It's a warm morning in Shanghai, and the SNIEC exhibition centre is beginning to pulse with buyers. The second day of the event is witnessing slightly better footfall than the first by the looks of it, a good number of Westerners traversing the giant triangle of the showground beneath a cloudy Chinese sky.
The size of Furniture China can be daunting if you're lacking direction. Open-sided shuttles traverse each side of the triangle, bypassing vast swathes of showrooms and marquees, saving visitors valuable time.
I begin at the international brand halls, which are populated with the most recognisable names. Delegations from Belgium, Spain, Italy and France sit alongside some of China's few big brand names, all companies sharing one aim - international recognition and growth.
Furniture China is regarded by most as a principal platform from which to reach international markets. Despite stiff competition from China's other key exhibitions - and the Far East's other 'rising dragons' - Shanghai's flagship event maintains competitiveness through investment and modernisation, attracts a great number of buyers at a specific level (higher than most), and is eminently accessible.
A handy app - just a small example of organiser UBM Sinoexpo's massive investment in online promotion - guides smartphone users from stand to stand. However, for the majority, a visit to Furniture China is guided by habit, buyers walking only the areas relevant to them to catch up with existing suppliers and keep an eye on their competitors' output.
"Despite stiff competition from China's other key exhibitions - and the Far East's other 'rising dragons' - Shanghai's flagship event maintains competitiveness through investment and modernisation, attracts a great number of buyers at a specific level, and is eminently accessible"
It's still far from trend-setting, yet remains a bellwether of sorts by which the manufacturing capabilities of the Eastern furniture industry can be measured. Furniture sellers worldwide recognise the need to be at the forefront of developments over here, so remaining informed is almost as important as placing orders.
As a launch platform, this edition of Furniture China is giving the likes of Denmark's Tvilum and several Belgian companies a chance to crack new markets, from Australia and Peru to the Middle East and Russia. British companies present include Exclusive (International, not UK, in this capacity) and Alexander & James from the Ashley Manor purveyor - both seek to enter new markets this week.
According to some of the European exhibitors, the visitor diversity attending the key events close to home has waned in recent years, yet Shanghai continues to deliver - hence their willingness to sweat it out for five days over here, and, in some cases, their commitment to return.
In design terms, the show's Design of Designers (DoD) feature has been taken up a notch this year, featuring 124 designers and their original product from all over China. There are also conferences, this year dedicated to furniture distribution reform, and the relationship between furniture design and interior decoration.
The show is taking place from 11-15th September, and comprises around 3,000 exhibitors from around 30 countries (principally China, of course). Every style of furniture is catered for - as is production machinery and components at the concurrent FMC China exhibition.
Next year, Furniture China - taking place between 10-14th September, 2014 - will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Quite how much the balance of world trade will have shifted by then is debatable. What is certain is China's continued - for now, seemingly inexorable - growth in the furniture sector, and the need for the rest of the world to pay close attention through windows such as Furniture China.
