As the world's largest Christmas-goods distribution hub, Yiwu ships to more than 170 countries and regions across over 20,000 categories. In past years order peaks clustered in summer, but in 2026 shipments of festive goods stayed strong well into October, with overseas buyers continuously adding orders, CCTV reported on October 21.
A new twist this season: intelligent products are emerging as a fresh growth point. AI Christmas trees, AI Santas, AI recording cards, starry-light projectors, flapping bionic butterflies and dancing robots are drawing buyers from Australia, Kenya and beyond. One Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center merchant said a new AI product already has four to five thousand units booked, while AI glasses have shipped as many as a hundred units a day at peak, with customer numbers up more than 30% in the first three quarters.
The rebound is partly thanks to a U.S.-China understanding reached in late September on a $30 billion reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement. U.S. clients' procurement willingness has warmed, and reorders keep arriving — one merchant reported nearly 100,000 sets of music-and-snow-spraying products sold this year.
Yiwu Customs data show that from January to August Yiwu's foreign-trade export reached 548.85 billion yuan, up 12.8% year on year, while Christmas-goods exports to Latin America, the EU and ASEAN reached 3.23 billion yuan, or 67.9% of the city's total Christmas-goods exports.
Source: CCTV
