Canton Fair 2026 Sourcing Guide: Combine the Fair with Guangzhou & Foshan

The 140th Autumn Canton Fair 2026 will officially open in Guangzhou on October 15.

Every year, exhibitors from across China come to Guangzhou for the Canton Fair, bringing their latest products, new designs and popular items to the exhibition. It is a good opportunity for you to see a wide range of products and meet suppliers from different parts of China in one place.

But if you are already coming to Guangzhou for the Canton Fair, the exhibition does not have to be the only place you visit.

If you are sourcing furniture, building materials, sanitary ware, lighting, hotel supplies or related products, there are also many large wholesale markets in Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhongshan, with numerous factories located nearby.

By combining the Canton Fair with market and factory visits, you can see more products, compare more suppliers and make better use of your sourcing trip to China.

Briefly fair introduce:

• Phase 1: October 15–19
• Phase 2: October 23–27
• Phase 3: October 31–November 4

If you are looking for furniture, building & decortive mateirals or sanitary items, then you should visit Phase 2. Below is the map of the phase 2 of 140th Canton Fair.

Canton Fair is big and come with so many new models. It will be for you to see many suppliers in a short time at one place. You can also compare products between different booths. Further more, many people will bring new design to the fair, so it will be good for you to see the trends.

It will be easier for you to discover new suppliers at the fair, check their style, quality and add contacts.

However, the exhibiton booth scale is limited and you won’t be able to see as much as possible. It will be good for you to go through the booth one by one to have initial comparison. If you want to do deeper sourcing or verification, then go checking local market could be a good option.

Outsite the fair, like Nanan building materials market in Guangzhou, you will be able to find 50 doors & windows showrooms, 20 tiles showrooms, 60 lighting showrooms, 40 sanitary ware showrooms and 30 hardware shorooms. So you will easier find more options than the fair.

At the fair, the exhibitor normally can not bring all their models, sizes or colors. If you ask then most of them will say “welcome to visit our showroom at xx city, to have a full checking on our sizes and colors.”

At the fair, you can not see how their production going or capabilities. If you can visit their workshop in person, then it will be good to see their working conditon and quality management.

So Canton Fair is especially useful for:

• Seeing many suppliers in a short time
• Comparing products
• Discovering new products and designs
• Making initial contact with suppliers
• Collecting catalogs, samples and contact information

Outside the fair, you can:

• Visit complete showrooms
• See more models, sizes, colors and finishes
• Discuss pricing in more detail
• Visit factories
• Check production capabilities
• Discuss customization
• Confirm packaging
• Review lead times and production arrangements

If you are looking for tiles, doors, windows or lighting for building project, then you can check Foshan, Guangzhou and Zhongshan cities.

Since the fair is in Guangzhou and after that you want to start from Guangzhou, then you can check items like hotel supplies and building materials. There are Shaxi Hotel supplies market, Nantian Hotel supplies market and Guangzhou Nanan Building materials market.

Then you can visit Foshan city which is next to Guangzhou. This is the city where you will find thousands of suppliers for tiles, building materials, for both showroom and factories. For tiles market there are Foshan International Ceramics Exhibition Center, China Ceramics Industrial Headquarters Base and much more. For building materials there are Huayi Building Materials Wholesale Market which is super big. For lighting or kitchen cabinet there is Sunlink Lighting and Kitchen Cabinet City.

Then if you are specially looking for lighting or LED lighting parts, then you can visit Guzhen in Zhongshan city. From where you will find lots of lighting showroom and factories.

Here we come to an summary:

Foshan

Main sourcing categories include:

• Tiles
• Sanitary ware
• Kitchen cabinets
• Doors & windows
• Flooring
• Stone
• Furniture
• Building materials

Guangzhou

Main sourcing categories include:

• Hotel supplies
• Restaurant supplies
• Commercial kitchen equipment
• Interior products
• Building material suppliers

Zhongshan / Guzhen

Main sourcing categories include:

• Decorative lighting
• Residential lighting
• Commercial lighting

If this is the first time for you to visit here, then you can go to see markets first. At the markets, you can easily see many suppliers and compare products. Or if this is not your first time but you want to order many different items with smaller quanity, then make order from market will be better option. Or if you want to see factoies but don’t have list or don’t know how to find factories, you can still visit market first, most of the suppliers in the market have factory also, then you can ask and go to visit their factories.

At the other hand, if you already have shortlisted suppliers online or from the fair, or if you want to have customized products, or like to check the production process and quality system before making order, then it will be good for you to visit factories. Please note that most factories are out of city and will be far away from each other. It will be good for you to have a private driver.

