Chinese manufacturing has dominated over the rest of the world for decades. Therefore, China is known as the world’s factory. The largest wholesale market is located in China. It is in Yiwu, a county-level city near Hangzhou. Yiwu’s wholesale markets are packed with products. Below are the wholesale markets in Yiwu, what they offer, and how to get to Yiwu.
About Yiwu
Yiwu is in the mountainous province of Zhejiang in eastern China. It is located 109 km from Hangzhou and 280 km from Shanghai. Over a million people live in this city. Yiwu was founded in the second century BC as Wushang County.
Wholesale markets in Yiwu
Yiwu has earned its title as the wholesale marketplace of the world. There you can find products at the best low wholesale prices, attracting hundreds of thousands of buyers from around the globe. Most entrepreneurs interested in Yiwu goods come from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Central Asia. Some of them say that the range and prices are better than in Guangzhou. Yiwu is a distribution and wholesale hub to/for many industrial clusters, surrounded by production regions of various articles:
- Ningbo, “China’s Capital of Stationery”
- Jiangshan, “China’s City of Electromechanical”
- Yongkang, “Hardware Capital of China”
- Zhuji, “China’s Capital of Socks and Hosiery”
- Taizhou, famous for its plastic, rubber, porcelain, and glass products
- Wenzhou has a wide range of footwear, packaging material, and electric tools.
When planning to place an order at a Yiwu wholesale market, it is worth using the Yiwugo website and app. It gives an overview of countless wholesalers. However, be careful and watch out for:
- counterfeit products – it is not worthwhile to buy “branded” products
- products of doubtful quality
- make sure that the product meets the requirements of your market
- it is always worth getting your supplier verified, as well as documents.
Below we present the most popular wholesale markets in Yiwu.
International Commodity City 义乌国际商贸城
Also known as International Trade Market, Yiwu International Trade City, Yiwu Market, International Trade City, China Commodity City (CCC). The world’s largest wholesale market, the so-called “small commodities,” consists of six interconnected buildings with a sales area of over several kilometers long. In total, on 4 million square meters, about 100,000 suppliers exhibit their products. It is estimated that there are 40,000 kinds of products in 2,000 different categories. The wholesale market is divided into five districts.
Location: Chouzhou North, Yiwu, Zhejiang, China
Website: en.yiwugo.com/purchaserservice/index.html
Districts in Yiwu Market
District 1: about 9,000 booths
- first floor: artificial flowers and toys
- second floor: hair ornaments, jewelry, and accessories
- third floor: mainly decorative and special occasion handicrafts, porcelain and crystals, photo frames, and accessories
- fourth floor: outlet stores.
Website: yiwugo.com/shop_list/i_1_1001.html
yiwugo.com/shop_list/i_1_10011.html (eastern part)
District 2: about 8,000 booths
- first floor: suitcases, backpacks and bags, umbrellas, and raincoats
- second floor: tools and hardware, electrical products, locks
- third floor: small household appliances, telecommunications equipment, electronic equipment, wristwatches, wall clocks, batteries
- fourth floor: various types of watches, as well as high-quality handbags and suitcases, electrical appliances
- fifth floor: service counters, export agencies.
Website: yiwugo.com/shop_list/i_1_1003.html
District 3: about 6,000 booths
- first floor: stationery, eyeglasses
- second floor: leisure and entertainment products, sports equipment, office and stationery
- third floor: cosmetics, mirrors, combs, clothing, accessories, and haberdashery
- fourth floor: outlet stores of stationery and sports equipment, also the same items as on the floor below
- fifth floor: paintings, frames for paintings and photos.
Website: yiwugo.com/shop_list/i_1_1004.html
District 4: about 16,000 booths
- first floor: socks, leggings
- second floor: everyday items, hats, gloves, other knitted items
- third floor: shoes, haberdashery, ties, wool yarn, towels
- fourth floor: underwear, belts, scarves
- fifth floor: outlet stores (shoes, underwear, hats, scarves, frames, and more).
Website: yiwugo.com/shop_list/i_1_1006.html
District 5: about 7,000 booths
- first floor: imported goods, goods from Africa, jewelry, handicrafts, photo frames, food
- second floor: beddings
- third floor: knitted fabrics, yarns, fabrics, curtains
- fourth floor: automotive accessories and parts
- fifth floor: service counters.
Website: yiwugo.com/shop_list/i_1_1007.html
China Yiwu Commodity City Huangyuan Garment Market 义乌篁园服装市场
Huangyuan Market for short, one of the newer malls, mainly offering clothing items. The total market area is 78,000 square meters. Articles may not appeal to foreign consumers style-wise.
