[OOO] Yiwu International Trade Market and Beixiazhu e-commerce village 🎥 | Following the yuan
[OOO] Yiwu International Trade Market and Beixiazhu e-commerce village 🎥 | Following the yuan
from the POV of a potential merchant
[OOO] is an occasional column that provides on-the-ground insights from my visits to trade shows and events in China. This week, I arrive at the world’s biggest wholesale market in Zhejiang province for scouting purpose. While here, I also caught a glimpse of the aftermath of live-streaming, as some industry players in China's ‘No.1 livestreaming e-commerce village’ relentlessly chase after internet virality over business sustainability.
Being born and raised in the Yangtze Delta region, I heard of many bustling wholesale markets growing up, such as the Danyang Glasses Market 中国丹阳国际眼镜城 in Jiangsu province, Sijiqing Clothing Market in Hangzhou 杭州四季青服装市场, etc. Among them all, Yiwu stands out as the only market that has gained international fame with its wide scope of goods
This success is largely attributed to the first-mover mentality of the local government and merchants, which led to the 2002 Shanghai listing of Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co. (operator of Yiwu International Trade Market), the publication of the Yiwu China Commodity Index (initially directed by ex-top political leader Bo Xilai in 2005), pushing the domestic GDP to 205 billion RMB in 2023 with 8% of annual growth rate. In media, Yiwu’s story has been widely covered — it is seen as the epitome of the China dream, a multicultural trade hub with vibrant Arab influence, and even a predictor of US elections — while new elements continue to emerge.
The impetus for my trip was not to discover who ordered more merch this time, but to explore potential categories for selling in the UK and Europe, specifically focusing on pets, coffee, and sporting goods. My business partner learned that the market consists of five districts connected with halls, and is filled with around 75,000 merchants. One guide says it takes a year and half to visit all stores in the market. We definitely had to be stay focused.
We prepped myself by watching tutorials on how to sound like an insider: instead of asking “how much”, you ask “what’s the minimal order?” Common questions from sellers include: where are you selling to? Which channels? We responded with “DTC and Europe.” That was straightforward. However, when one of the more shrewd pet merchants asked, “Have you sold this category before?” To which we could only be honest and admit we didn’t know much.
While we are impressed with the quality and design of some goods (see the triple-decked shelves for cat toys), there are some questionable business practices. Some sellers misrepresent themselves as original manufacturers rather than wholesalers, and many products lack the necessary certifications to justify their claims on packaging. For example, around 80% of all the yoga mats we examined are wrapped with a neutral-colored packaging labeled “eco-friendly,” likely because the producers assumed overseas clients prefer it.
For small items including pet toys, make up pads, yoga blocks/mats, and hair accessories, the number we hear from minimal order is at least 720 to 1,200. We haven’t finalized our exact category, but what I learned this time is that Yiwu serves as a starting point and doesn’t necessarily represent the cheapest or most comprehensive supplier list; other manufacturing hubs may offer better options for specific categories. And I realized that we would definitely have to do thorough due diligence in person before trusting anyone.
During our visit, I unexpectedly ran into a reporter friend who I tagged along with to Beixiazhu, which has been recognized by media as ‘China's ‘No.1 livestreaming e-commerce village’. In 2021, NetEase’s documentary team published a short documentary about the livestream merchants, which shaped my perception of the area. I expected bustling streets filled with goods, shipments, and electric tricycles; instead, the streets were almost empty.
From the NetEase doc, a scene that stuck with me depicted how the merchants and live streamers are traffic-hungry, because they know that traffic drives attention and therefore, sales. In the scene, a veteran-turned-merchant named Brother Wang acted out a scene with a fellow livestreamer, who moved to Beixiazhu to make a living. The script started by him asking the same question that I did: “what’s the minimal order?” Wang poured a basin of water onto him in winter clothes, while shouting “You can’t sell anything! Why bother asking?” After the second pouring, the latter finally snapped, “I have elderly and children at home, a mortgage for house and car—what else can I do?” [See below; the full clip requires a reverse VPN]
He told NetEase later that all he said was true, and he wouldn’t want to do this if it wasn’t for survival. He, like many merchants who came and left Beixiazhu, believed that traffic is their only way out.
Now, the bustle from the doc is long gone. What’s left are the shop fronts titled “wanghong 网红” “viral items 爆款” “live-streaming base 直播基地” “Douyin training school”. Ironically, many of them are shut. We learned that the ones who still want to livestream are doing that in factories, and the price war has also driven many smaller merchants to a dead end.
Before we left, we rested at a stand that sells local delicacy, crispy pork-stuffed pancake, we joked that it was the most down-to-earth business that we’ve seen in the village. But the owner, a lean, mid-aged man who appeared to be in his 50s, had major FOMO, “You know what? Some of [these livestreamers] can earn enough to buy a luxury car in one night.” 🔚
Notes on visiting:
Last year, riding the wave of short-range trips on social media, I initially planned an ambitious Zhejiang tour from Shanghai and was excited enough to squeeze six people into a group chat. That did not pan out, but I want to share it here in case any of you can finish it for me.
My intention was to take the high speed rail to Zhuji 诸暨 (the world’s largest freshwater pearl market), Shaoxing 绍兴 (the birth place of writer Lu Xun and the writer of
😃), Yiwu 义乌, Jinhua 金华 (famous for its ham and pork products — think China’s Parma), and Taizhou 台州 (popular coastal tourism town), mixing business and leisure in one trip. However, if it is your first time in Zhejiang province -- where Xi Jinping served as the deputy party secretary & acting governor from 2002-2007 — you should definitely also add a few days for e-commerce hub Hangzhou 杭州 and Moganshan 莫干山, a mountain top village. Let me know if you want any recommendations.You can read the last [OOO] issue about a sex toy trade show here and a government-initiated oriental aesthetics art market here.