Here we come to a summary for market visits and factory visits:

Market visits are better when:

• You are still comparing products
• You want to see many suppliers quickly
• Your order quantities are small or medium
• You want to understand styles and price ranges

Factory visits are better when:

• You have already shortlisted suppliers
• Your order requirements are relatively clear
• You need customized products
• You want to check production capabilities
• You need to understand quality control

Here is an example of 5-Day Sourcing Schedule in Guangzhou & Foshan after Canton Fair.

Day 1–2 — Canton Fair

Visit the relevant exhibition halls, compare suppliers and collect product and supplier information.

Day 3 — Foshan Building Materials

Visit suppliers for tiles, sanitary ware, cabinets, doors, windows or other building materials.

Day 4 — Furniture or Guzhen Lighting

Choose between Foshan furniture markets or Guzhen lighting markets depending on your sourcing needs.

Day 5 — Factory Visits & Final Supplier Meetings

Visit shortlisted factories or return to selected suppliers for further discussions and negotiation.

Transportation

As for transportation, you can take taxi or bus from hotel to Canton Fair. If you get tired of busy traffic then you can also take metro to Canton Fair, cheap and convenient. You can stop at Xingangdong or Pazhou metro station of Line 8, then walk to the pavilion.

For markets and factories visit, it will be good for you to take a private driver which will bring you around the whole day, pick up from hotel in the morning and drop off at the end of the day. This could bring you an efficient visit.

Interpreter and Agent

Most people in the markets here not speak English. Even though you can comnuicate with them on very basic things like number or price by calculator, it’s suggested to hire an English to Chinese interperter for better comnuication.

Further more, if you like to order from different suppliers after Canton Fair. For example if you like to order tiles from 2 suppliers from the markets, sanitaryware from one factory and doors and windows from Canton fair, then hiring an sourcing agent will help you consolidate all the goods together.

If you are only attending the Canton Fair, 2–3 days may be enough for many buyers.

If you also want to visit Foshan markets or factories, allow at least another 2–3 days.

If you are sourcing several product categories, a sourcing trip of around 4–6 days or longer may be more practical.

Here are some important points of visiting:

First not to fit as many places as possible into one day. As here is quite big and the suppliers might be far away. So normally it will be good to visit 4-6 suppliers per day. Then you will have good time to meet suppliers and time for transportation as well.

Second, not to visit supplier without advanced appointment. As their actual showroom or showroom is not the same as showed on google map or online website. You have to ask the actual address. Or they have lunch break which is not good to visit.

Then, make proper arrangement on the route. Make sure with the supplier where they are. So you can avoid moving repeatedly between Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhongshan.

So a productive sourcing trip is not about visiting the largest number of suppliers.

It is about finding the right suppliers and having enough time to compare products, discuss details and make better decisions.

When you are visiting suppliers here at Canton fair or market, they might ask “Do you have project layout?” “Can I have your BOQ of project?”. Some vistors may say”Oh, I have it on my computer but didn’t take it with me.” “I have to call my designer and ask him to send me.”

As an sucessful business visiting, you have to prepare the files completely. Below are the example list to prepare before visiting.

Prepare basic sourcing information such as:

• Product list
• Reference photos
• Dimensions
• Quantity
• Quality level
• Target budget
• Destination country
• Required standards
• Project timeline

For construction and interior projects, it is also helpful to prepare:

• Drawings
• BOQ
• Floor plans
• Product specifications

The clearer your requirements are before visiting suppliers, the more productive the trip will usually be.

Founded in 2006, Tanndy has been helping international buyers source products from Guangzhou, Foshan and surrounding manufacturing areas for many years.

During your Canton Fair trip, we can assist with:

• Sourcing trip planning
• Market guidance
• Supplier selection
• Translation
• Price negotiation
• Factory visits
• Order follow-up
• Product inspection
• Consolidation
• Shipping

Before you arrive, we can help plan your sourcing schedule based on the products you are looking for and the time available during your trip.

Once you are in Guangzhou, we can accompany you to wholesale markets, supplier showrooms and factories in Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan and nearby areas. We help communicate with suppliers, compare products and prices, clarify product specifications and negotiate order details.

After you place an order, our work can continue in China. We follow up with suppliers on production progress, check products before shipment, consolidate goods from different suppliers when needed, arrange container loading and help coordinate shipping to your destination.

This means your sourcing trip does not end when you leave China. From planning your visits to following up on your orders and arranging shipment, Tanndy can help manage the sourcing process throughout the project.

If you are coming to Guangzhou for the Canton Fair and also plan to source:

• Furniture
• Building materials
• Sanitary ware
• Lighting
• Hotel supplies

You can send Tanndy:

• Your Canton Fair dates
• Products you want to source
• Number of days available
• Whether you prefer market visits, factory visits or both

Based on this information, Tanndy can help arrange a practical sourcing schedule around your Canton Fair trip.