Updated buyer note: Yiwu is a major source of Christmas products, but seasonal demand, compliance, packaging, and lead time change by market. Confirm current specifications and production capacity before ordering.
Every Christmas, whether you see Santa Claus in the Fifth Avenue window in New York, or a five-star hotel in Shanghai standing next to the luxury Christmas tree. They may have a common hometown – Yiwu, Zhejiang, which is the World’s largest Christmas products production base. Without Yiwu, we may not be able to spend Christmas happily.
1. Yiwu – the hometown of Santa Claus all over the world
I don’t know when Yiwu, Zhejiang Province began to have the title “Christmas Village of China”.
China’s “Christmas Village”, where there is no snow, and no moose, has only more than 700 factories producing nearly 80% of the world’s Christmas decorations.
To be honest, today, if there were no Chinese “Christmas Village”, “Santa Claus” would be out of work. That’s the “magic” of the world’s largest wholesale market for small commodities.
China exports $6.1 billion worth of Christmas products every year. 80% of the world’s Christmas products come from China, about 80% of which come from Yiwu. Meanwhile, about 45% of the goods produced in Yiwu are exported to the United States.
According to the American Christmas Tree Association, the U.S. needs nearly 100 million Christmas trees each year. 81% of which are artificial. U.S. farms began to reduce their Christmas tree acreage in previous years. In the past two years, there has been a 40% reduction in production due to weather coupled with the impact of the epidemic on the global supply chain. Cause a serious oversupply of Christmas trees abroad.
In this case, the use of artificial Christmas trees has become the choice of many people. The Yiwu market has played a key role. Because of the low prices, various options, and other advantages, Yiwu for nearly 20 years to become a dealer around the world to purchase wholesale Christmas goods. The U.S. Department of Commerce data shows that 85% of artificial Christmas trees are imported from China, especially in Yiwu.
There is a documentary by Serbian director Maraden Kovacevic, that specifically describes the relationship between Yiwu and Christmas – “Merry Christmas, Yiwu”. The film focuses on the workers in the Christmas goods factory, telling how they sew and operate the machines by hand to produce the things that make people across the ocean feel “happy” and “warm”.
From the factories here, the Christmas products go into the city’s bustling malls, run into some of the century-old buildings, or stand on the side of the street, creating a constant surprise for people passing by. This small city of fewer than 800,000 people supports the Christmas dreams of billions of people around the world.
2. Christmas brings joy and wealth
There are 3,102 Christmas craft-related enterprises in China, and 1,170 Christmas craft-related enterprises in Zhejiang Province, of which more than 700 are in Yiwu. Over the years, Yiwu as the source of Christmas goods, and the supply chain of businessmen also earns a lot of money. For example, the head of the Christmas crafts industry in Yiwu Xintean, with annual sales of 20 million dollars.
A 3-meter-high, 45usd worth of artificial Christmas trees, from 1688(largest online wholesale platform in China) to Amazon, to Wal-Mart, the price directly doubled. A Christmas-themed headband, which costs 2.74 RMB(0.45usd) wholesale on 1688, sells for $8.99 on Amazon.
Usually, July-October is the peak season for the purchase of Christmas supplies. However, due to the impact of the covid-19 epidemic, resulted in a competitive situation of global freight capacity. Making the peak season for the sale of Christmas supplies advance to May-August.
With the advent of the Christmas procurement season, Europe and United States buyers can be described as “stepping through” the threshold of Yiwu. As early as February and March this year, overseas customers have been placed in advance to Yiwu business orders have been to August orders are still coming in. There are writing businesses to receive orders received by hand, and even only accept large orders from old customers.
In fact, Yiwu production is not just Christmas trees, basically, everything about Christmas decorations can be one-stop purchased here, including Christmas hats, Christmas dolls, greeting cards, ribbons, decorative lights, stockings…
Christmas products shipped from Yiwu, from the tall artificial Christmas tree, a full set of Christmas clothes. Small to the Christmas ball, lights, and painting, can be said to cover all aspects of Christmas. These years, Yiwu Christmas products are iterative fast, innovative, quality improvement, and price competitiveness. Three aspects of the collective seize the high ground and conquered the global buyers.
