Ahead of the 140th China Import & Export Fair—better known as the Canton Fair—Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) has rolled out an on-arrival badge issuance desk for overseas buyers. From 12 October through 1 November, three counters in Terminals 1 and 2 will print buyer credentials free of charge, sparing visitors the traditional trek to downtown Pazhou to register. Airport immigration officers are working with fair organisers to pre-verify invitation letters and passport data. Arriving passengers who uploaded documents to the Canton Fair’s online portal receive a QR code; a quick scan at the counter produces a photo ID in under five minutes. The National Immigration Administration (NIA) has also instructed border posts at CAN to activate dedicated “Canton Fair” lanes during peak arrival periods of 12-14, 21-23 and 29-31 October. The upgrade is more than cosmetic. In April’s spring edition, nearly 40 % of 120,000 foreign attendees cited long badge queues as their biggest pain-point. Travel-management companies predict the new process could shave two-to-three hours off arrival time, allowing same-day booth set-up and reducing hotel costs. Complementing the badge desks, Guangzhou Metro will extend service hours on Lines 8 and 18, while shuttle-bus operator GFE launches an autonomous loop between the fairgrounds and nearby hotels. These multimodal tweaks reflect China’s post-pandemic strategy of using large-scale trade events to showcase streamlined entry procedures and digital government services. International exhibitors from ASEAN and the EU told local media they view the initiative as evidence China is “listening to user pain points” and expect similar conveniences—such as e-visa kiosks and cash-less tax-refund counters—at future mega-events in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Source: GDToday / eguangzhou.gov.cn
