Although there are still more than five months until the Year of the Sheep Spring Festival, the Spring Festival Supplies Section at Yiwu International Trade City in Zhejiang has already switched to the 'Year of the Sheep mode.' Many local business operators are both connecting with buyers online and offline, and arranging production and stockpiling based on order situations.
"This year, customers are purchasing Year of the Sheep Spring Festival goods at a faster pace than in previous years. This month, we have already delivered our first batch of overseas orders," said Wang Zi, a Yiwu merchant specializing in New Year picture products, on August 25.
"It takes a certain amount of time for Spring Festival goods to go from production to reaching overseas customers. Shipping by sea, in particular, generally requires one to two months. Along with production and stocking time, large overseas clients typically place their orders in advance," Wang Zi said.
He added that before October each year is usually the concentrated purchasing period for large clients from countries like the United States, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, with single orders generally exceeding 500,000 yuan (about 300,000 ringgit). After October, domestic Chinese customers and small-volume overseas buyers start to place their orders one after another.
"We have thousands of styles, and currently, major clients from Malaysia, Singapore, and other places have already started inquiring for quotes and selecting samples." On the same day, Xiang Liming, a merchant specializing in Spring Festival pendants at Yiwu International Trade City, said.
With the global influence of China's Spring Festival continuing to expand, the consumer base for Spring Festival goods is also constantly extending. "Not only do Chinese people around the world celebrate the Spring Festival, but many foreign friends are also experiencing the festive atmosphere," said Lou Baojuan, president of the Yiwu New Year Picture & Calendar Chamber of Commerce and a merchant herself.
Many Yiwu merchants will continue this year to launch Spring Festival couplets and New Year picture products in different language versions such as English, Thai, and Indonesian, for buyers at home and abroad to choose from.