- first floor: pants, jeans
- second floor: men’s clothing
- third floor: women’s clothing
- fourth floor: sportswear, pajamas, sweaters, outlet stores
- fifth floor: children’s clothing
- sixth floor: service counters, food court.
Location: the intersection of Jiangbin Bei and Huangyuan, Yiwu, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
Website: yiwugo.com/shop_list/i_1_1008.html
Yiwu International Production Material Market 义乌国际生产资料市场
Relatively small wholesale market. It contains about 4,000 booths of machinery and more.
- first floor: printing and packaging machinery, electrical devices, artificial flowers, accessories
- second floor: food processing, printing and packaging machinery, motors
- third floor: interior decorations, lighting
- fourth floor: leather upholstery.
Location: the intersection of Xuefeng Xi and Huancheng Xi, Yiwu, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
Website: yiwugo.com/shop_list/i_1_1008.html
Trade fairs in Yiwu
Every year, many events take place at the Yiwu International Expo Center. YWIEC is one of the largest and most modern exhibition centers in China. The total exhibition area is 240,000 square meters. Compared to the Canton Fair, Yiwu Fair’s products are offered at lower prices, and the minimum order quantity is not as high. Here are some of the fairs that take place in Yiwu.
Due to the worldwide epidemic crisis, check the official sites of the fairs for updated information.
Fairs in YWIEC
China Yiwu International Commodities Fair (Yiwu Fair)
Website: en.yiwufair.com
One of the most influential fairs in China. Scope of exhibits:
- hardware
- electromechanical facilities
- stationery and office products
- daily necessities
- electronic and electrical appliances
- knitwear
- sports equipment and outdoor leisure products
- toys
- crafts and ornament.
China Yiwu International Forest Products Fair
Website: en.forestryfair.com
China Yiwu International Forest Products Fair focuses on wood products. Examples of product categories:
- furniture and furniture accessories
- timberwork and wooden building materials
- handicrafts made of wood and bamboo
- wood and bamboo daily necessities
- tea products
- flowers, garden supplies
- forestry technology and equipment.
China Yiwu Imported Commodities Fair
Website: import fair.cn/en
The fair offers a wide range of consumer goods:
- household items
- products for mothers and children
- skincare products
- electrical appliances and digital equipment
- food and drinks
- toys
- sports articles
- clothing and accessories.
China Yiwu International Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Expo
Website: en.ywmeexpo.com
The fair is all about advanced technology and equipment. The four main themes are:
- digital economy and intelligent factory
- plastic, printing and packing machinery
- digital direct-injection technical equipment
- smart storage and logistics
- sewing and knitting equipment.
China Yiwu Hardware & Electrical Appliances Fair
Website: en.hardware expo.cn
A fair dedicated to various types of appliances and hardware. The exhibition industries are:
- electromechanical facilities
- hardware tools
- home appliances
- architectural hardware
- daily hardware
- intelligent electronics.
Wholesale markets in Yiwu – a guide
How to get to Yiwu?
- By plane
You can get to Yiwu airport from major Chinese cities. For example, plane tickets from Guangzhou or Beijing to Yiwu are over RMB 1,000.
There are shuttle buses and taxis to the city center. Getting to Yiwu Market by taxi takes about 20 minutes, and the fare is around RMB 40. There is a shuttle bus line 102 (RMB 1.5) from the airport near Yiwu Market that runs from 6 AM to 5:30 PM.
- By bus
For example, from Shanghai, you can get to Yiwu by bus or coach in 4 hours for around RMB 100. Buses depart every hour from, for example, Taipingyang Station (太平洋站).
The journey by bus from Beijing to Yiwu takes up to 18 hours and costs RMB 330. From Canton –13 hours (RMB 300).
- By train
Traveling by a G train from Shanghai to Yiwu Central Station (义乌) takes 1.5 to 2 hours (RMB 123-377). From Hongqiao (虹桥站) Station, these trains leave every few minutes.
Express trains are also available from Guangzhou to Yiwu (6-7 hours, RMB 670-2131) and Beijing (6.5-7 hours, RMB 580). Traveling to this class from Hangzhou takes half an hour (RMB 50-158).
How to get around Yiwu?
A taxi fare is RMB 8 for the first two kilometers; each next kilometer is RMB 2.5. Above 6 km, the fare of one kilometer is RMB 3.5.
There are over 50 bus lines in Yiwu. Two major bus stations: Binwang station (宾王客运中心) connects places across Zhejiang and Yiwu with other provinces, and buses from Jiangdong (江东客运) go to Wenzhou, Taizhou, Dongyang, and Yongkang. The bus fare is around RMB 3.
Check out our other posts about the production regions in China.