Ready-to-use itineraries for Phase 2 and Phase 3

Calendar (2026): Phase 2 runs Fri Oct 23 to Tue Oct 27; gap days Wed Oct 28 to Fri Oct 30; Phase 3 runs Sat Oct 31 to Wed Nov 4.

At a glance

• Daily hours of 09:30-18:00 are reported for Phase 2 and Phase 3. The only official PDF we could read confirms 09:30-18:00 for Phase 1 only; a further official-indexed extraction also gives 09:30-18:00 for P2/P3 but is dateless and unverified. Final-day closing time for Phase 2 and Phase 3 is not confirmed, and the Phase 3 note says hall clearing starts 30 minutes before close. Plan nothing critical late on Oct 27 or Nov 4.
• Rush hours: arrivals 08:00-11:00 and exits 16:30-19:00 (traffic police); metro rush at Pazhou and Xingangdong 07:30-09:30, so leave about 40 minutes earlier than you otherwise would. At 17:00-18:00 take Line 11 instead of Line 8.
• Use the right metro exit for your hall: Areas A and D via Line 8 Xingangdong Exit A to Gate 6; Area B via Line 8 Pazhou A/B to Gate 4 or Line 11 Pazhou E/F to Gate 3; Area C via Line 8 Pazhou Exit C, about 300 m west.
• Delivered meals are not allowed into the complex; eat inside or leave. The catering map marks a halal fast-food outlet in each of Areas A, B, C and D (not yet confirmed).
• If you want an interpreter inside the halls, the buyer applies for the interpreter badge at least 2 days ahead.
• Follow up on your best leads within 48 hours.

How to read these plans

Each plan lists the halls from the official map, the metro exit, and the timing logic. Hall assignments come from the official 140th hall map. Walking routes between halls are not given by the official source, so we do not invent them. Areas A to D are connected by internal walkways, and the venue map shows electric shuttle carts inside the complex.

One buyer on Reddit walked over 20,000 steps on the first day. Comfortable shoes are not optional.

Catering-map and portal screenshots were read as third-party reposts, not live official pages. Image-only outlets, events, fees and hotel timetable details remain not yet confirmed.

Plan A. Phase 2, 3 days: home, gifts and furniture buyer (Oct 23-25, P2)

Why these days: the first three days leave time for follow-ups and a factory visit on Oct 26-27 or the gap days. One trade writer suggests choosing 2-3 zones and walking them in geographic order.

Day 0 (Oct 22, arrival)

• Collect your badge on arrival: T2/T3 at Baiyun Airport have 20 badge self-service machines from Oct 12; other remote desks include Guangzhou South station, Pazhou ferry port and designated hotels. Bring the QR code, original ID and a business card.
• Optional for lighting buyers: Guzhen Lighting Fair in Zhongshan runs Oct 22-25; Guangzhou South to Guzhen by intercity is 21-36 min.

Day 1 (Fri Oct 23): Area B, furniture, bathroom, building materials

• Metro: Line 8 Pazhou A/B to Gate 4, or Line 11 E/F to Gate 3.
• Morning: furniture halls 9.3 / 10.2 / 10.3 / 11.3.
• Afternoon: bathroom 9.1 / 10.1 / 11.1 and building and decoration 11.2-13.2. Prefab houses are outdoors in 9.0 / 12.0 / 13.0.
• Checks for this category: GRS and recycled-content requirements for EU/US buyers; sample-to-bulk tolerance clauses. Finished furniture is in Phase 2, while woodworking machinery and furniture hardware were in Phase 1.
• Leave by about 17:00-17:30 (estimate) to beat the 17:00-19:00 exit peak.

Day 2 (Sat Oct 24): Area A, kitchenware, ceramics, gardening; Area C household and glass

• Metro: Line 8 Xingangdong Exit A to Gate 6 for Area A.
• Morning: kitchenware 1.2-5.2 and 1.1Y-4.1Y; general ceramics 2.1 / 3.1 / 4.1 / 5.1 / 5.1Y; gardening 6.1 / 7.1 / 8.1 / 8.0.
• Afternoon: Area C household items (14.3, 14.4, 15.2-15.4, 16.2-16.4) and glass artware (14.1, 14.2, 15.1, 15.2). Area C is reached from Line 8 Pazhou Exit C.
• Lunch: avoid the busiest window; one source names 11:30-13:30 as the jam (not yet confirmed). The fair's food carnival serves Cantonese food opposite Hall 20.1 in Area D from 12:00 to 14:00 during Phase 2 (Oct 23-27) and Phase 3 (Oct 31-Nov 4).

