China International Furniture Fair (CIFF), the largest one of its kind in the country, is moving from its hometown in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to Shanghai's National Convention and Exhibition Center in September.

More than 1,400 companies and factories from China and abroad will attend the 36th Fair, held from Sept 8 to 12.

Founded in 1998, the event is held twice a year in March and September at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Pazhou, Guangzhou. But this year, the March session was held in Guangzhou and next month it will relocate to Shanghai.

"Companies say they would prefer the fair to take place in two cities," Wang Ke, director of Guangdong Furniture Association, said at a press conference on Tuesday in Shanghai.

Up to 40 percent of the 1,400 attending companies are based in Guangzhou, where 37.6 percent of China's exported furniture is manufactured.