Haizol's 2026 Summer Supplier Discovery Tour: The Biggest Custom Parts China Factory Tour

92.8% of buyers who joined Haizol's last Supplier Discovery Tour - one of the only structured China factory tours with no attendance fee - rated their factory visits as satisfied or very satisfied. 64.2% submitted RFQs to the factories they met in person. 54% met between 41 and 60 verified factories in a single week.

Those aren't aspirational targets. They're post-survey results from the Winter 2025 edition, Haizol's largest sourcing tour since the programme launched in 2019.

The 2026 Summer edition runs June 11-17 and is now open for registration. It's bigger - with two parallel tracks instead of one, and for the first time the Greater Bay Area (Shenzhen and Dongguan) is on the itinerary. The programme is free. No attendance fee. Buyers only pay for their international flight, visa if applicable, and personal expenses.

Track B (the Shenzhen track) is already sold out. Track A still has spots, but the last edition filled 4 weeks before departure.

TL;DR

• When: June 11-17, 2026 (arrive June 11, programme starts June 12)
• Where: Shanghai + Jiangsu + Zhejiang (Track A) or Shanghai + Shenzhen/GBA (Track B - SOLD OUT)
• Who: Overseas procurement buyers, engineers, and business owners
• Processes: CNC machining (3-axis to 5-axis), injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, die casting, investment casting, metal stamping, forging, rapid prototyping
• Register: Strictly for members on Haizol. Contact your Key Account manager for the invitation link

 

Why are China factory tours still worth the flight in 2026?

China factory tours are worth the flight because one week of structured visits evaluates more suppliers than months of sourcing industrial parts by email. You leave with samples in hand, factory owners in your contacts, and quotes in progress - not just business cards and catalogue PDFs.

The companies who submits a request for quotation (RFQ) after walking a factory floor and seeing the 5-axis equipment in person negotiates differently than the one comparing supplier profiles online. That's not a knock on digital sourcing. Haizol's own platform runs on it.

But for high-value, high-complexity industrial parts sourcing, there's no substitute for seeing the machines, meeting the operators, and watching the inspection workflow before you commit a production run.

This is especially true if you're new to sourcing parts from China or expanding beyond your current 1-2 factory relationships. The Supplier Discovery Tour is designed to compress what would normally take 6-12 months of digital parts sourcing into 7 days of verified face-to-face meetings.

What's different about the 2026 Summer tour?

The 2026 Summer tour is the first edition to offer two parallel tracks, a free day, and access to South China's Greater Bay Area. Three changes from previous editions:

1. Two tracks. Buyers choose between East China (Shanghai + Jiangsu + Zhejiang) or Shanghai + Shenzhen/Dongguan. Every previous edition ran a single fixed route.
2. Greater Bay Area is new. Track B takes companies to Shenzhen and Dongguan, China's advanced electronics and precision manufacturing hub - with the domestic flight included.
3. Built-in free day. June 14 is unscheduled, so buyers can run their own supplier meetings, visit a factory they found independently, or just decompress before the visit-heavy days.

Feature	2026 Summer
Duration	7 days (incl. arrival + free day)
Cities	Shanghai + Jiangsu + Zhejiang OR Shenzhen/GBA
Buyer groups	Two parallel tracks
South China	Yes (Shenzhen/Dongguan) - SOLD OUT
Matchmaking sessions	2-3 (Shanghai + GBA)
Free day	Yes (June 14)
Domestic flights included	Yes (Track B)

What does each track cover?

Each track covers up to 6 factory visits over 2 days, matched to each companies specific sourcing requirements - not a one-size-fits-all factory tour.

Track A - East China (spots available)

• Route: Shanghai + Jiangsu + Zhejiang
• Factory visits: Up to 6 across June 15 and 16, split into small groups by requirements
• Clusters: CNC machining, fabrication, molding, precision engineering - the three provinces that control 82.2% of China's CNC capacity
• Status: Open registration

Track B - Shanghai + Greater Bay Area (SOLD OUT)

• Route: Shanghai, then Shenzhen/Dongguan
• Factory visits: Up to 6 factories + dedicated GBA matchmaking session on June 16
• Included: Round-trip Shanghai-Shenzhen flight
• Status: Limited to 10 companies. Waitlist only.

Factory selection is unbiased. Haizol has no monetary incentive to push any specific factory. Visits are matched to what each buyer actually needs, not which factory paid the most.

What does the week look like day by day?

The week runs from Thursday arrival through Wednesday departure, with the flagship conference and matchmaking on Day 3 and factory visits concentrated on Days 5 and 6.

