Last reviewed October 2026 · Confirm dates and venue on the organiser's official site before booking travel

CHINAPLAS 2027: visitor guide

Asia's leading plastics and rubber exhibition — and, for anyone in polymers, chemicals, compounding or plastics machinery, the most efficient four days you can spend in China.

What's on show

CHINAPLAS covers the full plastics and rubber value chain. Exhibition zones typically include:

• Raw materials — polymers and resins, additives, colour pigments and masterbatch, composites and high-performance materials, thermoplastic elastomers and rubber, bioplastics and recycled plastics
• Machinery — injection moulding, extrusion, blow moulding, thermoforming, rubber machinery, recycling technology
• Downstream — film technology, plastic packaging machinery, plastic pipes and profiles, tooling and moulds
• Enabling tech — auxiliary and testing equipment, smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0, 3D technology
• Trade services

The organiser publishes the final hall-by-hall zone map closer to the event. Check it before you plan your route — the venue is very large and halls are not interchangeable.

Registration

Visitor pre-registration normally opens several months in advance on the official site. Registering ahead saves the on-site queue and usually gives you a digital badge. Bring your passport and business cards; trade visitors are expected to be industry professionals.

Getting to NECC Hongqiao

NECC sits next to the Hongqiao transport hub — one of the best-connected exhibition venues in China.

• Metro: NECC is served by Shanghai Metro Lines 2 and 17. Allow 30–45 minutes from the city centre.
• Air: Hongqiao Airport (SHA) is very close to the venue; Pudong (PVG) is roughly 60–90 minutes away by metro or road.
• Rail: Hongqiao Railway Station is adjacent — high-speed trains to Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo and beyond leave from here, which makes post-fair factory visits easy.

Where to stay

• Hongqiao / NECC area — walkable or a short ride to the halls; book early, prices rise during the fair.
• Downtown (People's Square, Jing'an, Xujiahui) — better dining and services, 30–40 minutes on Line 2.

Planning the four days

1. Day 1 — orientation. Walk the raw materials and additives zones before anything else; they set the context for the machinery halls.
2. Day 2 — targeted meetings. Pre-arrange appointments with the exhibitors that matter; stands are far busier from day two onwards.
3. Day 3 — the long tail. Recycling, testing, tooling and trade services, plus anything you flagged on day one.
4. Day 4 — follow-ups. Short days at the end; use the time to revisit the two or three stands worth real discussion.

NECC has 17 halls across a very large site. Comfortable shoes are not optional, and a written plan of which halls you need saves hours.

Adding factory visits

Shanghai's rail links make regional trips straightforward: Suzhou and Hangzhou are around 30 minutes away by high-speed rail, Ningbo about 90 minutes. If you plan site visits around the fair, schedule them for the days before or after — suppliers' key people are on their stands during the event itself.

Practical notes

• Bring business cards and a specification sheet for anything you want quoted — grade, application, volume, target certifications.
• Technical conversations at CHINAPLAS get specific quickly. If your Chinese counterpart's English team is thin, arrange an interpreter with materials or chemicals vocabulary — see hiring an interpreter.
• Photography rules vary by stand; ask before shooting.