In two weeks the entire world descends on Guangzhou, China for the Super Bowl of manufacturing, Canton Fair.

What you need to know about Canton Fair and visiting Guangzhou First you will need a visa. You can use the Canton Fair BEST tool to get an invite and then the Chinese Visa application service Center. Get the Didi app for navigating around (a very cheap uber), setup Alipay with a debit or credit card before you go, and download WeChat when you're there to get contacts. Don't forget to bring your passport to get into the show. Manufacturing in China is a multi-step process your factory may often have other suppliers for materials or processes, go meet everybody after in their province and learn all you can about their options and operations. There are tons of manufacturers at the show but also the regions have big halls and exhibit areas locally, and meeting anyone English speaking and asking for referalls goes a long way. If you’re working on fashion check @Crease Group who I traveled with last year You won't need a translator/guide, there is lots of decent English, but def get Google Translate with Mandarin downloaded.