Canton Fair Info - Going there in April

[prephil]

Hi all,

I'm traveliing to China shortly and plan on going to the Canton fair. Just looking for info regarding the Canton Fair as I intend on going to it during the trip to see if I can find a find suppliers and also just to experience it as I've heard it's massive.

Just a few quick questions:

• What's entry fee?

• Do I need to book in advance?

• Do you know of places to stay (I've spent a year in Northern China and am married to a girl from there but am unfamiliar with Southern China as is she)

• What to expect at the fair (I'm a mechancial engineer and am specifically interested in machine suppliers - would there be a fair few of these. Have looked at the website and there's so much content it's a bit difficult to sive through)

Cheers,

Phil.

[flameproof]

You find everything here:

http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/index.asp

Make sure you visit during the right slot since the fair is now divided into 3 different times for 3 different product groups.

Tickets you can buy there - or apply online (I think). Bring some passport photos, you will need them.

There are plenty of hotels in GZ, it's easy to find one on arrival in the train station.

[abcdefg]

I went three years ago. Here are some hotels: http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/attend/detail.aspx?oid=75

I'm pretty sure my entry was free with pre-registration, but it looks as though now it might be 200 RMB. The fair itself was overwhelmingly vast and not a whole lot of fun.

[prephil]

I'm trying to get tickets online but it's not easy to find the right link on the Canton Fare webpage. Any links directly to it.

I've tried http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/attend/detail.aspx?oid=75 but this is only a link to hotels where you can buy a Entry Badge (IC Card - what's IC stand for?)

[abcdefg]

I think the IC card is an ID badge/entry card with an imbedded electronic chip containing your name and registration information. If I'm not mistaken, it stands for "Integrated Circuit" and is sometimes called a "smart card."

I'm sorry that I no longer remember the details of how I registered. A friend was handling much of the arrangements for me.

[flameproof]

Have you tried this link:

http://invitation.cantonfair.org.cn/en/clientdata/findcompany.aspx

[prephil]

Thanks Flameproof. Filled it out and says it takes 3 working days for reply. I'm going to book into one of the hotels that give out IC cards for the fair also. Any recommendations out of the following list?

Garden Hotel

China Hotel(A Marriott Hotel)

Dong Fang Hotel

White Swan Hotel

Shangri-La Hotel Guangzhou

Hotel Landmark Canton

Best Western GZ Baiyun Hotel

New Mainland Hotel

Guangzhou Hotel

Star Hotel

The Phoenix City Hotel Guangzhou

Ocean Hotel

Rosedale Hotel & Suites Guangzhou

Guangdong Victory Hotel

Ramada Pearl Hotel GZ

Asia International Hotel

Jianguo Hotel Guangzhou

Grand International Hotel

Grand Royal Hotel

Ramada Plaza Guangzhou

Riverside Hotel

Royal Mediterranean Hotel

The Westin Hotel

Holiday Inn City Center Guangzhou

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Guangzhou

Panyu Hotel

Chateau Star River

Chime Long Hotel

Foshan Crowne Plaza

Regal Palace Hotel