The Canton Fair, From Arrival to Bill of Lading

Start with the fair itself

Six pages on the venue, the calendar and the practicalities, written from the floor rather than from a press release. Read these before you book flights.

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  What the Canton Fair isWhere it came from in 1957, how the three phases split the product categories, and who the fair is actually for.
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  Where it is held, and how to get thereThe Pazhou complex on Yuejiang Middle Road: metro, taxi, ferry and the runs from Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
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  How far you will walkFloor area, gate numbers and the honest walking distances between halls, so you can plan a route instead of a wander.
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  Our application for the 140th sessionGoodhope Logistics has applied for a booth in the trade-services section. What we offer on the floor, and how to book a slot.
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  Toilets, and where else to goThe practical map nobody prints: which halls hold the washrooms, how long the queues run, and which nearby buildings are open to you.
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  Export clearance at ShekouHow container export declaration works at Shenzhen's western ports: Shekou, Chiwan, Mawan and Dachan Bay.

The guide library

Everything above the level of a brochure: what a lead time really means, which Incoterm decides who pays for what, how consolidation works when your samples come from nine suppliers, and where the money actually goes. Grouped by theme, newest first in each one.

• 
  10 guidesGetting in, getting around, getting cargo out

  • Batteries and Electronics from the Fair: What Has to Be Right Before Cargo Moves
  • Booking a Pre-Shipment Inspection Around the Canton Fair

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesWorking the fair: floor, booths, data and money

  • A Chinese Quotation Is Not a Landed Cost
  • An Interpreter for the Fair: Cost, Access and Briefing

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesFreight decisions: ports, quotes and what arrives after

  • Cargo Insurance: What the Policy Pays, and What It Refuses
  • Chargeable Weight: Why Your Air Quote Is Not Your Cargo Weight

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesCompliance and documents

  • A Certificate of Origin Is Not One Document
  • A Pallet Without a Stamp Can Stop a Container

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesMoney and supplier risk

  • A Letter of Credit Tests Documents, Not Goods
  • An Audit Looks at the Factory. An Inspection Looks at Your Order.

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesCategory deep dives

  • 304 or 201 Decides More Than the Price of a Pan
  • A Container of Sofas Runs Out of Air Before It Runs Out of Weight

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesAfter the fair

  • A Trial Order Should Be Small Enough to Lose and Big Enough to Learn From
  • An Agent Sells Attention, and Attention Has a Scope

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesDestination guides

  • A Separate Customs Territory, and a Second Set of Numbers
  • Clearance Now Runs Through a Portal, Not a Broker's Desk

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesFirst-shipment mechanics

  • Booking a Container: Direct With the Line, or Through a Forwarder
  • Detention and Demurrage: The Clock Starts at Discharge

  All 10 guides ›
• 
  10 guidesMoney, risk and the long game

  • A Deposit Buys a Place in the Queue, Not the Goods
  • A Freight Rate Is a Price for Space on a Particular Date

  All 10 guides ›

Where to start, depending on where you are

1. First time at the fair. Registration, badge collection, which gate to use and how the three phases divide the halls. Start with what the Canton Fair is, then Getting in, getting around, getting cargo out.
2. Quotes in hand, comparing terms. Two suppliers can quote the same number and mean different things by it. Go to Freight decisions and Compliance and documents before you sign anything.
3. Goods bought, samples collected, shipping to arrange. The decisions that cost money are made in the week after you leave Guangzhou, not at the booth. Go to After the fair and First-shipment mechanics.