A Chronicle of Day One at An Overseas Trade Show - Observations From The Front Lines

My colleagues Kelly and Seven traveled to the venue to manage our presence at the exhibition.

On the first morning, they had a simple breakfast at their accommodation—bread bought at a supermarket the day before paired with cereal brought from home—before heading to the exhibition center.

Upon arrival, they spotted our advertisement in the official exhibition brochure and collected a copy to bring back to the company. The "Mermaid Princess" display at our booth was a huge hit, drawing in many passersby who stopped to take photos and generating significant attention.

They also observed the situation of other exhibitors: a manufacturer opposite us displayed no physical products, opting instead to loop a corporate video on a computer to showcase their large-scale smart equipment; meanwhile, three exhibitors from Zhejiang had left their booths unmanned and empty, displaying only posters.

A client with whom we had previously communicated via WhatsApp made a special trip to visit our booth. They had driven three hours to get there—navigating local roads without the benefit of a highway and contending with the morning rush hour. Although the company had exhibited in the past, they had stopped participating recently due to lackluster results and were simply browsing this time. The client specifically inquired about magnetostrictive linear encoders, setting high standards for both rotational speed and precision, and engaged in a detailed discussion with my colleagues on-site.

The venue hosted numerous major automation manufacturers from Japan, Hungary, Poland, and Taiwan, and foot traffic was strong throughout the morning. For lunch, they bought burgers at the plaza outside the venue, skipping the Chinese-style set meals inside, which cost 150 yuan but offered poor value for money.

By afternoon, the flow of visitors had noticeably slowed, and no new prospective clients had appeared. After the exhibition closed, they ate at McDonald's; local dining customs differ from those in China, requiring customers to sort their own waste and clear away their trays after the meal.

The first day’s work concluded successfully; they enjoyed the pleasant surprise of a client visit and gathered valuable firsthand industry insights, looking forward to identifying more potential customers as the exhibition continues.