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Will Tjernlund and Danny advise you on optimizing your trip to the Canton Fair to maximize your visit.
Getting a Chinese Visa from the UK
- Go to the Visa Office
- Short term or longer term
- Danny gets a 2 yr business visa costs £265
Getting a Chinese Visa from the US
- Go to post your passport off to the Consular and they turn it around in 3 months
- Will flew to Hong Kong and could get a 6 month visa for $150
- He wanted a 5 year visa for $500
- Would take 2 days and then turn it around
- He found a guy who turned it around in 3 hours
Planning the Canton Fair Phases
- No direct flight to Guangzhou from UK
- Between the Phases they shut down so plan your trip around the close-downs
- You might land in Hong Kong first and not go to Phase 1 but be interested in Phase 2
- Go to HKTDC or Megashow on Hong Kong Island
- Then the Global Sources show and events
- Own little Meetups are on – so stay in the right place
- Stay at the Regal in the Airport for the Trade Shows and Global Sources
- You would need to travel 30-45 mins to get down to Hong Kong Island
Everyone is in the same Boat
- Go for 2.5 to 3 weeks
- Between the shows you might go and visit different factories
- People go and work from 9am to 3pm and then look for something else to do
- THere’s a ton of different meetups to go to after hours and learn about Amazon and meet others
- Networking is huge
Danny’s Nightmare – don’t go Ghetto
- Make the most of the visit
- You go to Canton Phase 1 and come in through HK and then 3 hrs to go to Guangzhou to your Hotel
- Danny went cheap and stayed at Airbnb in the suburbs and it there was NO-ONE there
- He had no local knowledge and it took him 3 hrs to get to the Fair after a friend texted him the Chinese writing to his phone to show people
Do it the Right Way
- Get an English speaking hotel sorted with a shuttle to get you back and fore
- Near the Canton Fair is good
- Get the shuttle arranged and you can get a ride back too
- Cabs can be a nightmare with long queues and rip-off prices
- If you have the money stay at the Western – it’s connected and has a walkway into the show
- The Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton is all English.
- Ritz-Carlton has a VPN in there too so Facebook works etc
Long Days – be prepared
- You start early in the day
- Hot in the tube stations
- People are packed in on the trains
- You are going to be walking 6-8hrs a day – REALLY you are!
- Wear good comfortable shoes / trainers as you’re walking on concrete floors
- No dress-code in the Canton fair – anything goes from all over the world
- So wear comfy stuff – 70-80 degrees F and HUMID
- Show you want to do business and they suppliers don’t care what you’re dressed like
Negotiation
- Never take a price offered at the Fair – it’s 20-30% higher at the Fair
- Will will ask what the things costs but just to get a feel
Documenting your Trip
- Cataloguing who you spoke to and met with which products
- Danny has an app that records the business card of the stand and he voice records to text the info on it
- He also takes a selfie with the stall people to aid his memory when he gets back
- Will says using the selfie and sending them the photo back when you get in touch so they remember and recognise who you are and what you spoke about
- Evernote is a similar app for this
- Gift bag is a nightmare to carry around and collect stuff
Apps
- Use wechat for text comms
- Whatsapp is good too
- Gmail or Yahoo could be blocked so have another email account you can use
- Use the Microsoft app called ‘Translate’ and download so you can see what the menu is saying if in Chinese
Hotel Bookings
- Tripadvisor
- Laterooms
- Hotels.com
- AirBnB
- Jetlag
- From UK it’s 8hrs ahead and 12 from US
VPN / wi-fi
- Danny uses Express VPN
- Set it up before you go
- Go to the Kiosk for a wi-fi device you can get from just outside or around the airport for $30 for the week – much better than running around and buying SIMS for your phone through the week
Banks
- Make sure you’ve figured the cash and your credit cards are ok and don’t get blocked when you start transactions in China
Canton Fair App
- It is huge (26 soccer fields) so you need the app to find your way around and get to the Zones you want to see
- Go to Canton website and download the plan before you leave
- Phase 2 is the best Amazon product phase
Crossing the Border
- Start in Hong Kong and get a car service to get you across and back out about $200
- It’s nothing like a vacation – a lot of work involved
- It will be a crazy but enjoyable week
- Attending meetups in the evening and find out about them via wechat
- Go do it and have fun
Cross Border Summit
- Go to crossbordersummit.com
- Learn about M to C rather than B to C – the new model that shows products going manufacturer to consumer and Amazon is all about it
