The Canton Fair has two editions a year, and the spring 2027 one is the 141st. The autumn 2026 edition, the 140th, opens on 15 October, and the organiser usually announces the next edition months in advance. On 1 October 2026 there was no official calendar for the 141st. Anyone deciding on travel, hotel and factory visits based on a date that has not come out needs to know exactly what is certain, what is the fair's usual pattern and what is a guess. For choosing a phase by sector, the guide on which phase of the Canton Fair to visit still holds, and the complete guide to the Canton Fair explains the fair in full.
What is certain, what is standard and what does not exist yet
On 1 October 2026, the picture of the 141st edition was this:
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Edition number | Certain. The 140th is autumn 2026, so spring 2027 is the 141st. |
| Venue | Standard. The Pazhou complex in Guangzhou has been the fair's fixed address for years. |
| Dates of the three phases | Standard, with no official notice. The historical pattern is an opening around 15 April, with five-day phases. |
| Sectors by phase | Not yet published. The 2026 layout is the best base available. |
| Buyer registration | Not yet open, as far as is known. It usually opens up to three months ahead. |
A detail that explains the caution: the April 2027 dates circulating on fair-listing sites are identical to those of the April 2026 edition (15 to 19 April, 23 to 27 April and 1 to 5 May). That is consistent with the fair, which has opened around the 15th for decades, but it is exactly why we call them the standard and not the date. They only become a date when the organiser publishes.
Expected dates of the three phases in 2027
With the caveat above, these are the dates by the fair's usual pattern, for both editions of the year:
| Edition | Phase | Expected dates | Sectors (2026 layout) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 141st, spring | Phase 1 | 15 to 19 April | Electronics, machinery, energy, vehicles, materials |
| Phase 2 | 23 to 27 April | Home, furniture, decoration, household goods, gifts | |
| Phase 3 | 1 to 5 May | Textiles, fashion, health, food, toys | |
| 142nd, autumn | Phase 1 | 15 to 19 October | Electronics, machinery, energy, vehicles, materials |
| Phase 2 | 23 to 27 October | Home, furniture, decoration, household goods, gifts | |
| Phase 3 | 31 October to 4 November | Textiles, fashion, health, food, toys |
The organiser can adjust the list of sectors by phase from one edition to the next, which is why the right-hand column is only a base until the official notice. What does not change from one edition to the next is the logic: the product decides the phase, and the phase decides the week of the trip.
April 2027: six fairs in three weeks
April is the first of the two peaks in the fair calendar, and in 2027 it is tighter than it looks. These are the fairs that fall between 9 April and 5 May, with the status of each date (the China trade fair calendar 2027 has the whole year):
| Fair | City | Dates | Status of the date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMEF (medical equipment) | Shanghai | 9 to 12 April | Expected |
| HK Electronics Fair | Hong Kong | 13 to 16 April | Expected |
| Chinaplas (plastics and injection moulding) | Shenzhen | 13 to 16 April | Confirmed by the organiser |
| Canton Fair Phase 1 | Guangzhou | 15 to 19 April | Fair's usual pattern |
| CIMT (machine tools) | Beijing | 19 to 24 April | Expected |
| Canton Fair Phase 2 | Guangzhou | 23 to 27 April | Fair's usual pattern |
| Auto Shanghai | Shanghai | 23 April to 2 May | Confirmed by the organiser |
| Canton Fair Phase 3 | Guangzhou | 1 to 5 May | Fair's usual pattern |
Three things come out of this table. First, HK Electronics and Chinaplas fall on the same days, and Phase 1 of the Canton Fair opens in the middle of them: those who import electronics and those who import plastics and injection moulding compete for the same week. Shenzhen sits between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, which helps with linking them, but does not multiply the days. Second, CIMT and Auto Shanghai are biennials of odd-numbered years, so they return in 2027 after a 2026 without them, and the second week of the fair in Guangzhou overlaps with both. Third, you cannot do everything: the practical rule is to pick one anchor fair, the Canton Fair, and at most one satellite, the one for your sector.
For electronics importers: HK Electronics and Phase 1 are the natural pair, and the guide to the Hong Kong Electronics Fair with the Canton Fair shows how to link the two. In 2027 they overlap by two days, so it is worth deciding early which of the two opens the trip.
Phase 3 starts on Labour Day
The standard Phase 3 opens on 1 May, which is a public holiday in China, normally of around five days. In 2027 1 May falls on a Saturday, and the official arrangement of days off and make-up working days for the year only comes out in November 2026. The fair runs on those days, but factories are usually closed: anyone planning to add factory visits to Phase 3 should expect the industrial calendar to reopen only after the holiday. The guide to China's holidays in 2027 has the full calendar and will be updated when the arrangement is published.
