[Photo/yiwu.gov.cn]

Yiwu city is located in the central part of Zhejiang province, bordering the eastern edge of the Jinhua-Quzhou Basin. Covering an area of 1,105 square kilometers, it administers six towns and eight sub-districts. Downtown Yiwu covers 103 sq km. 

In 2019, the city achieved a regional GDP of 142.11 billion yuan ($20.1 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.4 percent; added values of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were 2.26 billion yuan, 41.8 billion yuan, and 98.05 billion yuan respectively.

The city is now home to over 568,500 market entities, up 23.8 percent year on year. A total of 8,046 of them are run or invested by foreigners and over 190,000 of them are engaged in e-commerce. The small commodity markets contributed to a trade volume of 458.31 billion yuan, up 12 percent year on year while e-commerce contributed to over 276.89 billion yuan, up 16.9 percent year on year.

Established in 222 BC, Yiwu was initially called Wushang county, named after Yan Wu, a local resident known for his dutiful behavior. It was upgraded from a county to a city in 1988.

It has cultivated some famous people, including Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Luo Binwang, high-ranking Song Dynasty (960-1279) military officer Zong Ze, famed physician Zhu Danxi in the Jin (1115-1234) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, eminent Zen monk Fu Dashi in the Liang Dynasty (AD 502-557), as well as educator Chen Wangdao, literary theorist Feng Xuefeng and historian Wu Han in modern times. 

In March 2011, it was approved as a comprehensive pilot reform project for international trade by the State Council. The city's foreign trade has increased tenfold in eight years of development, thanks to its tireless exploration, reform and opening-up.

Yiwu has created a trade system that exports goods bought at local shopping malls. The new type of trade has been replicated in domestic counterparts and has helped boost entrepreneurship, innovation and industrial upgrades. In 2013, a trial program for an individual cross-border renminbi trade settlement was launched in the city to promote the growth of trade by independent entrepreneurs in the city.

The Yiwu International Trade Market, with 75,000 booths in a business area of 5.5 million square meters, is the epicenter of the world's largest trading hub for small commodities. It attracts hundreds of thousands of sellers and buyers every day.

Now, more than 20,000 foreigners from over 100 countries and regions live in Yiwu. About half-a-million more visit and make purchases every year.