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A Comprehensive Guide to the 2025 Shanghai Furniture Exhibition

  • Writer: Media ASKT
    Media ASKT
  • Jun 23
  • 4 min read

(first-hand notes from Sunbin Qi, CEO – ASKT Furniture)

1 | Why September in Shanghai still matters

After fifteen years of walking China’s major furniture expos, I still schedule 10–13 September 2025 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) first. 2025 marks the show’s 30 th anniversary:

  • 350 000 m² of exhibition floor,

  • 3 500+ high-quality suppliers,

  • ≈ 200 000 professional visitors from 160 countries.

Maison Shanghai opens one day earlier (9–12 Sep) at SWEECC, but if your SKU mix is dining & seating then SNIEC should be your anchor.


2 | Hall anatomy – plot your footsteps before you land

SNIEC is a rectangle of three parallel zones. Print the hall map or cache it in the official app; cellular data inside the steel halls is patchy.

Zone

Core categories

My tactical advice

W-Halls (west entrance)

W1–W4 Upholstered, W1 specialty dining; W11–W12 fabrics

Start here day-one 09:00 before traffic builds. Our ASKT booth W1 C37 sits on the main traffic aisle – I’ll hand you a QR route that bookmarks other dining specialists.

E-Halls

Contemporary (E2–E4), Int’l brands (E1), Contract (E5)

After lunch, cross the sky-bridge so you exit with daylight at Gate 2, closer to taxis.

N-Halls

Table & chair clusters (N1–N4, N9), outdoor (N2), materials & hardware (N8–N12)

Budget half a day; queues at coffee kiosks here are shorter.

3 | Registration & documents – eight minutes from airport to badge

  • Visa invitation letters are downloadable from the visitor portal; carry a printed copy for immigration.

  • Landed at Pudong (PVG)? Hop on the maglev: 30 km in 8 minutes at 431 km/h to Longyang Rd., one metro stop from SNIEC.

  • Pre-register online, save the QR badge to your phone wallet, and use West Entrance 1 – security there is usually 20 % faster than Gate 2.

4 | Where to sleep, debrief and recharge

Hotel

Walk to halls

What I like

Kerry Hotel Pudong (5★)

3 min via covered walkway

Gigabit Wi-Fi and the The COOK buffet – 13 live kitchens mean you’re back on the floor in 45 min. trip.comshangri-la.com

Jumeirah Himalayas (5★)

6 min

Spacious lobby pods – perfect for NDA chats; quick path to Metro Line 2 for downtown dinners. trip.com

Dorsett Shanghai (4★)

10 min across Century Park

Best price-to-distance ratio; direct balcony view of the park for a sunrise jog. trip.com

Tip: rooms sell out by July; book refundable rates now and re-shop two weeks out.


5 | Eating without losing half a day

  • The COOK @ Kerry – international buffet opens 06:30; grab espresso and baozi before doors.

  • HuaMu Rd. Sichuan canteens – two blocks south of W5. No English menu, but point at the dry-fried green beans (“干煸四季豆”) – cheap, fast, spicy.

  • The MEAT steakhouse (same hotel) if you need a white-tablecloth debrief – reserve after 20:00 when the post-show rush fades.

6 | Weather & wardrobe

Early autumn in Shanghai hovers 21–27 °C with 70 %-plus humidity; rain showers hit one day in eight. Dress light, pack a folding umbrella, and carry a 20 000 mAh battery – the show app plus WeChat video calls flatten phones fast.


7 | Making the fair pay for your flight

a. Set appointments inside the app – exhibitors reply faster than by email during show week.b. Use the Hosted Buyer Lounge (N1 mezzanine) for free translation and Wi-Fi boosters.c. Film product details. Under China’s tightened IP rules, exhibitors expect cameras; just ask first.

At ASKT – W1 C37 we’re running live tests:

  • 11 test rigs streaming to screens so you can verify EN-12520 loads in real-time.

  • Hands-on demo of our zero-plastic honeycomb packaging that shaves ~15 % off EU plastic tax.

  • New recycled-PET “Ocean Weave” fabric, baby-safe and OEKO-TEX 100 compliant.


8 | After-hours decompression

  • Century Park (140 ha, Shanghai’s largest urban park) is behind SNIEC – a 5 km loop clears jet-lag.

  • The Bund – 22 illuminated heritage façades opposite Lujiazui; Metro Line 2 gets you there in 20 min.

  • Shanghai Tower sky deck – ride the 18 m/s elevator 55 seconds to floor 118 for night photos of the new Pudong your customers never see.

9 | Side-trip math – CIFF versus Furniture China

CIFF Shanghai (11–14 Sep, NECC Hongqiao) overlaps by two days. If upholstery is your core, SNIEC gives deeper dining chair density (16 dedicated halls). But if you also source office or machinery, tag one day at NECC – taxi 50 min, or Metro Line 2 end-to-end in 70 min.


10 | Closing checklist – five essentials I never forget

  1. Portable Wi-Fi router – Chinese 5G eSIMs throttle foreign traffic.

  2. WeChat Pay & Alipay activated with your EU card – most taxis are now cash-less.

  3. A5 sketch notebook – many booths still stamp RFQs on paper for customs compliance.

  4. Quality-approved swatch pouch – mine has Velcro dividers; you’ll collect 100+ fabrics.

  5. Two spare passport-photos – handy if you extend your trip for factory audits.

See you at Hall W1 C37

I’ll have fresh espresso ready, along with cut-sections of our newest swivel base (now 15 % stronger in the lateral static-load test). Text me on WhatsApp +86 189 1260 5997 or just follow the “ASKT” sign above the crowd.


Safe travels and profitable sourcing

–Sunbin Qi

 
 
 

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