Naad Dantale
Standing in front of the Canton Fair Convention Center with my exhibitor badge
Main Quest

Canton Fair, and the city around it

April 19, 2026 · Guangzhou & Shenzhen, China · cleared

The official reason was the Canton Fair — halls the size of airports, an entire wing just for AI hardware, and more business cards than I knew what to do with. The unofficial reason became everything that happened between the halls.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen do a thing where you turn a corner and the century changes — a 300-year-old temple, then a glass skywalk threading between towers, then a street stall that quietly serves the best meal of the trip. I spent every spare hour just walking and looking up.

Came back with a notebook full of leads and a camera roll full of skyline. Worth the jet lag twice over.

The glowing blue circuit-board archway at the entrance to the AI hall
The AI hall entrance. Subtle, they were not.
With a friend in front of the Shenzhen skyline
Shenzhen doing its skyline thing, with good company.
A tower rising over an older Guangzhou street with delivery riders below
Old street, new tower — the whole city in one frame.
Ornate TOP TOY and MINISO storefronts on a busy pedestrian street
Retail, but make it a theme park.
Standing under giant koi sculptures and red lanterns at the Tongqingfang arch
The small-trip detour: koi the size of cars.
A curved glass pedestrian skywalk lit up at night between towers
Night walk through the glass tube. Felt like a level select screen.
A full table of Chinese dishes, soup, and sides
Exhibit A in the heroic-amount-of-food argument.