The four venues worth a plane ticket are the Canton Fair (Guangzhou, twice a year, factory-direct, everything), the Yiwu International Trade City (year-round, small commodities, low MOQ), Global Sources (Hong Kong, twice a year, electronics and lifestyle), and the East China Fair (Shanghai, every March, textiles and home). Which one you fly to depends on your category, your order size, and whether you want factories or trading agents. This page maps them all and links to the deep guide for each.
A "trade fair" here means a temporary exhibition where suppliers rent booths for a few days; a "wholesale market" like Yiwu is a permanent building open all year. Both let you meet suppliers face to face — the fastest way to qualify a factory, see real samples, and negotiate. Below, the shortlist, then how to choose, prepare, and work the floor.
The major China sourcing venues at a glance
Each row is a different animal. MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity — the smallest quantity a supplier will produce) is the single biggest filter for small importers.
| Venue | Location | Frequency / 2026 dates | Focus | MOQ profile | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton Fair | Guangzhou (Pazhou) | Twice a year, 3 phases each — Spring Apr 15–May 5, Autumn Oct 15–Nov 4 | Everything, phase by phase: electronics/machinery, home/gifts, textiles/health | Medium–high, factory MOQs | Anyone importing at scale, factory-direct |
| Yiwu Int'l Trade City | Yiwu (Zhejiang) | Open year-round (5 districts) | Small commodities: toys, jewelry, stationery, accessories, seasonal | Low — cartons, mixed orders | Small importers, e-commerce, variety buyers |
| Global Sources | Hong Kong (AsiaWorld-Expo) | Twice a year — Apr 11–14 & Oct 11–14 (electronics); Gifts & Home Oct 27–30 | Consumer electronics, components, gifts, lifestyle | Medium, export-ready suppliers | Electronics and branded/private-label buyers |
| East China Fair (ECF) | Shanghai (SNIEC) | Every March — Mar 1–4, 2026 | Garments, textiles, home, gifts | Medium, textile factories | Apparel and home-textile importers |
| HKTDC HK fairs | Hong Kong (HKCEC) | Gifts & Premium Apr 27–30; Electronics Oct 13–16 | Gifts, premiums, electronics, design | Medium–high, higher-end | Buyers wanting premium/branded suppliers |
Sources: Canton Fair 2026 dates, Yiwu districts, Global Sources HK shows, East China Fair, HKTDC Gifts & Premium.
The big four, in one paragraph each
Canton Fair (officially the China Import and Export Fair) is the largest trade fair on earth — around 31,000 exhibitors across roughly 1.55 million m² of hall space, drawing over 200,000 buyers per session (source). It runs in three themed phases, and an exhibitor only shows in the phase that matches its category, so you must pick your dates by product, not by convenience. Full breakdown in our Canton Fair 2026 guide.
Yiwu International Trade City is the opposite model: a permanent market of roughly 75,000 shops across five districts, open all year, built for small commodities at low MOQ (source). You buy by the carton, mix categories, and ship a mixed container. Most Yiwu sellers are traders, not factories. See the Yiwu market guide and the head-to-head Canton Fair vs Yiwu.
Global Sources in Hong Kong is the electronics and lifestyle specialist — the Consumer Electronics and Electronic Components shows each field around 4,000 exhibitors at AsiaWorld-Expo (source). Exhibitors are export-ready and used to Western buyers, which shortens qualification. More in our Global Sources guide.
East China Fair (ECF) in Shanghai is the regional heavyweight for textiles and home — about 4,000 exhibitors and 5,200+ booths every March, drawn from nine eastern provinces (source). If your line is garments, fabric, or home textiles, this is a denser catch than a general fair.
How to choose which fair
Answer three questions in order.
What's my category? Electronics → Global Sources or Canton Fair Phase 1. Apparel and home textiles → East China Fair or Canton Fair Phase 3. Gifts and small commodities → Yiwu or HKTDC Gifts & Premium. General or mixed → Canton Fair.
What's my order size? If you're testing a product or ordering under a full container, low-MOQ Yiwu is friendlier than factory-MOQ Canton. If you're placing factory orders and want the best unit price, go factory-direct at Canton or ECF.
Do I want factories or agents? Canton Fair and ECF are dominated by manufacturers; Yiwu is dominated by trading companies. Factories give you lower prices and control but higher MOQ; agents give you flexibility and consolidation but a markup. A "trading company" resells other factories' goods — fine for variety, worse for custom work.
