China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) — Guangzhou, Spring

The China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) is the largest furniture trade fair in the world. It runs in two cities each year: the Guangzhou session in March at the Canton Fair Complex in Pazhou — around 750,000 m² over two phases, the biggest furniture event on the planet — and the Shanghai session in September at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Hongqiao), over 300,000 m² with roughly 1,500 brands.

The two sessions are not duplicates. Guangzhou is the volume and export session: the widest supplier base, the full price ladder from OEM factories to premium brands, and the machinery and materials fair CIFM / interzum guangzhou running alongside it. Shanghai is the design and domestic-market session: more original design, more finished brand collections, a stronger showing of Chinese premium and designer labels.

If you are sourcing for import, Guangzhou in March is normally the trip to plan first. If you are studying design direction, building a premium assortment or meeting brands rather than factories, Shanghai in September is the better fit. Many buyers who work at scale go to both.

Guangzhou (March) — two phases, two different fairs. A single badge does not cover both; the halls are re-set between them, so check which phase carries your product before booking flights.

• Phase 1 — Home Furniture: residential furniture, sofas and upholstery, mattresses and bedroom, dining and living, plus Homedecor & Hometextile and Outdoor & Leisure.
• Phase 2 — Office & Commercial: office furniture and seating, hotel and public-space furniture, metal furniture, and CIFM / interzum guangzhou — furniture production machinery, hardware, panels, edge banding, foam, leather and textiles.

Shanghai (September) — one continuous run. The whole NECC complex is used at once and covers the home-furnishing chain end to end: designer and original-design furniture, sofa and living-room, dining and bedroom, office and commercial spaces, hospitality furniture, home textiles and decor, and urban outdoor and leisure.

Practical advice for both. Get the official hall plan from ciff-gz.com or ciff-sh.com a week before you travel and mark your target halls — at this scale, wandering costs you a full day. Halls are grouped by category, not by price, so plan on walking a category top to bottom rather than jumping between them.

Guangzhou — Canton Fair Complex (Pazhou), 广交会展馆
No. 380 Yuejiang Middle Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou.
Metro Line 8 to Pazhou (琶洲) or Xingangdong (新港东) — both exit into the complex; Line 11 also serves Pazhou. From Baiyun Airport (CAN): metro Line 3 → Line 8, about 75 minutes; taxi ¥130–180, 50–70 minutes. From Guangzhou South Railway Station: Line 2 → Line 8, about 50 minutes.

Shanghai — National Exhibition and Convention Center (Hongqiao), 国家会展中心（上海）
No. 333 Songze Avenue, Qingpu District, Shanghai.
Metro Line 2 to Xujing East (徐泾东) — main entrance; Line 17 to Zhuguang Road (诸光路) for the north halls. From Hongqiao Airport (SHA) or Hongqiao Railway Station: two stops on Line 2, 10–15 minutes. From Pudong Airport (PVG): Line 2 through, about 90 minutes, or taxi ¥250–300.

Getting between halls. Both complexes are big enough that the internal walk between the far ends is 20–30 minutes. Shuttle buses run between hall groups during the fair; use them rather than walking the whole perimeter with samples.

Taxis at closing time. At 17:00 the taxi queues at both venues are severe. Walking one metro stop away, or leaving 30 minutes before the halls close, saves more time than waiting.

Pre-register online, free of charge. Registration opens on ciff-gz.com for Guangzhou and en.ciff-sh.com for Shanghai, usually two to three months ahead. You get a confirmation e-mail with a QR code; print the badge from a self-service kiosk on site in a minute or two.

CIFF is trade-only. Registration asks for company details and your role; bring a business card and, if you can, something showing your company's line of business (letterhead, company stamp, catalogue, an import licence). Overseas visitors are asked for a passport at the counter.

One badge per session, not per phase. In Guangzhou, Phase 1 and Phase 2 are separate admissions — if you need both, register for both and expect to re-badge. In Shanghai a single badge covers all four days.

On-site registration is possible at both venues but the queues in the first two mornings are long and, in Guangzhou, the counters are spread across several entrances. Pre-registering is worth the ten minutes it takes.

Bring plenty of bilingual business cards. Furniture stands collect them constantly, and a card with a Chinese side plus your WeChat QR is the difference between a follow-up quote and silence.

Visa. An M business visa is the normal route. Both sessions overlap with other major fairs — March in Guangzhou is right before the Canton Fair season and September in Shanghai is a busy month — so apply early.

Weather. Guangzhou in March is 18–25 °C and humid, with rain likely. Shanghai in early September is 25–32 °C and humid. Light clothing, and shoes you can walk 15 km a day in.

Hotels. In Guangzhou, Pazhou hotels sell out and triple in price; Zhujiang New Town or anywhere on Line 8 is a better value. In Shanghai, Hongqiao is convenient but pricey during the fair — Line 2 anywhere from Zhongshan Park inward works well.

Come prepared to buy, not just to look. Bring your target specifications, container-load quantities, target FOB price and packaging requirements. Furniture suppliers quote much more usefully when they know the volume, the destination port and whether you need assembly or flat-pack.

Logistics. Talk to a freight forwarder before the fair, not after. Furniture is volumetric — knowing your cost per CBM to your port changes which suppliers are worth talking to.

Samples. Do not plan to carry furniture samples home. Agree with the supplier on sample shipping and who pays, and photograph every sample against the business card of the person who quoted it.

Payments and apps. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly, install a translation app, and have a working VPN if you rely on Google services.