Yiwu Commodities Fair 2026: dates, venue and products

The 32nd edition of the China Yiwu International Commodities Fair, Export Goods Exhibition, runs from 21 to 24 October 2026 at the Yiwu International Expo Center, located at 59 Zongze East Road, in the city of Yiwu, Zhejiang province. The fair is held at a single venue, spread across ten exhibition halls on two levels.

The previous edition brought together more than 2,400 exhibitors and attracted more than 180,000 international buyers, according to figures published by the organisers and picked up by several trade-fair directories. These volumes remain well below those of the Canton Fair, but the Yiwu Fair focuses on a narrower product niche, which makes it a targeted event rather than a general trade show.

The Yiwu Fair organises its halls around five main product families, all geared toward the export of small mass-manufactured items. Hardware and tools take a central place, alongside household appliances and consumer electronics, often accessory products rather than complex devices.

These are joined by architectural hardware and hardware accessories, everyday consumer goods, and finally a family covering sports and outdoor leisure goods, toys, and cultural and office supplies.

Yiwu is also home to the largest wholesale market for small items in the world, the Yiwu International Trade City, sometimes called the China Commodity City. This permanent market spans six main districts and has more than 75,000 stalls spread over roughly 5.5 million square metres. It stays open all year, including weekends, except for a closure around the Chinese New Year, and it operates as a continuous buying venue rather than a calendar event.

The China Yiwu International Commodities Fair is a separate event: a four-day trade show, held once a year, that brings together exhibitors sometimes coming from outside the city, with a reception setup designed for foreign buyers, including a dedicated badge. The permanent market suits a cash purchase, item by item, at an already established stall. The fair suits a focused sourcing trip over a few days, with exhibitors presenting ranges or new items to an audience of professional buyers.

The organiser offers several ways to get a buyer badge, all free of charge. Online pre-registration is done through the buyer portal on the official website, with the company's details and a valid passport or ID card number; a confirmation then arrives by email or SMS. Quick pre-registration is also available via a WeChat mini-program, by scanning the fair's official QR code.

On site, a buyer who has not arranged registration beforehand can register directly at the registration desk of the Yiwu International Expo Center with a passport and a business card. A buyer already holding a Canton Fair badge can also get a free badge at the dedicated foreign-buyer desk, without going through the full procedure again.

Yiwu is reached from Shanghai or Hangzhou by high-speed train, in one to two hours depending on the connection used. Yiwu railway station is fifteen to twenty minutes by taxi from the exhibition centre, and Yiwu Airport, which mainly serves domestic flights, is about twenty-five minutes from the venue. These travel times are practical benchmarks, not guaranteed schedules, and should be checked when booking.

The fair is held two weeks after the end of the October Golden Week, the national holiday that comes with the Chinese National Day on 1 October each year: factories and hotels have generally returned to their normal pace by this date, but early hotel booking is still recommended, as venues near the exhibition centre fill up quickly during the fair's four days.

A four-day fair, with several thousand exhibitors spread over ten halls, is prepared before departure, not on site. Time saved beforehand shows up directly in the number of useful contacts made during the show.

A contact made at a booth is no substitute for verification. Some of the exhibitors present in Yiwu are trading companies rather than direct manufacturers, which is not a problem in itself, but which changes the question to ask: where does the product actually come from, and who is accountable in case of a defect. Ask for the Chinese company's registration number, a detailed proforma invoice, and a sample before committing to any quantity.

The week following the show often decides its real value: follow up with each contact worth pursuing using the details exchanged at the booth, compare prices obtained on the same item from several exhibitors, and keep a written record of the terms announced before they get lost in a WeChat conversation.

Sorva is a trading and sourcing house based in Guangzhou, with a Chinese-speaking team on the ground, and in Paris. Before a trip to Yiwu, our team helps frame the product list and target the relevant halls; after the fair, it verifies the chosen suppliers and negotiates the order for you.

Sorva buys the goods in China and resells them delivered, without you having to deal directly with the factory or the freight forwarder. A supplier search can be launched alongside a trip to Yiwu, to compare what you saw at the show with other options on the market, and a supplier verification confirms the existence and reliability of a company spotted on site before any financial commitment.