Factories and traders mixed. The operator's 2025 annual report says about 52.38% of merchants own a factory and about 46.01% own brands (end-2025), so roughly half are resellers.
What the Yiwu market is, and who you are buying from
Yiwu International Trade City (义乌国际商贸城) is a permanent wholesale market for small commodities (low-unit-value consumer goods such as toys, fashion jewelry, stationery, hardware and household items) in the city of Yiwu, Zhejiang province. It is a set of market buildings in which merchants hold booths, show samples and take wholesale orders. The market operator, the company that owns the buildings and booths, is Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co., Ltd. (浙江中国小商品城集团股份有限公司), listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange under code 600415 since 9 May 2002.
The answer to "who am I buying from?" is in the operator's own filing. The Zhejiang China Commodities City Group 2025 Annual Report, published on 9 April 2026, states that at end-2025 "about 52.38% of merchants own their own factory" and about 46.01% own brands (2025 Annual Report, SSE 600415). Roughly half of the merchants a buyer meets are therefore resellers or wholesalers rather than makers. The figure comes from the operator's own merchant survey, and its method is not disclosed, so treat it as the operator's estimate rather than an audited count.
The verdict is mixed: factories and traders side by side, often indistinguishable at booth level. A merchant (the business renting a booth) may own a factory, buy from partner factories, or both.
How the market is organized
According to the 2025 Annual Report, the operator currently runs International Trade City Districts 1 to 5, Huangyuan Market, the International Production Materials Market and the Global Digital Trade Center (全球数贸中心). Its revenue is mainly booth-usage fees. The company owns the booths (the individual showroom units) and grants merchants usage rights on prepaid contracts of one to three years; merchants may not change the use of a booth or sublet it without permission.
That structure explains what a booth is. It is a showroom on a fixed-term lease, not a production site. The goods on display are usually made somewhere else, in the merchant's own factory or a supplier's.
The market's history runs in "generations," according to People's Daily (23 December 2025):
- First generation: the Huqingmen open-air market, September 1982, with 705 stalls.
- Fifth generation: the International Trade City, opened October 2002.
- Sixth generation: the Global Digital Trade Center, opened 14 October 2025.
The operator says the market carries 28 major categories and over 2.2 million kinds of products. A commonly repeated district-by-district table (District 1 for toys, jewelry and festival crafts; District 2 for bags, umbrellas, hardware, kitchenware and electronics; District 3 for stationery, cosmetics and sporting goods; District 4 for daily necessities, socks, shoes and belts; District 5 for imported goods, bedding, fabrics and auto accessories) appears in Wikipedia's article, but it traces to a trading company's guide, not to the operator. No official per-district booth table was found in the operator's 2025 annual report or its holding company's 2025 bond annual report.
The Global Digital Trade Center
The Global Digital Trade Center is the market's newest building, which the operator calls a "sixth-generation market." It opened in October 2025; People's Daily gives the date as 14 October 2025. Its categories include drones and unmanned equipment, fashion jewelry, designer toys, skincare and medical-aesthetics products.
The operator's 2025 report says that by end-2025 over 40% of the center's operators came from outside Zhejiang and 57% of its merchants had their own brands or IP products. People's Daily reports "over 3,700 merchants" there; no booth count has been published. The opening drove much of the operator's 2025 growth: company revenue rose 26.62% to RMB 19.927 billion, and net profit attributable to shareholders rose 36.76% to RMB 4.204 billion.
Further building is planned. The 2025 report says land has been acquired for a District 5 South expansion, with full construction to start in 2026, and that renovation planning for Districts 1 to 5 is under way.
Scale, from the operator's filing
The figures below are company-reported operating statistics from the 2025 Annual Report. They are not audited, and the turnover figure describes the whole market, not the operator's revenue.
- Market turnover: "over RMB 320 billion" in 2025 for the Yiwu China small-commodity market.
- Visitors: over 230,000 a day, including over 4,000 foreign-buyer visits a day.
- Reach: the operator says the market radiates to 233 countries and regions and links 2.1 million SMEs.
- Shops: "nearly 80,000 physical shops" (近 8 万家实体商铺) underpin Chinagoods, the operator's online B2B platform, which had over 17.02 million listed products at end-2025 and 700,000 new registered buyers in 2025.
- Merchant profile (end-2025): 64.13% invest in product design; over 54.83% list new products every month; about 52.38% have their own factory; about 46.01% have their own brands.
How buying in Yiwu works
Buyers walk the districts, collect quotations at booths, and place orders that merchants fill from their own or partner factories. Because a typical Yiwu order spans many booths and many small product lines, many buyers use Yiwu-based buying agents and consolidators to combine goods from many suppliers into one container.