3. Chicken feathers for sugar: the spirit of Yiwu
The imagery of “chicken feathers” perhaps best represents Yiwu and the group of businessmen behind it. They are full of perseverance and hardworking. Chicken feathers are the cheapest, but they feed the ancestors of “chicken feathers for sugar”. Chicken feathers are the lightest, but they can fly to the sky when there is wind.
Historically, Yiwu is one of the poorest counties in Zhejiang Province, where there are many people and little land. Poverty gives rise to a desire for change, when farming time, Yiwu people walk the streets, with the local sugar cane to do brown sugar for fertilizer for livestock feathers. The commercial tradition of “chicken feathers for sugar” gave Yiwu people business potential.
But it was not until 1982, when the Yiwu County Party Secretary resisted the “capitalist road” of opposition and announced the opening of the small commodity market, that the Yiwu people feel free to do business.
From the days of the “chicken feathers for candy” bartering goods to export all over the world. Yiwu has become a world-famous distribution center for small commodities from a county. It is known as the “world supermarket, due to the advantages of low prices and a wide range of products. Yiwu has also become a haven for a large number of distributors around the world. Export Christmas decorations and other small commodities in the past 20 years
Business City has formed a gathering effect, and Yiwu’s small commodities business is getting bigger and bigger. Small commodities, foreign trade, e-commerce, cross-border e-commerce. Live with goods, along the way, Yiwu’s small and medium-sized suppliers feel the wind and temperature of the market all the time. Then they follow the trend, exploring their own position, so that the development of this small county city to grasp the pulse of the times.
4. China’s super town, not just Yiwu
Super towns like Yiwu, which provide diverse goods for all over the world, have long been no exception in China.
There are many super towns in China that monopolize the global production of daily necessities from toothbrushes to clothing, from wigs to pet food, etc. …… Made in China has long since spread to every corner of the world.
- Cao County, Shandong Province – coffins
Cao County not only “monopolizes” the country, but also “monopolizes” Japan. More than 80% of the country’s coffins are from here, and even more than 90% of Japan’s coffins are from Cao County. Shandong Cao County coffins are produced by rich gun barrel resources, ultra-low prices, and exquisite wood carving technology. According to the words of netizens: Cao County decided the last decency of the Japanese.
- Taixing, Jiangsu Province – violin
A beautifully crafted violin costs a lot of money, and generally speaking, in our concept, this kind of Western musical instrument should be more European production, right? But I want to tell you that the violin produced by villagers in Huangqiao Town, Taixing has subverted its counterparts around the world. Become the world’s largest violin export base. About one-third to half of the world’s violins come from this ancient town.
- Huludao, Liaoning Province – swimwear
Nearly one-third of the world’s swimsuits and half of the country’s swimsuits come from Xingcheng City, Huludao, Liaoning Province. With an annual output of more than 200 million sets of swimsuits. Xingcheng not only occupies half of the national swimwear market sales. But also sold to 90% of the world’s beaches. Swimwear circle of Hermes – the United States a hundred years of swimwear brand JANTZEN has been loved by European and American film and television stars over the years.
In 2019, JANTZEN was acquired by Huludao City Import and Export Trade Group. Since then, the global fashion trendsetter of the swimwear circle has taken root in Xingcheng.
- Gao Yang County, Hebei Province – Towel
Gao Yang County in Hebei is a famous towel city in China, which has bagged one-third of the towel market in the country. That is to say, for every three towels in the market now, there is one from Hebei Gao Yang. The products are exported to more than 50 countries and regions, such as the United States, Russia, Japan, Romania, etc. High-grade towel products are gradually entering the European and American markets.
- Putian, Fujian Province – sports shoes
Although Putian, Fujian is only a county-level city. It has developed into the world’s largest production base for sports shoes since the reform and opening up, and is known as “China’s shoe capital”. In China’s domestic market, 4 out of 10 pairs of sports shoes or traveling shoes come from Putian. In the world, for every 10 people wearing sports shoes or traveling shoes, there are 2 people wearing Putian shoes.
Yiwu is just a microcosm of too many seemingly obscure towns that are making a growing impact on the world in their respective industries. 80% of the world’s Christmas decorations come from Yiwu China. A town with a population of fewer than 800,000 people. But brings a festive atmosphere and joy to billions of people, which is also a special kind of romance.
Related Post:
How To Buy In Yiwu Wholesale Market 2023 Guide
Plan seasonal purchasing
Use the Yiwu district guide to map suppliers and approve samples before the seasonal cutoff.
