On September 11, the 2026 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Time-honored Brands (Culture) Expo opened at the Canton Fair Complex in Guangzhou. As a key event of the Ministry of Commerce’s 2026 “Time-honored Brands Carnival”, the expo takes “Uphold Craftsmanship and Heritage, Forge New Paths in the Bay Area” as its theme. It is hosted by the Guangdong Time-honored Brands Association, co-hosted by the Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association and the Macao Time-honored Brands Development Association, and supported by the Hong Kong Brand Development Council. The expo brings together time-honored brand resources from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and across the country, building a collaborative platform for exhibition, exchange and matchmaking among the three regions. It drives time-honored brands to advance along the paths of heritage, innovation and globalization, and fuels high-quality commercial development of the Greater Bay Area.

Grand Opening Explores New Development Opportunities for Time-honored Brands

At the opening ceremony, Wu Chuanliang, Deputy Director of the Circulation Industry Promotion Center under the Ministry of Commerce, delivered a speech. He stated that time-honored brands carry unique craftsmanship, generations of artisan spirit and profound historical heritage. They are gold-lettered signs of China’s industrial and commercial development, vivid carriers of fine traditional Chinese culture, and precious assets of national brands. Integrating achievement displays, economic and trade negotiations and cultural experiences, this expo pools nationwide time-honored brand resources, deepens regional coordination and connects domestic and overseas markets. It helps Guangdong-made products reach global consumers and sparks new vitality in the Greater Bay Area’s consumer market.

Shuang Dehui, Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, introduced that Guangdong has fully implemented the Ministry of Commerce’s arrangements for the innovative development of time-honored brands. The province has improved relevant policy systems and built exchange platforms to guide the protection, inheritance and innovative growth of time-honored brands. Meanwhile, it vigorously promotes time-honored brands to settle in shopping malls and online platforms, launches consumption-boosting campaigns tied to holiday shopping peaks, conducts in-depth matchmaking with entrepreneurs nationwide, advances brand globalization, cross-border integration and digital empowerment, and unlocks the cultural strength and market potential of time-honored brands. Going forward, Guangdong will further foster new business forms, models and consumption scenarios for time-honored brands to meet diverse consumer demands. At present, Guangdong is home to 72 China Time-honored Brands and 281 Guangdong Time-honored Brands, alongside a batch of local time-honored brands across cities.

Xu Weibing, President of the Guangdong Time-honored Brands Association, shared that over 500 time-honored enterprises nationwide have gathered at this expo. Positioned for B2B professional audiences, the event has achieved comprehensive upgrading. Efforts are made across five dimensions: commercial coordination, overseas expansion, brand promotion, transformation empowerment and cultural revitalization, forming a high-standard exhibition and trade matchmaking platform for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao time-honored brands. The association will focus on four core work streams: cultural communication, brand cultivation, overseas market expansion and digital & intelligent empowerment. It encourages time-honored brands to uphold traditions while pursuing innovation and achieve sustainable growth, contributing industrial momentum to expanding domestic demand and fostering a new development pattern.

Cai Yi, Honorary President of the Chamber, addressed the opening ceremony. He noted that amid the rise of national trends and growing cultural confidence, time-honored brands are standing at a historic turning point, shifting focus from sustaining local operations to venturing overseas. Leveraging Hong Kong’s resource strengths, the Chamber will push forward three core initiatives: building large-scale exchange platforms, enhancing professional services and boosting industrial linkage. It will organize time-honored brands to participate in exhibitions along the Belt and Road, provide supporting cross-border compliance services, facilitate cross-industry collaboration between Bay Area and Hong Kong brands, and assist time-honored brands to go global via Hong Kong and steadily tap into worldwide markets.

Ye Zhaohui, President of the Macao Time-honored Brands Development Association, said Macao closely aligns with the national 15th Five-Year Plan and has continuously carried out evaluation for time-honored brands. To date, 10 century-old heritage stores and 51 characteristic long-standing shops have been certified, fully consistent with national guidelines for innovating time-honored brands. Guangdong and Macao share intertwined cultural heritage and commercial ties. Macao will give full play to its role as a bridge connecting Portuguese-speaking countries. It expects to empower time-honored brands from both regions relying on the Greater Bay Area’s industrial chains and consumer markets, and jointly support the sustainable, innovative growth of Bay Area time-honored brands.

A concentrated signing ceremony was held during the opening. Products of time-honored brands will enter Sinopec Easy Joy convenience stores and China Southern Airlines catering outlets at Baiyun Airport. Dongguan Xinyuan Food joined hands with Gaosheng Culture to launch a cross-border co-branded line featuring time-honored brands and domestic original mecha IPs, injecting fresh vitality into brand development.

A Showcase of Exquisite Craftsmanship from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Time-honored Brands

Covering an exhibition area of 20,000 square meters, the expo gathers more than 500 time-honored brands and intangible cultural heritage labels from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and all over China, with five themed exhibition zones showcasing unique highlights. The Guangdong Time-honored Enterprises Zone features well-known local brands including Guangzhou Restaurant, Taotaoju and Lee Kum Kee, displaying classic traditional delicacies alongside trendy national-style new products. The National Time-honored Brands Group Zone brings together characteristic labels from Hainan, Shandong and other provinces, offering a one-stop showcase of premium domestic goods nationwide. In the Intangible Cultural Heritage & Cultural and Creative Zone, inheritors demonstrate exclusive handcraft skills on-site, with an array of national trend cultural and creative works on display. The Guangdong Time-honored Products Showcase Zone selects premium time-honored goods and Cantonese souvenirs, where traditional gift sets and trendy novelty souvenirs complement each other perfectly.

The Hong Kong & Macao Time-honored Brands Zone hosts a concentrated display of Hong Kong’s time-honored labels and brand enterprises. Centennial Hong Kong-style pastries, sauces, preserved fruits, tea drinks and other classic down-to-earth goods are exhibited alongside trendy redesigned products, blending timeless flavors with contemporary national trends. Visitors can experience the century-old craftsmanship and grassroots heritage of local Hong Kong brands up close, and immerse themselves in Hong Kong’s lifestyle aesthetics. Macao’s time-honored brands also set up booths here. Brands from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao conduct in-depth collaboration in products, distribution channels and cultural sectors, demonstrating resource exchange and industrial integration across the three regions, and jointly painting an integrated development landscape of “Time-honored Brands +” in the Bay Area.

This expo opens a window for Bay Area time-honored brands to display their strengths, smooths channels for resource matchmaking, and builds a springboard for overseas expansion. The Chamber will continue to leverage the synergies of the “9+2” cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and rely on Hong Kong’s status as an international hub. It will support Bay Area time-honored brands to enter global markets via Hong Kong, engage in economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and help distinctive Greater Bay Area industries reach the world.