The Canton Fair exhibition area covers more than 1.18 million square meters and consists of a total of 40 exhibition halls. This massive venue makes it possible to host thousands of exhibition booths and accommodate more than 25,000 visitors at the same time.
The fairgrounds are divided into three main areas – Pazhou, Liuhua, and Qiaoguang – with Pazhou being the largest and most modern. The Canton International Fair itself is held in the Pazhou area, specifically in Halls A-D.
Distances between the halls are really long. Proper walking shoes or sneakers are essential, as it is easy to walk up to 20 km per day. From Hall C, there is a pedestrian bridge connecting to Halls A, B, and D, and golf carts shuttle VIP customers back and forth along this route. More on VIP access later. It is highly recommended to plan your weekly schedule so that you focus on one area per day. Otherwise, walking alone can easily take several hours.
A fun detail from the latest fair and one of its hit products was an electric ride-on suitcase designed for adults. These were everywhere, and the booth was constantly crowded with people trying it out. It would have been an amazing companion for navigating the fairgrounds, but the price – $420 – and the 7 kg weight meant paying excess cabin baggage fees on every flight. So I left it behind, but it certainly looked impressive.
If you are curious, take a look at Airwheel. The same product can now be found online for around 950 EUR, which gives a good indication of how much cheaper it can be to buy directly from China.
If your accommodation is located further away, taxi queues after the fair can be enormous. Personally, I would recommend using the metro. Between Halls A and D, there is direct access to Xingangdong Metro Station. Station staff are able to communicate very effectively using translation devices, and each entrance should have at least one digital translation device available. A convenient meeting point is the The Westin Pazhou lobby. You can collect your fair badge there, and it also offers direct access to Area C, making it an excellent and easy-to-find starting point for meetings.
If you want to explore the area in more detail, a 3D tour of the fairgrounds is available and well worth checking out.
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