Canton Fair vs Yiwu Market vs Yiwu Fair: Which Should You Attend?
Published by Aeonix Trade.
Last fact-checked: November 10, 2026.
Canton Fair versus Yiwu is a timing question before it is a product question. The fair is a phased exhibition with published dates. The Yiwu market is a standing wholesale mart whose district pages do not print a session calendar. The Yiwu Fair is a separate show, and the organiser's introduction still describes the 32nd session as 21-24 October 2026. If you need a decision in one sitting, use the table, then open the page that matches the row.
Three different tools
| Canton Fair | Yiwu market | Yiwu Fair | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | China Import and Export Fair, three phases per session | Yiwu International Trade Mart, district pages on the operator site | China Yiwu International Commodities Fair, a dated exhibition |
| When | 141st session: 15-19 April, 23-27 April, 1-5 May 2027 | No session dates on the five district pages checked | 32nd session: 21-24 October 2026. Next session: not printed |
| Hours that are printed | Talks 9:30-18:00 on the published days | Booth trading hours: not on the district pages | Trade days 8:30-17:00. Public day 25 October, 8:30-14:00 |
| What a buyer walks | The product groups of that phase only | Floors by district, all year in the operator's description | Daily goods, hardware, electronics, toys, sports, stationery, trade services, as the intro lists them |
| Order shape it suits | Comparing many factories in one category, then a planned order | Many small lines, mixed cartons, a consolidation afterwards | A short dated show, not a substitute for the mart |
Fair dates are on the Canton Fair current-session page. The 32nd Yiwu Fair dates, booth count, and product sectors are on the Yiwu Fair introduction. Trade-day and public-day hours are on the Yiwu Fair info page. Market floors are on the operator district pages, starting with District 1.
The Yiwu Fair introduction, read on 10 November 2026, still uses future tense for 21-24 October 2026. That session is in the past relative to the check date. The page does not give the following session. The introduction also says the 32nd session plans 4,500 standard booths, 3,000 exhibitors and 110,000 square metres, and that an estimated 180,000 professional buyers are expected. That attendance line is the organiser's estimate, not a counted result. The hotline printed on the fair site is +86-579-85415888.
Which one, for the order you actually have
Go to the Canton Fair when the category is on one phase and you want several factories in that category in the same building, on the same days. Go to the Yiwu market when the order is a mix of small commodities and you can use the district pages to aim the walk. Go to the Yiwu Fair when you specifically want that show's dates and sectors, and only after the organiser prints the next session. The market and the fair share a city. They are not the same floor.
A gift buyer who also needs a few toy SKUs and a sock reorder will not finish that list in one Canton Fair phase. Phase 2 can cover gifts. Toys are phase 3. Socks are not a fair-phase problem at all if the buyer is willing to use Yiwu District 4, whose first floor the operator describes as socks. That split is why some trips are a phase plus two days in Yiwu, not a choice of one logo.
What the money is made of, without a price
No fare, hotel rate, or freight rate belongs on this page. The lines you still have to budget are the same three ways:
- Travel and the nights. One Canton Fair phase is not three phases, and Yiwu is a different city from Guangzhou.
- Badges. The 140th overseas buyer badge is free on the badge guide. Accompanying staff on the 140th notice are not free. The Yiwu Fair site has a trade-badge section; this check did not open a fee table, so no Yiwu Fair badge price is stated here.
- Samples, including the courier.
- The export leg. A fair order from one exhibitor can be a single booking. A Yiwu day with eight booths is a consolidation, which is the subject of shipping mixed Yiwu lots.
A typical case
A buyer needs candle holders and gift bags for a summer range, FOB, and expects the volume to be LCL unless a second category fills the cube. Gift bags sit in Canton Fair phase 2. The buyer attends 23-27 April 2027, takes three written quotes, and does not find the cheap filler SKUs that make the carton count worth a container. Those fillers are a Yiwu walk, aimed with the district and floor guide, not a second fair badge. The goods meet in one warehouse. The route is the one in the diagram.
Where people pick the wrong door
- Calling the Yiwu Fair "the Yiwu market." One is a dated show. The other is the mart.
- Assuming the market opens at the fair's 8:30. The fair hours are for the fair. The district pages checked do not print booth hours.
- Booking Canton Fair phase 1 to source gifts, toys and socks in one week. Those groups are not on the same phase list.
Phase detail stays on the 2027 dates page. The market itself is the Yiwu market guide. A visit can be set up from the Yiwu market visit page or the Yiwu agent page. Send the mixed list on the RFQ form.
See also Canton Fair vs Alibaba vs 1688.
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