The 136th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off on Tuesday in south China's Guangzhou City, which has attracted a record high number of exhibitors exceeding 30,000.
Covering a total exhibition area of 1.55 million square meters, the fair will be held in three phases between Oct. 15 and Nov. 4, with the first phase lasting five days.
Some 390,000 digital and smart products as well as more than 1.04 million green and low-carbon products will be displayed at the event, up 300 percent and 130 percent, respectively, from the previous edition.
"We hope to explore and develop larger and broader overseas markets by continuously conducting technological innovations and rolling out new products," said Wang Weizhen, an exhibitor.
About 147,000 overseas buyers have pre-registered for the fair, showing their high enthusiasm for the event and strong interest in latest Chinese technologies and products.
"When I visit the Canton Fair, I always know that I will see the newest products in the world, the newest technologies - like human-computer interaction technologies [which] will be so much important. The artificial intelligence used in the products will be very attractive in the near future," said a Turkish buyer named Seren Atay.
The fair will also include 400 new product launch events, an increase of 30 percent over the previous edition. It has also optimized its cross-border e-commerce exhibition area and the trade services area to facilitate the participation of both exhibitors and buyers. Launched in 1957 and held twice yearly, the Canton Fair is considered a major gauge of China's foreign trade.
136th Canton Fair opens in Guangzhou with record number of exhibitors
Chinese scientists have made improvements for the porthole of the Shenzhou-23 spaceship at the launch site to avoid potential emergency situations caused by space debris.
The Shenzhou-20 spaceship's return capsule viewport window suffered a suspected impact from space debris during its mission last year. The three Shenzhou-20 astronauts returned safely aboard the Shenzhou-21 spaceship on Nov. 14, 2025, and later on Nov. 25, China launched the Shenzhou-22 spaceship to provide a return vessel for the three Shenzhou-21 astronauts, who are currently in orbit.
To avoid such a potential emergency during the Shenzhou-23 mission, the porthole improvements were implemented ahead of schedule.
According to the original plan, the porthole upgrade was scheduled for implementation on the Shenzhou-24 spacecraft. However, after the Shenzhou-20 experienced an in-orbit space debris impact that affected the astronauts’ return, the team conducted a comprehensive assessment and decided to advance the upgrade to Shenzhou-23 to ensure a smooth and safe mission.
"The previous version of the viewport window had one layer of anti-ablation glass, while we increased that to two layers for the new window for dual redundancy. In addition, we have taken an extra protective measure as a final safeguard inside the capsule. These make up a three-layer anti-ablation function, adding an extra insurance for the astronauts to work and live safely and securely in orbit, and to return safely," said He Yu, chief commander of Shenzhou spacecraft of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Under normal circumstances, the viewport windows are installed at the spacecraft assembly workshop in Beijing before the capsule is assembled with other ones. But, since the Shenzhou-23 had already been manufactured and placed on emergency standby at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the porthole upgrade was conducted after all three modules had already been assembled -- a process much more difficult due to the confined space inside the capsule.
"Our guiding principle is putting people first. Moreover, we must further demonstrate the strength of China as a major country with strong aerospace capabilities. We will never allow space debris to affect the smooth progress of our mission," said the chief commander.
Shenzhou-23 spaceship undergoes porthole improvements at launch site
