More than 30 thousand toy models were showcased, with buyers from 55 countries and regions around the world attending to select products. Recently, the 25th Shantou Chenghai International Toy & Gift Fair concluded at the Shantou International Convention and Exhibition Center in Guangdong after a 4-day run. According to organizers, this edition attracted a total of 29 million visitors, including 18 million professional buyers—an increase of 15.4% compared to the previous fair.
This edition of the Expo is the first held since obtaining UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) international certification. With an exhibition area of 10 million square meters across 11 halls, it brings together over 2500 global brands featuring more than 30 product models, approximately 30% of which are new launches.
As a major toy production base, Chenghai in Shantou hosts approximately 6.8 million toy manufacturing and trading entities, forming a complete industrial chain from design and R&D, raw materials and components, to production, logistics, and sales. This Toy Fair leverages the region's industrial cluster advantages, enabling buyers not only to select products within the exhibition hall but also to visit local factories for on-site assessments of production capabilities—seamlessly connecting trade negotiations at the fair with direct sourcing from the source.
International buyers are a major highlight of the exhibition. According to statistics, this edition of the Toy Fair attracted over 2.3 professional buyers from 55 countries and regions worldwide, including more than 5200 international buyers. The event featured a dedicated cross-border e-commerce matchmaking zone with platforms such as Temu and Shopee participating to help toy companies expand their overseas sales channels. During the fair, 3 cross-border procurement matchmaking sessions were held, generating a total of approximately $4 million in signed deals.
Beyond traditional toys, this Toy Expo introduces new zones including an AI toy ecosystem, a 3D printing pavilion, and a "Token Globalization" area, showcasing how emerging technologies are transforming the toy industry. In the "Token Globalization" zone, an AI-powered smart toy called "Little Yellow Duck," destined for export, drew significant attention. Live demonstrations illustrated how interaction requests from overseas users are routed to the Shantou Overseas Chinese Pilot Zone, processed by AI models, and returned with results. This model enables toy manufacturers to leverage domestic computing resources to deliver intelligent interactive services to global customers. Currently, the Chenghai toy industry is exploring a new pathway—"computing power retained domestically, services delivered abroad, and value exported globally"—by capitalizing on local computing infrastructure and cross-border data capabilities.
The exhibition also attracted toy industry clusters from Yangzhou, Jiangsu; Yunhe, Zhejiang; and Changtian, Anhui. Delegations from 83 domestic and international trade associations visited the event. Industry association representatives from 24 major toy-producing regions across China held exchange meetings to discuss topics such as industrial cooperation, overseas market expansion, and compliance for going global, and jointly released the "National Toy Industry Association Alliance Convention."
The exhibition adopts a model of professional matchmaking for the first 2.5 days, followed by public access for the next 1.5 days. During the public access period, exhibits featuring AI interactive toys, trendy building blocks, and drones attracted numerous families to explore, with over 10 million visitors attending and shopping. Statistics show that toy retail sales during the public access period exceeded 4200 yuan, representing a 2.3-fold increase compared to the same period last year.