Which trade fair for which product? A Guangdong and Hong Kong calendar

Should you go to a general fair or a category fair?

A general fair shows you breadth: at the Canton Fair you can compare suppliers across many categories in one trip, which suits a first visit or a mixed product list. A category fair shows you depth: more exhibitors in one product and more of the component and material supply chain around it, sometimes in the town where the product is made. Several category fairs fall within days of a Canton Fair phase, so one trip can take in both. The Canton Fair on a first visit covers the general fair; this page is the map of the rest.

Two cautions. Sector lists and dates change from one edition to the next, so treat the table as a starting point and confirm on the official site before booking. And a fair, general or specialist, does not verify anyone: the checks in how to check a Chinese supplier before you pay apply to an exhibitor exactly as they do to a supplier found online.

Which fair covers your product?

Dates are as published on each fair's own site on 24 September 2026. Where an organiser had not published its next dates, the row says so rather than guessing. "Hong Kong" rows are in Hong Kong, not Guangdong, which matters for travel and entry (see below).

The 140th Canton Fair's sector lists include no packaging sector, so the packaging rows are category fairs only.

Which Canton Fair phase is which?

Dates and themes are from the organiser's site. The sectors are a selection from the organiser's full list for the 140th session, which the Canton Fair guide reproduces.

The full sector list, the intervals between phases and the registration steps are in the Canton Fair on a first visit. The organiser's site showed only the 140th session on 24 September 2026; it had not published dates for the 141st session in spring 2027. Spring 2027 dates that circulate on third-party sites are not the organiser's, so wait for the official site's announcement.

Source checked: Canton Fair official site, phase dates and themes for the 140th session. Checked 24 September 2026.

What does the calendar look like from October 2026 to June 2027?

The same fairs in date order, for planning one trip around several:

Not in this calendar: the spring 2027 Canton Fair, the spring 2027 Guzhen fair and the April 2027 Global Sources shows, because none had official dates when checked. Fairs without a working, current official site are left out altogether.

Sources checked: each fair's official site as linked in the table above. Checked 24 September 2026.

Which of these fairs are in Hong Kong rather than Guangdong?

The HKTDC fairs, the Global Sources shows, APLF and Cosmoprof Asia are all in Hong Kong: the HKTDC fairs and the Cosmoprof finished-products halls at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, and the Global Sources shows and Cosmopack at AsiaWorld-Expo by the airport. Hong Kong is not part of Guangdong and has its own entry requirements, so a trip that combines a Hong Kong fair with mainland factory visits needs both checked separately. Check the requirement for your passport with PassportBase's visa checker, then confirm it: for the mainland, with the Chinese embassy or consulate for your country; for Hong Kong, on the Hong Kong Immigration Department's visit requirements page. The Hong Kong organisers also state their own admission rules; Global Sources, for example, admits trade visitors only and requires attendees to be at least 18.

For a Guangdong-based sourcing trip the practical difference is the border: a Hong Kong fair means a separate crossing to reach mainland factories, whereas the Guzhen lighting fair is held in the lighting town itself, CIFF is in Guangzhou, which adjoins Foshan and its furniture towns, and the Dongguan furniture fair is held in Houjie, Dongguan. Sourcing in Guangdong: which city makes what sets out those clusters.

How do you combine a fair with factory visits?

Plan the fair as the shortlist-building part of the trip and the days around it for visits, as planning a sourcing trip to Guangdong describes. The calendar suggests two patterns:

• Category fair, then factories in the same city. The Guzhen fair is held in the lighting town, and the Dongguan and Zhongshan (Huangpu) fairs in cities with documented furniture and appliance industries, so appointments requested before you travel can follow the fair days without a change of city.
• Canton Fair phase, then a neighbouring city. Phase 2 pairs with Foshan furniture and ceramics; Phase 1 with Shenzhen and Dongguan electronics, or Guzhen lighting; Phase 3 with Guangzhou's bag and clothing districts.

Whichever you choose, ask each exhibitor the same short set of questions, write the answers down at the booth, and take the rules for your own market with you: import rules by destination lists where to check what your product must meet before you ask a supplier which test reports it holds.