Yiwu Markets

Many importers, even those new to the business, have heard of the twice-yearly Canton Fair in Guangzhou. But less well known is Yiwu, a city home to the largest wholesale market in the world. This market contains nearly 40,000 shops wholesaling nearly every commodity you can think of.

What is Yiwu?

Yiwu is a wholesale market. What does that mean? It means that it’s THOUSANDS of shops focusing on every niche imaginable from Christmas decorations to hair extensions. Each shop displays a few dozen or few hundred items with the catch being that you don’t purchase the items for immediate purchase, you order them in bulk and get them delivered to you at a later date.

What Products are at Yiwu?

The scale of the Wholesale market is nearly unimaginable. The wholesale market was formed in the 70s and over time has grown to become 5 “districts” (which are basically twice the size of any large shopping mall you can think of) containing around 4000 shops each. To walk from the start to the end it will take you nearly an hour. In reality, you’ll need the better part of a day to really navigate the market. If you’re buying many items, you’ll need at least 2-3 days.

It’s important to remember that Yiwu’s slogan is “A city of small commodities”. In relation to Yiwu, a commodity is basically any relatively inexpensive, non-technical, mass-market item. Think things like stationary, Christmas decorations, picture frames, tourist gifts, suitcases, bags, and this type of thing. If you’re looking for the next top of the line cutting edge solar product, Yiwu probably isn’t your place.