The timeline for deciding: October to April
Since the official date has not come out, what you can do is build the calendar backwards from what is fixed: Chinese New Year on 6 February 2027 and the lead time of 60 to 120 days between the order and the goods in Brazil.
Use the 140th and close what is for the first quarter
The 140th Canton Fair opens on 15 October. Whoever goes can use it to sound out the suppliers they plan to revisit in April. In November the official arrangement of 2027 holidays comes out. Anyone who needs goods in the first quarter buys now, as the guide to planning your imports in 2027 shows.
The official date should come out
This is when organisers publish most of the 2027 dates. BCVN reviews this guide and the fair calendar then, and the status of each date moves from forecast to confirmed.
Decide on the trip
Flight, hotel near Pazhou, confirmation of the entry regime and registration, which opens up to three months ahead. It is the last month in which China still answers before the shutdown.
Chinese New Year
Manufacturing stops for two to four weeks. The factory agenda for April has to be booked before it, or after China is back, around the end of the month.
Settle the booth agenda
With the exhibitor portal open, build the list by hall and prioritise. Anyone who arrives at Pazhou without a list loses the first day just finding their bearings.
The fair
Two to four days per phase are enough to see the right exhibitors, collect samples and open negotiations, and the order that comes out of the fair falls in the May window.
What the April edition serves
The spring edition serves to settle the assortment for the second half of the year, and it falls close to May, one of the four months of the year in which it makes sense to open a new production order, according to the planning guide. The sum is simple: the product you see in April has to become an order in May, not in September. The autumn edition, the 142nd, follows the same layout from 15 October, and the rest of the fair year is in the 2027 calendar.
What can already be done without an official date
- Passport: at least six months' validity beyond the return date. Anyone who has to renew it needs to do so now.
- Entry regime: since June 2025 Brazilians enter without a visa for up to 30 days, but the rule can change. Confirm in visa and exemption for China before buying a ticket.
- Product and phase: list what you import and link each item to a phase, using the 2026 layout.
- Accommodation: the hotels near Pazhou sell out months ahead. A booking with free cancellation holds the price without fixing the date.
- Agenda: the Canton Fair is only one part of the trip. The 10-day itinerary in China for importers shows how to fit in factories, Yiwu and the fair.
With 18 years taking Brazilians to China, BCVN builds the trip around the right phase for your product, with flights, bullet train, hotels, transfers, tickets and a bilingual guide from start to finish. When the official April calendar comes out, it goes in here and into the business missions to the Canton Fair.
Frequently asked questions about the Canton Fair 2027
When is the Canton Fair in 2027?
The spring edition is the 141st and, by the fair's usual pattern, runs in three phases in Guangzhou: Phase 1 from 15 to 19 April, Phase 2 from 23 to 27 April and Phase 3 from 1 to 5 May. The autumn edition is the 142nd and follows the same cadence, from 15 October. On 1 October 2026 the organiser had not yet published the official calendar for these editions, so reconfirm on the fair's website before buying a flight.
Will the phases and sectors in 2027 be the same as in 2026?
The layout will probably hold: Phase 1 for electronics, machinery, energy and vehicles, Phase 2 for home, furniture and gifts, Phase 3 for textiles, health, food and toys. But the list of sectors by phase for 2027 has not been published, and the organiser can adjust it from one edition to the next. Use the 2026 layout as a base and check the official list when it comes out.
Can I go to both the Canton Fair and the HK Electronics Fair on the same trip in April 2027?
Yes, with a choice to make. The HK Electronics Fair is expected on 13 to 16 April and Canton Fair Phase 1 on 15 to 19, so the two overlap by two days. Anyone who wants both sees Hong Kong first and then heads to Guangzhou, or does it the other way round. If you also work with plastics you have to choose, because Chinaplas falls on the same 13 to 16 April, in Shenzhen.
When does registration open for the Canton Fair 2027?
Buyer registration is free and done on the fair's official website, up to three months before opening. For an opening in mid-April, that points to January. Since the 2027 calendar has not yet been published, the exact deadline is only confirmed once the organiser opens the portal.
Do I need a visa for the Canton Fair in April 2027?
Since June 2025, Brazilians have entered China without a visa for stays of up to 30 days, which covers one phase of the fair with room to spare. Because entry rules change, confirm that the exemption is still in force for your dates, and remember that your passport needs at least six months' validity beyond your return. The guide to visas and the exemption for China gives the step by step.
BCVN — Brasil China Viagens e Negócios has connected Brazilian companies with the best suppliers in China and Asia since 2008, and organises guided business missions to the Canton Fair and the main Chinese trade fairs.