On 7 and 8 November, international students from more than 20 countries, including Russia, Malaysia, Panama, Australia, Mongolia, Brazil, the Republic of Korea and Germany, visited the Yiwu International Trade Market, the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Centre and the ancient town of Fotang. Through site visits and immersive experiences, they observed at close range the vivid integration of China's foreign trade transformation and upgrading with the traditional culture of the Jiangnan region.
The first stop was the Yiwu International Trade Market, known as the “world's supermarket”. In the accessories hall, glittering hair ornaments and jewellery; in the toy hall, a dazzling array of plush toys and educational building blocks; in the festive goods hall, holiday products in which East and West meet — all brought students from different countries to a halt again and again. In the imported goods hall, the students not only saw wine, nuts and handicrafts imported from countries along the Belt and Road, but also felt directly the distinctive position of Yiwu as a two-way trading hub: it sells Chinese small commodities to the world, and brings fine goods from around the world into ordinary Chinese households. “I had only heard that goods in Yiwu are cheap; today I really understand what an international trade hub means,” remarked a student from Russia while taking notes.
At the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Centre, the students toured the cross-border e-commerce exhibition area, the multilingual livestreaming area and the smart logistics area. On the large screens, where data flickered in real time, orders dispatched from Yiwu were shown passing through intelligent sorting, dedicated international lines and overseas warehouse delivery to reach consumers in Europe and North America within days; in the livestreaming studios, hosts introduced products in English, Spanish and Arabic in real time, with active overseas buyers on the other side of the camera. From customs declaration and inspection to cross-border settlement, the entire foreign trade chain is being redefined by digital platforms. A student from Kazakhstan studied the logistics tracking map thoughtfully: “In my country many everyday goods come from Yiwu, but I never imagined that this is how they travel out.” A student from Vietnam showed great interest in the multilingual livestreaming, remarking with a smile that it seemed an opportunity made to measure for international students.
In the ancient town of Fotang, flagstone paths wound along the stream, Ming- and Qing-dynasty buildings stood close together, and the thousand-year story of the Yiwu River ran on among white walls and dark tiles. Walking along the old street, everyone seemed to travel at a single touch from the world's supermarket back to the Jiangnan water towns of a century ago. In the intangible cultural heritage session, the students stretched maltose by hand under the guidance of an experienced craftsman; the sticky, sweet syrup twisted into shape between their fingers, folding the warmth of a traditional Chinese craft into the memories of these young international friends. A student from the United Kingdom held up the maltose just pulled and said with a smile: “This is sweeter than any candy from a shop, because I made it myself.”
From the bustle of goods from every country to the quiet of the old town street, from the flickering data screens to the twisting strands of maltose, the two-day trip allowed the students to read a complete Yiwu — a city that faces the world yet keeps its homeland at heart, that embraces the digital while cherishing tradition.
The “Experiencing China” social practice programme aims precisely to take students out of the classroom and into real settings, so that through direct observation and personal experience they may feel the pulse of China's development and understand a three-dimensional, vivid and dynamic contemporary China.
