The history of Canton Fair

China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair for short, was founded in the spring of 1957. It is held in Guangzhou in spring and autumn every year. As an important window of foreign trade in China, the Canton Fair is still a comprehensive international trade event with the largest scale, the highest level, the most complete variety of commodities, the largest number of merchants and the best transaction effect. It deserves the title of "China's first exhibition".

Because the novel corona virus pneumonia is spreading all over the world, the Canton Fair in April 2020 was suspended. It is estimated that the Canton Fair will also be suspended in October. We are very much looking forward to the resumption of the Canton Fair as soon as possible.

The role of Canton Fair: unique

Face to face communication is the best communication. There is no doubt that the function of the fair is very important. Buyers and sellers can communicate face to face, and buyers can directly touch the real samples. Canton fair will not be replaced by any online virtual exhibition. Not only will the Internet not replace the Canton Fair, but also add wings to the fair. Artificial intelligence, 5G and other technologies are promoting the digital reform of the Canton Fair and the progress of the entire industrial chain.

The traditional concept of participating in the exhibition is to know new customers and increase new orders. In fact, there are many other functions of exhibition, such as obtaining information about new products and new fashion, maintaining enterprise image, observing competitors, exchanging experience and information, encouraging employees through exhibition, etc.

At the fair, guests come from all over the world, it is the best time to promote new products. In addition to exchanging information with buyers and industry partner, exhibitors can also see the development trend of the industry. Many exhibitors devote their efforts to the decoration of their booths. They specially hire the exhibition company to design and construct the booth. The design of the booth is beautiful and brilliant, which is conducive to maintaining and improving the company and the product image.

The exhibition has also played an incentive role for the staff. Now the requirements for the quality of the exhibitors are higher and higher. The employees need to be familiar with the products, the business process of the industry, the psychology of the customers, the communication in English and the negotiation skills. Participating in the trade fair is also an improvement of our own ability. It is also a kind of practical training, which can improve the quality of employees, and also can promote and motivate employees.

Experience of participating in Canton Fair: perseverance

We have been participating in the Canton Fair in a dependable manner for more than 20 years. We are willing to share some practical experience.

1. Prepare in advance

Everything  should be scheduled   in advance. Usually, the booth location should be prepared three months before the fair. Many details need to be paid attention to: for example, from a professional point of view, enterprises producing plastic artificial plants should choose NO. 5 hall (garden Products)in Canton Fair. We will select marketable samples in advance, prepare quotations, arrange articles for exhibition, etc.;  We will check the price of quotation sheet and hang tag on the sample. We will  consider  where the specific sample should be placed in the booth.  After the booth location is confirmed, it is necessary to send the  invitation letter to customers. Relevant certificates, such as exhibition card, exhibition preparation certificate, driver's license and other credentials should be prepared a few days before. We will check the booth location on the spot . We will confirm  the freight logistics such as  the sample transportation for the preparation and removal of exhibition. We will arrange to print the business cards and make the poster.

Details determine success or failure. Problems in any segment will affect the whole exhibition plan. We must do the first thing first, and push important things forward.

2. Persevere

All the greatness comes from a brave start. Although it is difficult to start a business, we have  participated in the exhibition for 20  years since 1999, totaling 40 sessions without interruption. We started to participate in the exhibition in the old hall of Liuhua Road trade fair. Originally, we only took half of the booth, and the facilities for the exhibition were very simple. We took some iron wire to set up . Later, the fair moved to Xingang East Road in Guangzhou. The number of booth, the area of the venue, the number of exhibitors and the number of visitors also increased, and the scale of our exhibition increased accordingly. From one booth, two booths, to  three booths in one session， from simple booth to high-grade special booth, we keep going . Regardless of the wind and rain, braver  walk in idle manner.  On the way to the exhibition, we are not afraid of difficulties.

Some suppliers only participate in one or several sessions and give up. It is estimated that the effect is not good, or they feel that the investment is too large and the rate of return on investment is not high. In fact, it is normal that the effect is not good if only participating in several sessions. We have always believed that the exhibition is a symbol of strength. The guests are more professional, more reliable and more powerful than the guests we know from the Internet Exhibition. The fair is like a filter screen, which filters out some guests who are not strong enough or professional enough. Many regular customers can be seen in the exhibition, which plays an important role in maintaining the relationship between customers. In addition, the exhibition also played a very good role in publicity. Every time we keep on participating, it would give people a stable sense of trust.

3. Keep improving

Development and pioneering are only in progress, not in completion. Today's competition is not only about physical strength, but also about brains and ways of thinking. After each exhibition, we will summarize, strive to improve in every detail, and constantly improve, so that customers can experience the attention of the exhibitor. For example, the way we started to deliver samples was very outmoded. After unloading the goods outside the gate of the trade fair, it was time-consuming and laborious for us to carry the goods to the booth. Later, we applied for the driver's license, and the truck could arrive in directly and park near the booth. What's more, we used to transport the samples in trolleys. Later, the company made  innovations and invested in the design of display cabinets with wheels, which were beautiful. A lot of time is saved. There are many other examples of improvement details like this. We insist on "minimally invasive creation" and strive to make progress every time. We never do anything flashy or inconsistent. We firmly believe that only the reformer can see the sun of tomorrow.

Small tips: how foreign businessmen participate in trade fair

First, buyers should provide important information such as the name of the applicant and the company's address to apply for the invitation letter of the Canton Fair.  Second, overseas buyers can apply for visa in China with the invitation letter. Third, after getting the visa, the buyers travel to Guangzhou in China  to register for free. In this way they can attend the Canton Trade Fair.

Canton Fair is a link of friendship and a bridge of trade. We are looking forward to the early opening of the Canton Fair. We firmly believe that this link will be stronger and closer, and this bridge will last forever!