On October 15th, the same day the 138th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) officially opened, the special exhibition "Shared Prosperity: A Millennium of Guangdong's Foreign Trade" officially debuted at the Guangdong Museum.

From the 17th to the 19th centuries, a cultural phenomenon known as "Chinoiserie" swept across Europe, influencing art and daily life. During that period, numerous works sought to understand Chinese civilization more deeply. A French edition of "Shiji (Records of the GrandHistorian)"attempted to interpret China's historical wisdom, while an English guidebook titled "A Guide To Tourism of Guangzhou" served as a practical manual for merchants and travelers journeying from afar.

From the cosmopolitan "Fanfang" (or called foreign residents' quarters) of the Tang and Song dynasties that welcomed global merchants, to the licensed trade systems of the Ming and Qing dynasties that gathered worldwide commerce, and onward to today's Canton Fair that fosters mutual prosperity, Guangdong has always embraced the world with openness and inclusiveness. To date, the Canton Fair has been held 138 times, attracting more than 9 million overseas buyers in total and achieving export transactions exceeding 1.5 trillion US dollars. This latest session reached a record scale—with 74,600 booths and over 32,000 exhibitors, including about 3,600 companies making their debut. More than 240,000 buyers from 218 countries and regions registered in advance to attend.

Following the exhibition's opening, from October to December 2025 and from March to September 2026, the "Shared Prosperity: A Millennium of Guangdong's Foreign Trade" lecture series will be held monthly at the Guangdong Museum. The program will discuss the evolution and inheritance of Guangdong's long-standing traditions of peace, friendship, mutual benefit, and open cooperation in foreign trade, as well as explore new opportunities and missions for Guangdong's global commerce in the era of globalization.

广东外贸一千年：以历史照亮新程

10月15日，第138届中国进出口商品交易会（广交会）盛大启幕当天，“互利天下：广东外贸一千年”专题展在广东省博物馆正式开展。

在17至19世纪的欧洲，一场名为“中国风”（Chinoiserie）的文化热潮席卷艺术与生活领域，一批试图深入理解中国文明的著作应运而生。如法文版的《史记》试图解读中国的历史智慧，英文版《广州旅游指南》则成为远道而来的商旅的实用读物。

从唐宋蕃坊包容四海商贾，到明清特许通商汇聚全球货殖，再到今日广交会搭建互利平台，广东始终以开放姿态拥抱世界。至今，广交会已成功举办138届，累计到会境外采购商超900万人次，出口成交额逾1.5万亿美元。这届展会更是创下历史新高——展位总数达7.46万个，参展企业超过3.2万家，其中约3600家企业为首次亮相；来自218个国家和地区的超24万名采购商预登记参会。

展览开幕后，2025年10月至12月、2026年3月至9月，“互利天下：广东外贸一千年”主题系列讲座将每月在广东省博物馆举行，探讨广东外贸和平友好、互利共赢、开放合作传统的形成与传承，以及在全球化背景下广东外贸的新机遇与新使命。

文 | 记者 何文涛 朱绍杰 实习生 李岑
统筹 | 朱绍杰
翻译丨钟佳
审校丨林佳岱