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Most of the world's Christmas decorations pass through District 1 of the International Trade City. It is not a festive market — it is a wholesale floor that happens to be the most photographed one in Yiwu. Here is exactly which floors, when the buying season runs, how minimum orders work, and whether you can buy a single bauble.
District 1 of the International Trade City: the 3rd floor (festive crafts, 喜庆工艺, with the Christmas rows) and the 4th floor manufacturers’ direct-sales centre, which the operator lists as ceramics, home décor, Christmas goods and artificial flowers. Source: operator page chinagoods.com (District 1 market introduction) and Jinhua Bendibao market map, read 2026-09-22.
Open all year. Order-taking by overseas buyers traditionally runs April–May, with shipping peaking late June to September; Chinese media reported the 2026 order peak arriving in mid-March, a month earlier than usual. Quietest and easiest to photograph from October to January.
Wholesale by the carton, but many shops sell a few pieces at retail if you ask: 可以零买吗？(kěyǐ língmǎi ma?). Expect the unit price to be two to three times the wholesale line.
| Floor | What the operator lists | Christmas relevance |
|---|---|---|
| 1st floor | Artificial flowers and flower accessories; plush, inflatable, electric and general toys | Wreath and garland components; the toy rows sell the stocking fillers |
| 2nd floor | Hair accessories, jewellery | Not Christmas; skip unless you buy fashion accessories |
| 3rd floor | Festive crafts (喜庆工艺), decorative crafts, porcelain, crystal, photo frames, accessory components | The Christmas rows: baubles, tinsel, tree toppers, LED strings, nativity sets, Santa figures |
| 4th floor | Manufacturers’ direct-sales centre: high-grade ceramic crafts, home décor, decorative crafts, Christmas goods, artificial flowers; large jewellery and jade dealers | Factory showrooms: larger MOQs, better prices, the artificial-tree makers; this is where Chinese news reports place the ‘Christmas village’ of 800+ traders |
Floor plan from the market operator’s District 1 introduction (chinagoods.com) and the Jinhua Bendibao market map, both read 2026-09-22. Row numbers change every few years; we confirm the current rows on our first walk-through. Opening hours listed by the operator: 09:00–11:30 and 13:00–17:00.
If you are buying. The traditional rhythm, described every year by Chinese business media: European and American buyers arrive in April and May to see samples and place orders; factories produce through the summer; containers leave from late June and peak in July–September so goods are on shelves by November. In 2025 traders told China News Service that the shipping peak had moved earlier; in 2026 the Yiwu Index reported the order peak arriving in mid-March, more than a month ahead of previous years, with first-half Christmas-goods exports from Yiwu up about 20% year on year (Yiwu News, July 2026). The practical consequence: for Christmas 2027, be on the 3rd and 4th floors between late February and April 2027 — after the Chinese New Year closure, which in 2027 falls around 6 February and overlaps the start of Ramadan (8 February expected). Sources: China News, May 2025; Yiwu Index; Yiwu News, July 2026 — all read 2026-09-22.
If you are only looking. Any month works — visitors photograph full Christmas displays in May and a shop taking orders in late January. The floors are calmest from October to January, when the season’s orders have shipped and the showrooms are being restyled for the next year; that is when you get the overhead shot from the upper walkway without a forklift in it.
A typical showroom quotes per piece with a minimum of one carton (often 100–500 pieces of a bauble, 12–48 of a larger figure) and a mixed-carton rule for colours. Ask 起订量多少？(qǐdìngliàng duōshao? — what is the MOQ?). Factory showrooms on the 4th floor set higher minimums than the 3rd-floor traders but quote lower unit prices.
Expect to pay for samples (样品费) at roughly the retail price; most shops credit it back once the order is placed. Photograph the sample with its booth number (商位号) — the number, not the shop name, is how you find them again and how the sourcing agent tracks it.
The price on the card is for goods at the booth. Freight to the warehouse, export packing, inspection and the container are on top, usually handled by a Yiwu forwarder or your agent; ask for 含税 (with VAT invoice) or 不含税 pricing explicitly.
The common term is a 30% deposit on order and the balance before the goods leave the warehouse, paid by bank transfer, Alipay or through the agent’s company account. Foreign cards are not accepted at the booth.
In the spring peak, factories quote 30–60 days; out of season, stock lines ship in a week. Christmas 2027 orders placed after May 2027 risk missing the container window.
Many traders sell one or two pieces at a marked-up price if you ask politely, pay cash or Alipay and do not expect a bag. On the 4th floor factory showrooms it is less likely. The market’s own rule is wholesale; retail is a courtesy, not a right.
These are the customs we have watched buyers negotiate over years of hosting them; they are not the market’s published rules, and individual booths differ. Bring a translator app and the booth number of everything you photograph.
One-off tasks at a fixed price, paid per errand — no contract, no commission on your orders. Photos and video for everything.
Shops are showrooms, and the traders are working: ask before photographing displays (拍照可以吗？), and never photograph price lists — that is the one thing that gets a visitor asked to leave. The overhead views from the upper walkways on the 3rd and 4th floors are the classic shot; the atrium at the District 1 East entrance gives the long perspective down the aisle. Weekday mornings after 09:30 are best; Saturday afternoons are the buyers’ rush in season.
Getting there: the metro stop named International Trade City, exit D, is about 300 m from District 1 East (visitor-reported); by taxi tell the driver 国际商贸城一区 — the driver card is on the market visitor guide. Halal lunch: a Lanzhou noodle counter on the 1st floor of District 1 (visitor-reported) or the Futian halal row behind the gates — see halal food near the market.
Inside District 1 of the International Trade City — the 3rd floor festive-crafts section and the 4th floor manufacturers’ centre, according to the market operator’s own floor guide; more than 800 Christmas-goods traders sit there according to Chinese news reports. We confirm the exact rows on our first walk-through.
Often yes, in small quantities at a higher unit price; ask politely (可以零买吗？) and pay cash or Alipay. Factory showrooms on the 4th floor are less likely to agree.
Orders are traditionally placed April–May and shipped late June to September; in 2026 the order peak came in mid-March. For Christmas 2027, visit between late February and April, after the Chinese New Year closure.
Usually one carton per item — roughly 100–500 pieces for small baubles, fewer for large figures — with a 30% deposit and the balance before shipping; ask 起订量多少？ at each booth.
Editorial update: . Public-source information; this date does not indicate an in-person visit.