Day 3 (Sun Oct 25): Area D, gifts and home decor

• Metro: Line 8 Xingangdong Exit A to Gate 6.
• Morning: home decorations 17.1-20.1 (clocks, watches and optical in 20.1).
• Afternoon: gifts and premiums 17.2-20.2; fashion jewellery in Friendship Hall 21.2. Festival products are in Area A 1.1 / 6.1 / 6.0 if you missed them.
• Evening: the Area A atrium has a band and buffet 18:00-20:00 on Phase 2 days Oct 23-26; or Party Pier next to the complex.

Days 4-5 (Oct 26-27), optional

• Revisit your top booths and collect stamped quotations.
• Or a factory visit: Longjiang and Lecong furniture towns are about 45-60 min by car; some suppliers offer a free return car from Pazhou during Phase 2. Full route in Chapter 10.

Plan B. Phase 3, 3 days: textiles, toys and food buyer (Oct 31-Nov 2, P3)

Day 0 (Oct 30, gap day)

• If you arrive early, spend the morning at Zhongda fabric market (09:00-18:00, Line 8 Zhongda Exits A/B, about 20 min by taxi from Pazhou) to benchmark fabrics before the halls open.
• Or the Yide Road toy cluster: Yide toy plaza 09:00-18:30, Wanling Plaza 10:00-19:00, 3 minutes apart; finish by 16:00.

Day 1 (Sat Oct 31): Area C, home textiles and fabrics

• Metro: Line 8 Pazhou Exit C, about 300 m west.
• Home textiles 14.1 / 14.2 / 14.3 / 15.1 / 15.2 / 15.3 / 16.2 / 16.3; textile raw materials and fabrics 14.4 / 15.4 / 16.3 / 16.4. Phase 3 adds a functional and technical fabrics zone.
• Checks: sizing standard, composition, shrinkage, colourfastness, physical swatch cards.
• If you also buy garments, Area A holds menswear and womenswear 1.1-5.1 and kids' clothing 1.1 / 1.1Y.

Day 2 (Sun Nov 1): Area D, toys, baby, bags

• Metro: Line 8 Xingangdong Exit A to Gate 6.
• Toys 17.1 / 18.1 / 19.1; maternity and baby 20.1; bags and cases 17.2-20.2; Smart Healthcare in 21.2.
• Evening: the Asian Bags & Luggage Fair runs Oct 30-Nov 2 opposite Area D (Line 8 Xingangdong Exit F) and stays open until 20:00.

Day 3 (Mon Nov 2): Area B, food, stationery, pets, personal care

• Metro: Line 8 Pazhou A/B to Gate 4, or Line 11 E/F to Gate 3.
• Food 10.2 / 11.2 / 12.2 / 13.2; stationery 9.3 / 10.3 / 11.3; pets and bathroom 9.1; personal care 10.1 / 11.1.
• Checks for food: destination registration, quarantine and labelling. If you consolidate packaged food from wholesale markets, Dongwang food market (711 Zengcha Rd) runs a "1039" simplified export channel for pre-packaged food (not yet confirmed).
• Monday note: Chen Clan Academy and Zhenhai Tower are closed on Mondays if you planned an evening of sightseeing (both close before evening anyway: Chen Clan 09:00-17:30).

Days 4-5 (Nov 3-4)

• Revisit and ship samples. Book directly with the carrier and get an itemised quote. Temporary truck parking for teardown is scheduled 19:30 Nov 3 to 18:00 Nov 4, and dismantling must finish by 18:00 on Nov 4, so expect congestion late on Nov 4 (estimate).
• The Phase 3 factory visit question: one Reddit commenter thought a visit a week after the fair may be more realistic; confirm with the factory before booking onward travel.

Plan C. Phase 2 + gap days + Phase 3 (Oct 22-Nov 5), with a factory day and a leisure day

Visa first. This trip is 14 days (Oct 22 arrival to Nov 5 departure). That is longer than the 240-hour (10-day) transit allowance even for eligible countries, and Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nigerian, Philippine and Turkish passports are not on the transit list at all. If you rely on unilateral visa-free entry, check that your maximum stay (15 or 30 days, depending on nationality) covers the whole trip; otherwise apply for an M visa.

Notes for long stays

• Hotels are reported to have lower occupancy on gap days; long-stay buyers sometimes negotiate on that basis.
• Exhibitor staff say they need 2-3 days to recover after a phase; keep the leisure day light.
• If you move to a factory dorm or private flat for any night, register with police within 24 hours.
• Interpreter and assistant badges are per phase: up to 1 assistant and 1 interpreter per buyer per phase.

Plan D. 2-day express for a first-timer (either phase)

Goal: see your core zones once, collect quotes from a short list, and leave with a follow-up plan.

