Where is Foshan?
A prefecture-level city in Guangdong, in the heart of the Pearl River Delta.
Guangzhou is to its east; Zhongshan and Jiangmen are to its south. From Guangzhou South Station it is about 30 minutes by metro or high-speed rail.
In one sentence: Foshan is a place of origin — where home appliances, furniture, ceramics and aluminium profiles are made.
What does Foshan make?
Four blocks, all of them big industries.
| What | In detail |
|---|---|
| Home appliances | Shunde district: air conditioners, refrigerators, microwave ovens, small appliances (Midea, Galanz, Hisense Home Appliances) |
| Furniture | Lecong and Longjiang in Shunde: furniture manufacturing + furniture trade |
| Ceramics | Chancheng district: building ceramics, sanitaryware (Nanzhuang, "China's No.1 town of building ceramics") |
| Aluminium profiles | Nanhai district: aluminium profiles (windows and doors, industrial profiles) |
On top of that: equipment manufacturing (industrial robots, machine tools).
So Foshan is not "one industry" — it is two clusters: "pan-home furnishing" plus equipment.
Foshan's scale (official figures)
What is available is the city-wide picture (Foshan Statistics Bureau, 2026-02-04):
| Figure | Value (yuan amounts in 100 million yuan) |
|---|---|
| 2025 GDP | 13157.35 (+0.2%) |
| Value added of the secondary sector | 6520.37 (-2.1%) |
| Advanced manufacturing as a share of industry above designated size | 55.7% |
| Industrial robot output | Over 46,000 units (+29.6%) |
| Total imports and exports | 4813.6 (-3.7%) |
| High-tech product exports | 215.9 (+9.4%) |
| Exports of the "new three" | 26.9 (+59.8%) |
⚠️ The key point: the official statistics do not publish a separate output value for "home appliances / furniture / ceramics". The media often talk about a "pan-home furnishing cluster worth a trillion", but there is no such line item in the government report.
Why Foshan?
Three things.
① Home appliances: both the finished units and the parts are here Shunde has Midea, Galanz and Hisense Home Appliances — where the assemblers are, the component makers are too.
② Furniture: both making and selling are here Lecong and Longjiang — shop in front, factory behind; you can see the samples and see the factory on the same street.
③ Ceramics: raw materials, kilns and brands are all here Nanzhuang and Shiwan — the old production area for building ceramics.
Town by town, who makes what?
Four places, a clear division of labour.
| Place | What it makes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shunde district | Home appliances (Midea, Galanz, Hisense Home Appliances) + furniture (Lecong, Longjiang) | Foshan municipal government / official industry map |
| Nanhai district | Aluminium profiles (windows and doors, industrial profiles) | Same |
| Chancheng district | Building ceramics, sanitaryware (Nanzhuang, Shiwan) | Same |
| Sanshui / Gaoming | Beverages, textiles, new materials | Same |
❌ Could not confirm: the detailed breakdown and enterprise counts for each district and town — no publicly available government document on the town-level division of labour.
How complete is Foshan's supply chain?
Four blocks.
| Part of the chain | In detail |
|---|---|
| Home appliances | Finished units + compressors / motors / plastic parts / control boards |
| Furniture | Boards, hardware, coatings, upholstery |
| Ceramics | China clay, glazes, kilns, moulds |
| Logistics | Foshan New Port (an inland river port) + Guangzhou Nansha / Shenzhen Yantian (sea freight) |
One key point: most Foshan cargo leaves through Guangzhou Nansha or Shenzhen Yantian. When you negotiate FOB, ask clearly whether it is "FOB Nansha" or "FOB Shenzhen".
Ceramics certification — what to watch
The same as Chaozhou.
| Market | What it needs |
|---|---|
| EU | Food-contact materials (if it is tableware) + REACH |
| US | FDA + California Proposition 65 |
| Building ceramics | Strength, water absorption, slip resistance (to the destination country's standard) |
⚠️ The key difference:
- Household ceramics / tableware ⇒ lead and cadmium release testing
- Building ceramics (tiles) ⇒ strength, water absorption, slip resistance testing
- The two sets of standards are completely different
How do you get to Foshan?
| From | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Guangzhou | Guangfo metro line / high-speed rail to Foshan West | about 30–50 minutes |
| Shenzhen | High-speed rail to Guangzhou South, then change | about 1.5 hours |
| Hong Kong | High-speed rail to Guangzhou South, then change | about 2 hours |
| Yiwu | High-speed rail to Guangzhou South, then change | about 6–7 hours |
⏳ To be verified: the exact trains and durations — we do not print a timetable; check 12306 on the day.
Station note: Foshan West is the high-speed rail station; the Guangfo metro line runs from Guangzhou straight into Foshan.
Sources (2026-11-04)
| Item | Nature | Source | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 GDP 13157.35 hundred million yuan | ✅ Official | Foshan Statistics Bureau (2026-02-04) | 2026-11-04 |
| Secondary sector 6520.37 hundred million yuan | ✅ Official | Same | 2026-11-04 |
| Advanced manufacturing at 55.7% of industry above designated size | ✅ Official | Same | 2026-11-04 |
| Industrial robot output over 46,000 units | ✅ Official | Same | 2026-11-04 |
| Imports and exports 4813.6 hundred million yuan; "new three" exports +59.8% | ✅ Official | Same | 2026-11-04 |
| The Shunde appliances / Nanhai aluminium profiles / Chancheng ceramics division of labour | ⚠️ Industry observation | Combined official and public sources | 2026-11-04 |
| The "pan-home furnishing trillion-yuan cluster" | ⚠️ Media framing | No such line item in the government report | 2026-11-04 |
| The detailed breakdown by district and town | ❌ Could not confirm | No publicly available government document | 2026-11-04 |
| Travel times to Foshan | ⚠️ Estimate | Estimated from geography | 2026-11-04 |
Official link: https://www.foshan.gov.cn/fstjj/gkmlpt/content/6/6960/mpost_6960249.html