If you can only make one trip a year and sell general consumer goods, the Canton Fair is the safe default: broadest catch, factory-direct, and you can pick the phase that fits. Planning the logistics around any of these is its own job — see how to organize a sourcing trip.
How to prepare
Preparation is 80% of a good trip. The floor is too big to improvise.
- Register and get your buyer badge in advance. Canton Fair and Global Sources both issue badges online; walking up cold wastes half a morning.
- Pre-plan halls by phase. At Canton, confirm which phase carries your category before booking flights — the wrong phase means an empty trip.
- Set a target price and a target landed cost, not just a unit price. A cheap FOB (Free On Board — priced at the Chinese port, freight not included) can lose to a dearer one once you add freight and duty. Model it first with our landed-cost calculator.
- Know your container math. Decide up front whether you're filling a 20-ft or 40-ft container; volume in CBM (Cubic Meters — how much space the goods occupy) drives freight per unit. Our CBM calculator sizes it in seconds.
- Prepare a capture system. You will meet dozens of suppliers a day. Decide before you land how you'll record each one: photo, quoted price, MOQ, supplier name, booth. Paper and phone photos fall apart by day two.
How to work a fair efficiently
The floor rewards a repeatable loop, not enthusiasm.
- Sweep, then dive. Walk a whole hall fast first, marking booths worth a real conversation. Deep-dive on the second pass. Diving on booth one burns your best hours on mediocre suppliers.
- Capture every candidate in under a minute. One photo of the product, one of the business card, the quoted price, MOQ, and the booth number. Consistency beats detail — you compare later, not on the floor.
- Ask the four qualifying questions at the booth: MOQ, unit price at your quantity, lead time, and whether they're a factory or trading company. Everything else can wait for email.
- Take samples or photograph them against your card so scale is obvious back home. See negotiating at the booth for how hard to push on price on day one (answer: not very).
- Reconcile the same evening. Ten minutes tidying the day's captures while names still mean something saves a week of confusion later.
Common mistakes
- Collecting 800 photos with no structure. Volume without a consistent record is noise. If you can't line up the same product across three suppliers afterward, you didn't source — you sightseed.
- Comparing prices in different currencies. A USD quote and a RMB quote aren't comparable until you convert both to one reference. Mixing them silently corrupts your shortlist.
- Chasing the lowest FOB and ignoring landed cost. Freight and duty can flip the ranking. Always compare delivered cost.
- Booking the wrong Canton phase. Your category only shows in one phase — the classic first-timer's wasted trip.
- Not verifying factory vs trader. Paying factory expectations to a middleman kills your margin.
FAQ
Which China trade fair is best for beginners?
For a first trip with small orders, the Yiwu International Trade City is the gentlest: it's open year-round so you're not locked to fixed dates, MOQs are low, and you can buy mixed cartons across many categories. If you sell general consumer goods and want factory prices, the Canton Fair is the broadest single stop — just pick the phase matching your product.
When is the Canton Fair 2026?
The Canton Fair runs twice in 2026. The Spring session is April 15 to May 5, and the Autumn session is October 15 to November 4, each split into three phases with a few days between them (source). Every exhibitor shows in only one phase, so book your travel around the phase that carries your category, not the whole window.
Canton Fair or Yiwu — what's the difference?
The Canton Fair is a twice-yearly exhibition of mostly factories with medium-to-high MOQs and the widest category range. Yiwu is a permanent wholesale market of mostly trading companies specializing in small commodities at low MOQ, open all year. Factories win on unit price and custom work; Yiwu wins on flexibility, variety, and small test orders. Full comparison in Canton Fair vs Yiwu.
Do I need to register in advance for these fairs?
Yes for the exhibitions. The Canton Fair, Global Sources, and HKTDC fairs all issue buyer badges online before the event, and pre-registering saves you a long queue and sometimes a fee at the door. Yiwu, being a permanent market rather than a timed fair, has no phases or badges — you can walk in on any working day.
How do I keep my supplier data organized during the trip?
Decide on one record format before you land and apply it to every booth: product photo, quoted price, MOQ, supplier name, and booth number. Reconcile the same evening while names are fresh. A phone camera roll plus scattered business cards collapses by day two — a structured capture flow is what turns a fair into a usable supplier database.
Fairloop was built for exactly this trip: capture each product in under 15 seconds on the floor — photo, quoted price, MOQ, supplier — even offline, then back at the hotel compare the same product across suppliers, compute landed cost and container fill, and turn your shortlist into a purchase order. It's 99 USD/year with a 24-hour free trial — see pricing.