On a stand, the job is to tell the real manufacturer from the trader who resells: production lines, certifications and references all get tested standing, in front of the sample. That on-site sorting then drives the factory audit and quality control, which are won after the fair, not during it.

One honest caveat: the organiser can adjust a schedule, and registration and access rules shift from one edition to the next. The dates above are those published for the 140th edition; we re-check them as it approaches and build the field trip around them. For anyone sourcing seriously, two visits a year to Canton remain the shortest path to a network of qualified suppliers.