Day	Date	Activity
Day 1	Thu June 11	Arrive Shanghai. Complimentary airport pickup. Hotel check-in.
Day 2	Fri June 12	Settle-in day. Haizol team on-site from afternoon. Welcome dinner and ice-breaker evening.
Day 3	Sat June 13	Flagship day. Haizol showroom visit. Supplier matchmaking session with 300+ verified factories. 9th International Procurement & Sourcing Conference (1,000+ factory representatives).
Day 4	Sun June 14	Morning factory visit in Shanghai (9:00-12:00). Afternoon and evening free for personal supplier meetings or rest.
Day 5	Mon June 15	Track A: 3 factory visits across Jiangsu. Track B: Flight to Shenzhen + 1 factory visit.
Day 6	Tue June 16	Track A: 3 factory visits across Zhejiang. Track B: GBA matchmaking event + 2 factory visits.
Day 7	Wed June 17	Return home (Track A from Shanghai, Track B from Shenzhen or via Shanghai).

Programme days run 8-9 AM to 7-8 PM. Buyers in different time zones should plan calls for after 8 PM China time. Personal meetings with suppliers you've found outside the programme are welcome - just not during scheduled hours. June 14 afternoon and all evenings are open.

What should buyers bring to get the most out of the China factory visit tour?

Buyers should bring ready-to-quote documentation. The more specific your sourcing brief, the better Haizol can match factories - and the faster you'll move from introduction to quotation during the visits.

• CAD files (STEP, IGES, DWG, PDF)
• Sample parts if available
• Material specifications (grade level, not just “aluminium”)
• Tolerance requirements
• Target quantities and volume tiers
• Required certifications (ISO 9001, ISO 13485, AS9100, IATF 16949)

Whether you're sourcing CNC machined parts, injection molded components, or fabricated assemblies. The more detail you bring, the more productive the factory visits. If you're still at the exploration stage and don't have complete drawings, that's fine. But you'll get the most value when you can discuss specific parts and processes face-to-face with the factory owners.

How do the results from previous tours look?

The results from previous tours are documented in post-tour surveys. The Winter 2025 edition - over 70 buyers from 27 countries across 15 industry sectors - produced these numbers:

• 92.8% rated factory visits as satisfied or very satisfied
• 64.2% submitted RFQs or RFPs to factories they met on-site
• 54% met between 41 and 60 factories during the trip
• 300+ verified factories attended each matchmaking session

That last number is worth pausing on. The matchmaking sessions aren't expo-style walk-throughs. They're structured face-to-face meetings with factory owners and decision-makers, not sales reps. For buyers sourcing industrial parts across multiple processes (CNC + injection molding + fabrication, for example), the matchmaking alone compresses months of supplier vetting into a single day.

Full results from the Winter 2025 edition are published in the Supplier Discovery Tour recap.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the 2026 Summer Supplier Discovery Tour?

The 2026 Summer Supplier Discovery Tour runs June 11-17, 2026. Buyers arrive on June 11; the programme starts June 12 with a welcome dinner and runs through June 17.

What are the two tracks in the 2026 Summer tour?

Track A covers East China — Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang — with up to 6 factory visits on June 15 and 16. Track B covers Shanghai and the Greater Bay Area (Shenzhen and Dongguan), including a domestic round-trip flight, a GBA matchmaking event, and up to 6 factory visits. Track B is sold out; Track A is still open for registration.

What manufacturing processes can buyers source on the tour?

The tour covers CNC machining (3-axis to 5-axis), injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, die casting, investment casting, metal stamping, forging, and rapid prototyping. Factory matching is based on each buyer's specific process and sourcing requirements.

How many factories will I meet during the week?

Each buyer visits up to 6 factories over 2 days matched to their requirements. At the Day 3 matchmaking session, 300+ verified factories attend. In the Winter 2025 edition, 54% of buyers met between 41 and 60 factories during the full week.

What should I bring to the Supplier Discovery Tour?

Bring CAD files (STEP, IGES, DWG, or PDF), sample parts if available, material specifications with grade level, tolerance requirements, target quantities, required certifications (ISO 9001, ISO 13485, AS9100, IATF 16949), and any NDA requirements. The more specific your brief, the better Haizol can match factories.

Register for the 2026 Summer tour

Registration is open now. Track B is waitlist-only; Track A spots are allocated first-come, first-served. Based on the last edition filling 4 weeks before departure, we expect the same pattern here.

The sourcing tour is exclusive for Haizol members. Become a member for free here. Full programme details, FAQs, and included services are on the SDT 2026 landing page.

If you want to test international parts sourcing from China before committing to a week-long trip, you can start by submitting an RFQ on Haizol's CNC machining service or any other process page and comparing verified factory profiles digitally. The tour is the next step for buyers who want to move from screen to shopfloor - especially those sourcing OEM parts from Asia's factory base for the first time.