Booth shortlist locked before you even land.
The booth shortlist is pulled from the exhibitor list before you land, so day one is real meetings, not a wander through the halls.
- 1.18M m² floor
- Spec sheets read
- Same-night record
Selina Chen 陈丽明 EN ⇄ 中文 · China interpreter · Trade & sourcing Book a Canton Fair interpreter for the Pazhou floor.for Phase 1 electronics.for Phase 2 home & gifts.for Phase 3 textiles.for supplier negotiations.
I work the Canton Fair floor in Pazhou, in Mandarin, on your side of the table. Not a badge-holder reading a script, but someone who knows your phase and keeps the price moving.
★★★★★ 4.8/5 · 95 client reviews · clients from every continent
PazhouCanton Fair ComplexPhase 1electronics & machineryPhase 2home, gifts & décorPhase 3textiles & apparelAreas A · B · CGuangzhouBooth to boothon your side of the table
On the Canton Fair floor
A Canton Fair interpreter who knows the Pazhou floor.
The Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair) runs in three phases at the Canton Fair Complex in Pazhou, Guangzhou, and the building is the size of a small city. Phase 1 is electronics, machinery and hardware; Phase 2 is home, gifts and décor; Phase 3 is textiles, shoes and health. Walking it blind costs you days. I know which areas hold your products, so the time goes to booths that matter, not the aisles that don't.
On the floor I interpret the way a buyer needs: I read whether a quote is a real factory price or a trading-company markup, I push back when a no really means not yet, and I keep the conversation moving toward a number you can act on. After each day you get a written record of every supplier, every price and every promise, so the week does not blur into one long corridor by Friday.
How it works
From first message to done.
01
Brief
You send your product categories, dates and which phase they fall in. I confirm scope and a written quote in 12 hours, a 30% deposit locks your dates against the session rush.
02
Plan the floor
Before you arrive I map the relevant halls and shortlist booths worth your hours, so day one isn't spent wandering 1.18 million square metres of exhibition space.
03
Work the booths
On the ground I interpret every conversation, read the supplier's Chinese-only spec sheets, and flag trading companies posing as factories before you waste a meeting on them.
04
Negotiate and record
Price, MOQ, lead time and samples settled in Mandarin, then written down in English the same evening, so nothing relies on a half-remembered handshake after the floor closes.
Canton Fair interpreting rates, published, all-in USD
Published rates, answered first.
Every rate includes city travel and a written summary of each day. No hourly creep. No surprise “translation fees.”
Half day
One supplier meeting or a short floor session · ≤ 4 hrs
$80–$140/ half-day
- Pazhou floor navigation
- City travel included
- Written summary same evening
Most bookedGet your exact quote
Full day
A full day on the Canton Fair floor, booth to booth
$99–$250/ day
- Booth-to-booth negotiation
- Phases and suppliers pre-mapped
- Daily written record of terms
Full-fair week
All three phases, end to end · below single-day rates
$800–$1,250/ week
- Best per-day value across the fair week
- Full-fair coverage
- Post-fair supplier follow-up
Starting ranges, every job quoted to your itinerary. 30% deposit confirms your dates; balance after the work.
What's included
What's in the rate, all-in.
Exactly what you get before you ask. No hourly creep, no surprise fees.
- City travel inside Guangzhou, hotel lobby to the Pazhou halls and back
- A pre-fair brief on which phase your products sit in and which halls to walk
- Booth-to-booth interpreting in Mandarin, on your side of the table
- Supplier cards captured and labelled, not lost in a tote bag
- A written summary each evening: who you met, prices quoted, next steps
- Follow-up messages to suppliers in Chinese after the fair
Recent work
What the work actually looks like.
Real deals, deal type, where, and what the client walked away with.
Terms pinned before the swatch becomes a run.
Garments, fabric and home textiles, where a swatch and a real run rarely match. Days are routed hall by hall to skip the time-wasters.
- Hall-by-hall route
- Incoterms in writing
- Same-night terms
A buyer's interpreter, never a badge-holder.
The floor is mapped and booths shortlisted before you arrive, then worked across the relevant halls as continuous days, not a scramble.
- Both phases
- Not on exhibitor payroll
- Daily written trail
FAQ
Canton Fair interpreting, your questions.
Which phase should I attend?
Phase 1 is electronics, machinery, hardware, vehicles and lighting; Phase 2 is consumer goods, ceramics, home and gifts; Phase 3 is textiles, garments, health products and medical devices. Tell me your product and I'll tell you which session to book, and whether spring or autumn fits your run better.
Can you cover all three phases?
Yes. The full-fair week rate covers continuous days across the session and works out below the single-day rate. Most buyers only need the one phase their category sits in, which is cheaper, I'll say so rather than upsell you into days you won't use.
Do you book the booths or just translate?
Both. I shortlist booths from the exhibitor list before you land and route your days so you see the right suppliers in the right halls. The interpreting is the easy part; saving you a wasted day on the floor is the value.
When is the Canton Fair held in 2026?
It runs twice a year, as it always has: a spring session across late April into early May and an autumn session across mid-October into early November, each split into three phases of roughly four days with a short gap between them. Confirm the exact 2026 dates with me when you book, since they shift slightly each year, and I'll tell you which phase your products fall in.
Where is the Canton Fair held?
At the Canton Fair Complex in Pazhou, Guangzhou, 1.18 million square metres of exhibition space on the south bank of the Pearl River. It's a venue you can lose a day in, which is why I shortlist booths and route your days before you arrive. Pair it with a Guangzhou interpreter day if you're also visiting factories.
What does Canton Fair interpreting cost?
The rates are published below: $80–$140 a half-day, $99–$250 a full day on the Pazhou floor, $800–$1,250 for the full fair week. A 30% deposit confirms your dates, which matters because fair weeks book out across the whole city.
Do you take a commission from the exhibitors?
Never. I'm paid by you, not the booths, so when an exhibitor is a trading company posing as a factory, I say so on the spot. An interpreter on a supplier's payroll has every reason to keep quiet. If you want the sourcing carried past the fair, see product sourcing.
Keep reading
Where to next.
Next step
Your job, costed in writing. In twelve hours.
Tell me what you need for canton fair interpreting. You'll get a fixed written quote, no obligation, no deposit to ask.
superinterpreter · selina@mychinainterpreter.com · Xiamen, China · UTC+8
