Panama to Foshan: 22–26 h with one stop to Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), 48 minutes by road to Lecong, a visa is required in advance.
- Flight
- 22–26 h with one stop
- Entry
- a visa is required in advance
- Transfer
- 48 min from CAN
- Visit
- Four days
- Guide day
- USD 150 / day
- Pickup
- USD 149
Sourcing trip · Latin America
Panama to Foshan: the connecting route, and an order built to repeat
Panama City has no nonstop to China, but the country imports broadly and buyers often act as regional distributors. That changes the brief: a repeatable range rather than one home.
- Flight
- 22–26 hOne stop
- Entry
- Visa requiredApply before booking flights
- Allow
- Four daysin Foshan
- Airport pickup
- $149Credited back within 6 months
Panama to Foshan: 22–26 h with one stop to Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), 48 minutes by road to Lecong, a visa is required in advance.
- Flight
- 22–26 h with one stop
- Entry
- a visa is required in advance
- Transfer
- 48 min
- Visit
- Four days
- Guide day
- USD 150 / day
- Pickup
- USD 149
Getting here
Schedules change with the season — confirm the operating carrier before booking. The airport code is the part that stays put.
Entry rules for Panamanian travellers
Visa required before travel. Apply for an M (business) or L (tourist) visa at a Chinese visa application centre before booking. Allow about four working days plus appointment time.
Panamanian passports need a visa before travel.
- Without a visa
- None — apply in advance
- On what basis
- Visa required before travel
- Visa on arrival
- No — port visas only for urgent business, with an invitation
- Airside transit
- Under 24 h, no visa if you stay airside
CarryReturn ticket · Hotel booking · Approved invitation · Appointment confirmation
Waivers were extended repeatedly through 2025–2026 and several expire on 31 December 2026. Confirm the current term with the Chinese embassy before paying for flights.
Airport pickup, $149 — refunded when you order
- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan
- Drop at your hotel — or straight to a showroom if you land early, with parking and tolls settled
22–26 h in the air, then about an hour of motorway. A 14:45 landing still leaves the afternoon.
Example vehicles; the exact car is confirmed the day before. Photos: Wikimedia Commons — Dinkun Chen CC BY-SA 4.0, CC0 — not our vehicles.
A paid service, not a free transfer: one arrival, one vehicle, one drop-off. Parking included; tolls at cost. The credit is valid for six months from your arrival date.
Landing, then the transfer
Three doors into the Pearl River Delta. Which one you use is a fare decision; the ground leg is what moves your first showroom.
Do not plan on the Hong Kong ferry. The Shunde Port crossing stopped on 16 July 2026 and has not restarted. Any itinerary built on that ferry is already broken.
The days on the ground
Four days is the working minimum for anything beyond a single category. Appointments are booked before you land, and each evening you get a written recap of what you saw and what is still open.
- Day 1
Land and calibrate
Arrival day. Transfer in, check in, and walk one mall so the prices stop being abstract
- Day 2
Lecong showrooms
Lecong showrooms against your list: two or three options per line, photographed and priced
- Day 3
Factories behind the malls
Today belongs to the workshops, in Longjiang or Nanzhuang
- Day 4
Samples and sign-off
Samples and the custom list, then sign-off before the airport run
Field noteIf the trip is only furniture, stay in Longjiang: you can cover several factories a day. Add Lecong if tiles are on the list.可乐家（装修记录）, Xiaohongshu
Field noteFactories that answer slowly before the deposit will answer more slowly after it. A month of silence on a logistics question is a warning.Hey nenk, Xiaohongshu
Where the days are actually spent
Upholstery is where showroom prices and factory prices diverge most, so both ends are worth seeing.
Lecong 乐从
Trading malls and room-set showrooms. A hundred sofas in a morning, priced retail-facing. The shortlist starts here.
Longjiang 龙江
Sofa and upholstery factories. Come here after the malls, when you want to know what the price is made of.
Where to stay
Where you sleep decides how much of the day you spend in a car.
Sofitel Foshan 佛山罗浮宫索菲特酒店
Inside the Louvre furniture complex. You can walk from the lobby to the malls, which removes the daily commute that eats a sourcing trip.
Crowne Plaza Foshan 佛山皇冠假日酒店（原佛山宾馆）
value · old-town evenings
Days Inn by Wyndham Foshan Shijilian 戴斯温德姆酒店(佛山世纪莲体育中心店)
known brand · 2 km from the malls
Straight-line distance from the Lecong furniture anchor. Ratings: Google Places and Amap, 31 Oct 2026.
Where to eat
Dinner is part of the itinerary, not an afterthought. Three places, with what they cost.
Ratings and average spend from Amap, retrieved 2026-10-31. Hours and closures change — confirm before booking a table for guests.
What Panamanian buyers get caught on
- 01Panama applies 7% VAT on import plus duty by commodity code. The low VAT makes the freight share of the landed cost larger than usual.
- 02Panamanian standards and Spanish labelling apply to consumer products. Confirm the scope with your broker.
- 03120 V, Type A and B. North American stock — and because Panama re-exports through the canal, the same SKU often has to suit several neighbouring markets.
- 04Balboa and Colón are the ports, and the canal makes consolidation straightforward. A distributor can serve several countries from one container.
- 05Distributors need packing consistency across lines. Ask for per-line carton counts and a packing list that survives a warehouse split.
Practical specification checks, not certification advice. Confirm current requirements with your importer or testing body.
Importing into Panama
Everything here happens after the container leaves Foshan — the part the showroom does not quote.
- Import VAT
- 7% standard rate on import
- Plug / voltage
- Type A / B · 120 V
- Main port
- Balboa · Colón
- Ocean transit
- 30–40 days
- Currency
- PAB
- Working language
- Spanish, English
Check the current rate with your broker before you price the order — these figures drift.
Trip cost, before any furniture
| Line | Planning figure |
|---|---|
| Flights | PAB 900–1,400 return with one stop, usually via Los Angeles, Madrid or Doha |
| Hotel | Lecong or Chancheng, 4-star, PAB 65,000–120,000 per night |
| Airport pickup | USD 149 from Guangzhou or Shenzhen, credited against your fee if you order within six months |
| Duty and VAT | Duty by commodity code plus 7% VAT, payable on import |
Planning figures, not a quotation.
Questions Panamanian buyers ask
How do I get from Panama to Foshan?
No nonstop. Panama City connects via Los Angeles, Madrid or Doha, then Guangzhou — 22 to 26 hours door to door.
Do Panamanian passports need a visa for China?
Yes. Apply for an M or L visa before booking.
Which port?
Balboa or Colón, depending on the carrier and the onward market.
Can one container serve several countries?
Yes, and distributors here do. Ask for per-line carton counts so the split is possible at the warehouse.
How many days do I need?
Four, and they should produce a range plan rather than a room set.
Elsewhere in Latin America
Buyers who come to Foshan rarely come alone: a household or a hotel brief often spans two markets.
Keep planning
Send your list before you book the flight
Share quantities, rooms, budget and your travel month. We come back with a route, a supplier shortlist and an honest answer on whether the trip is worth making.
Trade rules, duty rates and certification scope change without notice. Confirm the current requirements for your product and entry date with a licensed customs broker before committing to a deposit.