Day 0 (evening before)

• Badge collected at the airport or a remote desk. If you are coming by airport bus, it runs from the airport 09:00-16:00 and from the fair 11:00-18:00, every 30-45 min.
• Write a prioritised shortlist of booths with hall numbers. Without it you may not finish one hall in a day.

Day 1

• 08:30-08:50 (estimate): leave your hotel about 40 min earlier than you would off-peak. Buyer entry is reported from 09:30 (not yet confirmed).
• 09:30-12:00: zone 1 (your main category).
• 12:00-13:00: lunch inside the complex; delivered meals are not allowed.
• 13:00-17:00: zone 2. At each booth: booth number photo first, then product; MOQ, lead time, certifications; WhatsApp or WeChat.
• 17:00: leave; Line 11 is suggested at 17:00-18:00.
• Evening: sort notes by booth and SKU.

Day 2

• Morning: zone 3, or your top 5 booths again for stamped quotations and samples.
• Afternoon: arrange shipping for samples through a carrier counter or website; see Chapter 9 for power-bank and customs rules before you fly home.
• Evening: Canton Tower is 13-14 min from Pazhou on Line 8, or Party Pier by the river.
• Within 48 hours: follow-up emails to priority suppliers.

Plan E. Muslim and halal-conscious variant (apply to Plans A to D)

What changes is where you stay, where you eat, and how you get back in the evening. Halal status below is as reported; verify each place yourself.

Where to stay

• Guangzhou's halal food clusters are in Yuexiu, around Xiaobei and Baohan Street; the Pazhou area has few halal options, so some regular buyers stay near Xiaobei or Huanshi Road and commute about 30-40 min (not yet confirmed).
• Hotels describing Muslim-friendly services (from a hotel association report, March 2026): Crowne Plaza Guangzhou City Centre (prayer room, Arabic-speaking staff, halal dining, Pazhou shuttles); Rongtong Golden Eagle Hotel (quiet floors with Qibla markings, prayer rugs, in-room halal dining, free shuttles) and a certified Muslim dining area; Guangdong Asia International Hotel on Huanshi East (prayer rugs and compasses, Middle Eastern restaurants, night-time badge registration). Confirm the 140th-edition shuttle timetable directly.
• A Facebook reply warns that hotels near Xiaobei and the Grand Mosque area tend to be older.

Getting back in the evening

• A fair express bus runs to Liuhua Road (Line 2), boarding on Zhanchang Middle Road 15:00-19:00, 13:00-17:00 on the last day of each phase; the fare is reported as CNY 10. A February 2026 report also describes a Huanshi Middle Road bus on the same timetable, unconfirmed for the 140th edition.

Eating inside the complex

• The catering map marks halal fast food in each area: Area A no. 6 Dong Yang Ke (东羊客), Area B no. 3 Baiyun Airport Catering (白云天厨), Area C no. 5 Baiyun Airport Catering, Area D no. 4 West Coast Canteen (西海拾光) (not yet confirmed).
• The official Phase 1 guide lists a meditation room; it is not described as a dedicated prayer room, and halal catering is not stated there.

Eating outside

• Huimin Restaurant (回民饭店), 325 Zhongshan 6th Road, about 50 m from Ximenkou Exit A, claims halal certification; halal dim sum from about 07:00. From Oct 15 to Nov 15 it offers a free halal dim sum item to diners showing a buyer badge or foreign passport. It is near Chen Clan Academy and Huaisheng Mosque.
• Xixingjia (Xinjiang conveyor hotpot) at 1F Xinhua Building, 260 Xiaobei Road, about 30 m from Xiaobei Exit A; self-described halal, no certificate cited.
• Closer to Pazhou, commenters name Otantik (Unit 102, 81 Huangpu West Avenue), Dongyangke (4F Sunshine Hotel, 199 Huangpu Middle Avenue) and Antalya beside IGC. All are author or commenter claims.
• Hong Hui, a halal Yemeni restaurant, was packed during the fair; go with a group after hours.
• Vegetarian option: Shupu Vegan Restaurant is about 10 min by car from the complex, fully vegan with no alcohol or pungent alliums, and has an Arabic menu; book ahead.

Prayer

• Guangzhou's four main mosques are all in Yuexiu: Huaisheng, Xianxian, Haopan and Xiaodongying; entry rules differ, so ask at the gate.
• Oct 23 and Oct 30 are Fridays. Prayer times and Friday arrangements were not in our sources.
• Baiyun Airport T2 has a halal restaurant and a prayer room (Aug 2026 report); airport lounges take halal meal requests in advance.

