Planning a Trip to Yiwu?

Looking to take a trip to Yiwu? Yiwu is a small city of about 1,000,000 people, in the middle of Zhejiang province, China. There are many ways to get to this destination. Yiwu has an airport for those who wish to fly there or you can take a bus, drive or even take the train. Try the new China Railway High-speed (CRH) which will get you to Yiwu in about 2.5hrs. This is an affordable and comfortable way to get there. This train is only available at certain times so make sure to ask at the train station. Otherwise you will have to ride the regular slower trains which will take about double the time to get to Yiwu. The (CRH) train only arrives and departs from the South Shanghai Railway Station so make sure not to go to the old railway station situated in Zhabei district. You can make your way to the South Shanghai Railway Station by taking the Line 1 or Line 3 metro, or if you do not wish to tackle the crowds on the metro you can simply take the taxi. Yiwu is quite famous now and has become a mecca for those around the world looking to source small commodity (light industry) items. The government has put preferential economic policies in place making Yiwu a free trade zone which allows many factories throughout China to set up representative offices there. You will not see rows and rows of factories like in Guangzhou or Suzhou, instead you will be dealing with both direct factory reps or middlemen who work closely with the factories.

Yiwu hosts an event called CHINA YIWU INTERNATIONAL COMMODITIES FAIR. The fair is located at the China Commodity City Exhibition Center. The Yiwu Fair ranks No.3, only after the Canton Fair and East China Fair. It is the biggest and the most efficient fair of general merchandise in the country. You can source many items like houseware, glassware, chinaware, small electrical items, tools, umbrellas, healthcare products, toys, socks, undergarments, camping gear, camping equipment, china craftworks, decorations for Christmas or Halloween; the list goes on and on.

During the times the fair is not taking place, you can source for all your light industry goods by visiting the Yiwu International Trade City (Futian Market). This is like a huge mall which connects several large buildings. Situated here are rows and rows of little shops with middlemen or direct factory representatives trying to sell their wares. Samples are on display but more than likely they will not sell or give you any samples as they usually have one or two of each type for display purposes only. The shop keepers do not wish to keep inventory in their small shops as they do not want to deal with retail type business. Their main objective is to do volume type business (wholesale) with distributors or resellers. They do not want to deal with the end user (consumer) so if you want to buy only one or two items this is not the place for you to visit. You might as well head downtown to the regular mall to pick up your small quantity items. If you plan to go on a sourcing trip, some things to keep in mind, be focused on what you want to source for and have an idea of how much you want to pay, so in essence do some homework before heading down to Yiwu to look for what you want otherwise you will be lost in this massive jungle of a mall with its rows of seamless never-ending shops. When dealing with these representatives you should have some keen negotiating skills and some thick skin as these shop keepers are on top of their game and might not be so willing to give in to what you want. If this is the case move on as there are so many shops that carry and represent the same items. Items may look the same but bear in mind the quality of the goods at hand. Prices may vary according to quality level offered. One word of advice if you do plan to go to the market and make some smaller transactions bring enough cash to make payment because the bank machines on the premise often run out of money and are not refilled so this makes things inconvenient at times. When walking around this massive market you can navigate by looking at the signs and map as the shops are categorized into different product lines, like toys, tools, housewares, etc. If you are tired from all the walking around you can feel free to take a seat somewhere and some shoe shine people will offer to clean your shoes for you at the cost of 2rmb for both shoes. The market closes as 6pm everyday so try to avoid this time as you will encounter a mass wave of employees and visitors leaving the buildings at the same time making it a traffic nightmare and also impossible to catch a taxi at this time. As a precaution, while in the mall or exiting during this mass exodus of employees heading home, be careful to mind your personal belongings as there may be pickpockets during these crowded times. If you are planning on visiting Yiwu during a time the commodity fair is taking place make sure to book your hotels in advance as many may be booked to capacity leaving you little choice of selection if any.

If you decide to venture into the middle of town you will have to take a short taxi ride as it is not too close to Futian Market. There you will find more restaurants, a large retail mall and places to enjoy the rest of your day.If you are looking to taste some food specialties of Yiwu you can sample one of the “three great treasures” Brown Sugar, Yiwu Ham and the Nan Date. Other specialties include: soya milk skin, the dry rolls made with bean milk cream, Baizi (local alcohol) and the Shanhua pear.

If you wish to do a bit of sightseeing, you may visit the Luo Binwang Tomb or Xiuhu Park. Luo Binwang, one of four most important people in the early Tang Dynasty (618-907), is noted for his literary talent, leaving more than 130 poems and some 30 articles to us. At present, you can find his cenotaph in the Dingdian Village, Ersanli Town of Yiwu City as well as at Luo Binwang Park located on Choucheng Street, Yiwu City. The great poet's whole life can be known by visiting these two attractions. In addition, the Hometown of Zong Ze, the famous Anti-Jin General of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), is a recommended historical site of Yiwu City. You can get there easily as the site is located in the city center, at ZongZhai Village on Choucheng Street.

After visiting these historical places, rest and then prepare to enjoy the city's natural beauties. Although these attractions cannot be compared with Hangzhou either in abundance or size, the locals are proud of their XiuhuLake and Da'ansi Pagoda. Based on the original site of Xiuhu Lake, the locals built XiuhuPark in the city center, including Da'an Temple Pagoda and eight charming views of Xiuhu Lake. Now, it is a city garden with a beautiful and typical landscape. Of course, you can also take an adventure into the countryside around the city for more natural beauties. For example, Desheng Cliff located at Houzhai Town of southern Yiwu City, Zhugong Cliff of Wuyan Mountain at Huaxi Village of Ersanli Town and the waterfall of Songpu Hill in the ancient Chi'an Town are some 'must-sees' on your trip.

Written by: James Chow