Yiwu is the largest small commodity wholesale market in the world. You can find almost anything in this county-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Over 75,000 stores in Yiwu International Trade Market are filled with merchants from all over the world, who try to dig business opportunities from over 1.8 million kinds of commodities here.

People say that if you spend 8 hours a day roaming the market and only 3 minutes in each store, it would take you a year and a half to finish your shopping-adventure here.

“This is massive. I’ve never seen anything like it." said Yahye Dineh, a merchant from Seattle, United States, who was doing business at Yiwu International Trade Market for the first time, "This is the first time I had to take a cab ride from one side of the district to another just to find something else.

During the first nine months of the year, Yiwu exported 168.9 billion yuan worth of goods. That’s $25.6 billion, a year-on-year growth of 5 percent. Today, Yiwu has trade ties with over 219 countries and regions around the globe.

If you are about to receive your Christmas presents, chances are they are made in China, exported from Yiwu. Around 60% of the world's Christmas decorations and presents come from factories surrounding Yiwu. But inside Yiwu International Trade Market, everyday feels like Christmas.

"For Christmas, foreign traders come to our shop to select our products or make orders online." said Cao Xiaogang, chairman of Xie Xin Toys Co., Ltd, "Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yiwu-Europe freight trains, our Christmas sales have increased by 20-30% this year."

Remote control cars designed by Chinese companies. (People's Daily Online/Kou Jie)

Cao started selling toys about 30 years ago. At first, he only had one square meter of space to do business. Later he got a bigger shop. He said Yiwu International Trade Market supports vendors like him in expanding his small businesses internationally. Now he has over 120 employees doing sales.

The trade market is also expanding internationally. According to Lou Yuanbin, director of supply chain and foreign cooperation of Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co., Ltd, the trade market has plans with Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Moscow-based company Kiev Square to collaboratively open branch markets overseas. "We are also planning to open markets in Southeast Asia." said Lou, "The Belt and Road Initiative has been guiding companies like ours to actively expand overseas.”

人民网外宣融媒体团队，日前探访义乌小商品市场。我们看到，这个驰名中外的小商品批发市场，已不再是廉价商品的海洋，创意、创新、开放、融入世界，正在重新定义这个著名小商品经济中心，也重塑着“中国制造”的形象。

在义乌国际商贸城，7.5万家商铺一家接着一家,鳞次栉比，超过180万种商品，琳琅满目。如果一个人每天花8个小时在贸易市场里挑选，哪怕每家店只停留3分钟，也需要一年半的时间才能逛完整个市场。

2014年开通的“义新欧”班列，将义乌和世界进一步紧密相连。来自世界各地的客商，云集义乌，从多达180 万余件的小商品海洋中挑选满意的商品，运往他们的国家。

如今的义乌，与世界上219个国家和地区建立起活跃的贸易关系。“每天都是圣诞节”是对义乌的工厂的生动描述。圣诞节临近，世界上60%的圣诞商品都来自这座手工艺大城。随着 “一带一路” 的推近和中欧班列运行效率的提升，今年义乌的圣诞商品销量比去年提高了三成。

今年前九个月，义乌市商品出口额高达1689亿元。

我的声音，你的视界