Foreign customers select sports goods at a store in the Yiwu International Trade City in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, on January 7, 2026. Photo: VCG

Yiwu International Trade Market, the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities and also dubbed as the "World's Supermarket," located in Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang Province, officially resumed operations on February 28 after the Spring Festival holiday, with traders and buyers rushing back into nearly 80,000 booths across the sprawling marketplace complex, the Securities Times reported.

Operators and market merchants reported a robust first day of trading. Zhejiang Yiwu China Commodities City Import & Export Co said the market opening rate reached 97.4 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from the first trading day after the 2025 holiday, while total visitor numbers hit 291,000, a year-on-year increase of 23.8 percent. Meanwhile, the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center, the city's flagship "sixth-generation market," drew about 62,000 visitors on opening day, according to the Securities Times report.

A reopening ceremony was held at the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center, which was inaugurated last October, according to a Yiwu merchant.
 
"I arrived at my shop around 10 am yesterday, when the market officially resumed. We received several offline customers, including returning clients placing reorders. However our main business comes from online channels — I actually started working during the holiday, handling inquiries and reorders that began trickling in from February 20," Sun Lijuan, owner of Hongsheng Toys in Yiwu International Trade Market, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"Yesterday, I tallied up my reorders: roughly 20 to 30d transactions, totaling seven to eight containers, or approximately 2,000 items," Sun recalled.

"The opening day carries real significance here in Yiwu," Sun said, adding that the streets were suddenly packed — parking spaces were almost impossible to find. "It felt like the entire market ignited," she said.

Sun, who has shifted from plush toys to artificial intelligence AI‑enabled toy design and online export sales, said AI tools have helped her attract more foreign buyers, lower operating costs and speed product development. Despite global trade uncertainties, Sun said her company's export volume still increased last year, with clients mainly coming from the Middle East, Africa and Europe. 

Regarding market expansion this year, Sun said she is planning her brand's overseas expansion, targeting Brazil and Vietnam. "Many peers in different sectors point to Brazil as a massive opportunity. Based on our experience, product knowledge, and diversified country-specific client portfolios, we're confident," she added.

The reopening also followed a high-profile boost, as Yiwu served as a sub-venue for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, a tie-in that organizers and merchants credit with driving a surge in visits during the holiday. According to CCTV News reports, the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center opened to the public for visits beginning on February 19; its first public day drew about 61,900 visitors and generated nearly 1 million yuan ($145,811) in the city's festival market sales. 

Qin Haiyan and her family from Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu Province chose a self-drive route this Spring Festival through Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian, with Yiwu serving as an important stop for checking in and stocking up. "We didn't buy anything along the way — we got everything in one stop in Yiwu, Qin told the Global Times on Sunday.

Thanks to the lingering effects of the Spring Festival Gala, Yiwu saw a significant increase in tourist arrivals during the Spring Festival holiday. A recent Meituan report showed that Yiwu ranked first in tourism popularity among county-level cities during the holiday, making it the most popular county-level city for culture and tourism. Data from Trip.com also showed that, as of February 23, Yiwu's tourist arrivals were up 83 percent year-on-year, and tourism revenue rose 84 percent year-on-year, according to CCTV News reports.

Experts attribute this tourism boom to Yiwu's successful integration of cultural intellectual property (IP) with its commercial ecosystem. The Spring Festival Gala sub-venue served as a powerful catalyst, transforming Yiwu from a pure trading hub into a must-visit experiential destination, Hu Qimu, a deputy secretary-general of Forum 50 for Digital-Real Economies Integration, told the Global Times on Sunday. "This 'Gala effect' demonstrates how traditional manufacturing and wholesale centers can leverage cultural events to drive consumption upgrading and diversify revenue streams."

Data showed that the Yiwu International Trade Market houses nearly 80,000 booths offering over 2.1 million types of commodities, and maintains trade ties with over 230 countries and regions worldwide, the chinanews.com.cn reported.

According to data from Yiwu Customs, the city's total trade reached 836.5 billion yuan last year, a year-on-year increase of 25.1 percent.