Forum

Planning a trip to china... what do you think?
 

I have been planning a trip to China for a while now, i am looking to set up a few exclusive lines which i have been planning for for a while. I have a partner in China who i ahve been trading with for around 6 years now, he said he will take me around and help me set something up with a few factories.

Now i was just wanting to know, have any of you been over before and how did you find the trip? Does the language barrier cause problems? Did you find it easy to find good suppliers with good prices over there? And have you got any tips fo going over? I was going to visit Guangzhou.

thanks in advance

Just be on your toes, also read the forums on alibaba.com as you will find most of your answers there. :)

My dad lives in Guangzhou now but I have never been to there. But, I think it should be fun. However, Taiwan is a great places to visit too if you consider a Aisa trip next time. Taiwan people are very friendly and have many interest places to go to :)

You can attend guang zhou canton fair,there you can find a lot of factories.

When is that fair teedon?

canton is every spring and autumn, i am thinking of going to the next spring one, has anybody ever been to canton and what did you think of it

canton fair is a good place to start.
really depends on what you do and to what scale. I found canton fair a bit more expensive than going to factory direct.
also if you are just doing a small business with a few boxes a week, maybe it is better to go to the market that specialised in your products rather than factories, that way you have access to hundreds and hundreds of factory stands(representatives)
if you tell me what products you are looking for , I might be able to tell you which city and what market you should focus on

again , Canton Fair is a good place to start if you want to have a general idea . it is absolutely huge

ukflashman, PM'd thanks

When is the fair - autumn dates or spring dates? I am actually thinking of going on.

The truth is that you probably won't get a better deal than through dealing with the providers on alibaba.com or others. Unless you know them personally well on an almost-friends basis, you're still getting the products overcharged. It may seem cheap to you, but it's still overcharged based on what it costs coming out of the factory.

For example, I can buy clothing for $5 a piece, and I know for a fact that it costs the factory $2.50 to manufacture it. While he sells them to me at $5 a piece, he sells it to others that walk into the factory for $18-$20, right in front of my nose, ..and the average eBay selling price for the item is at least $30.

The prices you see on alibaba.com are pretty much the same that you're going to get walking into the factories themselves. Why? Because you're a foreigner that doesn't have a clue (in their minds). And other Chinese sellers will also get it for $5 at the same factory. That may seem hard to hear but it's the truth.

Are tickets reasonable?

Better to speak Mandarin or Cantonese at the fair? Side interest of mine is languages - which I am fairly good at when I work at it - so am deciding on taking it up ha

the 108th China Import and Export Fair
 

1. Exhibition Time
Phase One: October 15-19, 2010
Phase Three: Oct 31- Nov 4, 2010

You can speak english on the fair.Mostly the people can speak good english on the fair.

i would also be interest in going and also knowing which markets are best with factory rep

The language barrier is not an issue at all - all are fluent in English. My pieces of advice;
-Don't swipe your credit card anywhere - my Amex was hit over the limit to $10,000 in under an hour and they were still trying to run up charges when Amex called me to ask what was going on.
-Don't get conned or pressured into buying anything - they will climb Everest to make a sale for a dollar.
-No matter what they tell you - they are NOT genuine.
-Don't let Cindy give you a massage.

I wish yo travel to china but i think nothing IS genuine in china madeland but hong kong IS diferents Where Are genuine factory mobile ,shoes,etc

I prefer globalsources thanks alibaba ;)

cindys massage may be nice. nothing beats a a true factory rep and knowing exactly what you are looking for.

I know a nice place where they serve excellent rice and noodles. Supreme.

beautiful young rice noodles and service with a cume of sum young guy smile

make sure you don't eat chicken or any kind of meat product. it's not real chicken! remember your in china lol, but if you do wanna eat chicken np.

^^^I wouldn't say that. But do be careful where you eat.

well it was a joke, maybe a stereotypical joke yea my wrong, but yea be careful eating in china. just like everywhere. this is a crazy world.

Well for the people dealing in ⊗⊗⊗⊗.. they deserve ⊗⊗⊗⊗ chicken too.

does ur chicken meow? or is that bad factory worker

Re: Planning a trip to china... what do you think?
 

I know this post hasn't been updated for a long time but with regard to its title, to anyone whose planning their trip to China, I hope I can help you by sharing this https://www.travelsafe-abroad.com/china/. Best of luck!

Re: Planning a trip to china... what do you think?
 

large city are boring , go to innermongolia, xilinhaote , wonderful place.

Re: Planning a trip to china... what do you think?
 

I've been. Waste of time.for me.tbh unless your doing big deals with the store holders better of setting up deals over the net and going there to finalize things I was there for 2 weeks spend 5k gained nothing from it but that's just me I went is 2015

Note a lot of the store holders st the fair are not even factories some are wholesalers

Re: Planning a trip to china... what do you think?
 

What you need to be careful is Hepatitis.
If you see a restaurant serving bamboo chopsticks,do not use them,unless they are the sanitary kind ,new and sealed in paper.
WHY?
Because when you are done eating,they soak dishes and used chopsticks in a pan,the bamboo will soak up the dishwater,if they are not completely air dried out,you could catch some of the germs .
plastic would be safer,or just bring your own spoon or plastic chopsticks.
Also be careful using their restroom,you may need to bring your own toilet paper and handi wipes.
Drinking water -make sure they are boiled or comes in a bottle.
always wash your hands every chance you have.
----------------
INDIA is worse,dont run around in sandals ,if you must ,wear socks.
Pools of water after monsoon season,do not evaporate esily and you dont know what is brewing in the water,I have heard horror story,some come back in 2 urns,one for each child!
Wash your hands often,dont eat exotic food,exotic food is for locals,not tourists

Re: Planning a trip to china... what do you think?
 

You resurrected a thread that's been dead nearly a decade.
Whilst you're in the resurrection business, can you bring back JFK?

Re: Planning a trip to china... what do you think?
 

Thanks for the chuckle :)

Re: Planning a trip to china... what do you think?
 

Its 2019,this topic posted nearly 10 years ago.
everything changes faster than western world in here.
Don't wear a ''colored'' glass and come here,otherwise you still waste your time
Be fair and respection to different civilization.I am sure this is the best starting resource for your business and good luck with that.