Exports from Yiwu commonly use China's "market procurement trade" (市场采购贸易) customs mode, an export-declaration regime the operator cites as giving Yiwu "unique advantages" in foreign-exchange settlement. The mode affects how goods are declared on the Chinese side; it does not change what a US importer owes at entry, where classification, country of origin and the applicable duties are determined under US law.
Yiwu is also an officially designated trade hub. The national Yangtze River Delta integration plan calls for accelerating the Yiwu International Trade Comprehensive Reform Pilot Zone, which is also a cross-border e-commerce pilot. That is a trading designation, not a production cluster: many goods sold in Yiwu are made elsewhere in China.
Risks and common mistakes
- Assuming every booth is a factory. The operator's own survey puts factory ownership at about 52% of merchants. Ask for the business license, compare its business scope with the product, and confirm where the goods are made.
- Using Yiwu for custom manufacturing. The market is built around ready designs and small-to-medium lots across many SKUs. A product that needs tooling, a new specification or engineering support usually belongs with a factory found in a production cluster.
- Underestimating consolidation. Buying from dozens of booths means dozens of separate quality checks and dozens of separate compliance files. A US importer remains responsible for CPSC, labeling and other product rules for every line.
- Trusting booth counts from agent blogs. No official per-district booth table exists in the operator's filings. The operator's own figure is "nearly 80,000 physical shops" across its markets.
- Relying on unofficial opening hours. Official market hours and holiday closures were not found in an operator or government source; confirm them before travel, especially around Chinese New Year.
Who Yiwu suits, and how it compares
The Yiwu market suits a buyer who needs a wide range of ready-made small commodities, in modest quantities per line, and who can manage consolidation and inspection across many suppliers. The categories the operator and People's Daily name, from toys and fashion jewelry to stationery and household goods, are typical of what it carries. It does not suit a buyer who needs a single factory to develop and tool a custom product, or one who needs a direct relationship with the manufacturer of record.
Compared with the Canton Fair, Yiwu is permanent rather than a twice-yearly event, and its focus is small commodities rather than the full range of export industries. Compared with online channels such as Alibaba.com or 1688.com, it offers physical samples and face-to-face quotations, but the same underlying question applies to all of them: is this seller the maker, or a reseller? The operator's own answer, for Yiwu, is that about half are makers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Yiwu market?
It is Yiwu International Trade City, a permanent wholesale market for small commodities in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. Merchants rent booths to show products and take wholesale orders. The market is run by Zhejiang China Commodities City Group, which is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange under code 600415 and reports the market's statistics in its annual report.
Are Yiwu market sellers factories?
About half are. The operator's 2025 Annual Report says about 52.38% of merchants owned their own factory at end-2025 and about 46.01% owned brands. The rest are resellers or wholesalers. The figure comes from the operator's own merchant survey, whose method is not disclosed, so each supplier still needs to be checked individually through its business license and production site.
How many shops are in the Yiwu market?
The operator refers to "nearly 80,000 physical shops" in its 2025 Annual Report. Per-district booth counts often quoted online trace to a trading company's guide rather than to the operator, and no official per-district table was found in the operator's filings. Treat district-level booth numbers as unverified.
What is the new Yiwu market, the sixth generation?
It is the Global Digital Trade Center, which opened on 14 October 2025 according to People's Daily. The operator calls it a sixth-generation market. Its categories include drones and unmanned equipment, fashion jewelry, designer toys, skincare and medical-aesthetics products. By end-2025, 57% of its merchants had their own brands or IP products, per the operator.
How big is Yiwu's trade?
The operator reports market turnover of over RMB 320 billion for 2025, with over 230,000 visitors and over 4,000 foreign-buyer visits a day. These are company-reported, unaudited operating figures. They are separate from the operator's own 2025 revenue of RMB 19.927 billion, which comes mainly from booth-usage fees.
Can I get custom products made in Yiwu?
Yiwu is a poor fit for custom manufacturing. The market is organized around ready designs sold in small-to-medium lots across many product lines, and a booth is a leased showroom, not a production site. A product that needs new tooling or engineering is usually better developed directly with a manufacturer, with the Yiwu merchant, at most, as a route to finding one.
Do I need an agent to buy in Yiwu?
Many buyers use one, because a typical Yiwu order spans many booths, though an agent is a practical choice rather than a requirement stated in any source read for this page. The agent's role is to combine goods into one shipment and handle export paperwork. The buyer still carries responsibility for product compliance and customs entry in the destination country, so the choice of agent does not transfer that liability.