Halal adjustments to the leisure and gap days

• Gap-day dining: the fair's food carnival does not run on Oct 28-30.
• Foshan local food picks carry no halal information; eat in Yuexiu before or after a Foshan trip.
• A day in Yuexiu works well: Huimin dim sum breakfast, Huaisheng Mosque, Chen Clan Academy (CNY 20, closed Mondays).

Do / Don't

Do

• Pick your hall exit before you leave the hotel.
• Leave early in the morning and before 17:00 in the evening.
• Apply for interpreter badges 2 days ahead.
• On the last day of a phase, plan your own way back; at least one hotel runs no return shuttle on Oct 27 and Nov 4.
• Keep the last day of each phase for revisits, not first meetings (estimate).

Don't

• Don't plan to see more than 2-3 zones in a day.
• Don't order delivery to the halls.
• Don't build a 14-day stay on 240-hour transit.
• Don't count on the Area A evening buffet on the last day of a phase; it runs Oct 23-26 and Oct 31-Nov 3.

Still to confirm

• Phase 2/3 opening hours and final-day closing: reported 09:30-18:00, official confirmation only for Phase 1. Last-day bus timetable (13:00-17:00) suggests an earlier wind-down but does not prove closing time.
• Halal outlets inside the complex come from an official-style map posted on Xiaohongshu; the official Phase 1 guide does not state halal catering. Check signs on site.
• Lunch peak 11:30-13:30 comes from one report.
• Buyer entry at 09:30 is a spring-edition rule.
• Shuttle routes to Huanshi Middle Road come from a February 2026 report; the 140th source confirms the Liuhua Road bus.
• Walking times between areas are not given by any official source.

Official sources

• Phase 2 is Oct 23–27, 2026; Phase 3 Oct 31–Nov 4; changeover Oct 28–30 (also Oct 20–22).
• Phase 2 Area A: Festival 1.1/6.1/6.0; General Ceramics 2.1/3.1/4.1/5.1/5.1Y; Gardening 6.1/7.1/8.1/8.0; Kitchenware 1.2–5.2 plus 1.1Y–4.1...
• Phase 2 B: Bathroom 9.1/10.1/11.1; Building/Decoration 11.2/12.1/12.2/13.1/13.2; Furniture 9.3/10.2/10.3/11.3; Prefab houses 9.0/12.0/13....
• Phase 2 C: Glass Artware 14.1/14.2/15.1/15.2; Household Items 14.3/14.4/15.2/15.3/15.4/16.2/16.3/16.4. D: Home Decorations 17.1–20.1; clo...
• Phase 3 D: Toys 17.1/18.1/19.1; maternity/baby 20.1; bags/cases 17.2–20.2; Smart Healthcare Friendship Hall 21.2. C: home textiles 14.1/1...
• Phase 3 B: pets and bathroom each 9.1; personal care 10.1/11.1; sports/travel 11.1/12.1/13.1 plus outdoor 9.0/12.0/13.0; medical/health 9...
• Effective Aug 20 2026, 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit covers 57 countries, not 55, via 65 ports; Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam newly added....
• Fair–Liuhua Rd custom bus boards Zhanchang Middle Rd: days 1–4 of each phase 15:00–19:00, day 5 13:00–17:00. This earlier final-day BUS t...
• Phase1 opening hours explicitly 9:30–18:00 October15–19. Guide says delivered food/drinks may not enter. This is current edition but only...
• Area A/D: Line 8 Xingangdong Exit A → Gate 6. Area B: Line 8 Pazhou A/B → Gate 4; Line 11 Pazhou E/F → Gate 3. Area C: Line 8 Pazhou C, a...
• Official Phase1 guide lists luggage storage, meditation room, first aid/AED, bank/ATM, photocopy/business-card printing, post and air/tra...
• From Oct 12, T2/T3 have 20 badge self-service machines; airport has fair priority processing and 96158 assistance; fair Areas A/B have ai...
• New overseas buyers may preregister online year-round and obtain a free overseas-buyer badge remotely at Baiyun Airport, Guangzhou South,...
• Badge preregistration: existing BEST account can log in; otherwise create buyer account, upload ID, complete personal/company info, verif...
• Phase 3 A: Kids clothing 1.1/1.1Y; mens/womens 1.1/2.1/3.1/4.1/5.1/2.1Y; sports/casual clothing 6.1/7.1/1.1Y; underwear 8.1/3.1Y; shoes 1...
• Published 57-country list does NOT include India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines or Turkey. Do not promise 240-hour entry to ...
• Airport–fair express: airport departures 09:00–16:00; fair departures 11:00–18:00; ordinary interval 30–45 min, demand-based at peaks. Fa...