Where Millennia of Commerce Meet the World Stage

On the evening of February 16, 2026—Lunar New Year's Eve—the China Media Group's annual Spring Festival Gala made history by establishing its first-ever sub-venue in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province. Broadcasting live from the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center to hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, the sub-venue's main stage connected in real-time with Beijing's main stage, showcasing how this "World's Capital of Small Commodities" celebrates Chinese New Year.

Recognized by the United Nations and World Bank as the "world's largest small commodities wholesale market," Yiwu maintains trade relations with 233 countries and regions. By the end of 2025, the city registered 1.263 million business entities, including over 10,000 foreign-invested enterprises from more than 160 countries and regions. For nineteen consecutive years, Yiwu has led all Chinese county-level cities in per capita disposable income for both urban and rural residents (Source: China Economic Net, Yiwu.cn). With a history spanning over 2,200 years as an administrative county, Yiwu embodies the spirit of the new Silk Road through its legendary business ethos: "trading chicken feathers for sugar," creating something from nothing, and turning stone into gold.

A Cultural Tapestry of Global Harmony

Yiwu's allure extends far beyond economic metrics; it lies in the "Six Virtues" culture cultivated through centuries of history. At the Global Digital Trade Center, 56 ethnic groups live in harmony with 9,329 foreign residents holding work permits, representing 123 countries. The night markets offer a unique fusion where Middle Eastern kebabs sizzle alongside traditional Donghe meat pies, creating a distinctive "global village" community ecosystem.

The sub-venue's main stage at the Global Digital Trade Center—an architectural landmark representing the sixth-generation evolution of Yiwu's markets—stands as the world's largest "live-streaming studio" and a never-ending digital trade expo. The design embodies the open architecture of "connecting the four seas, reaching the eight directions," echoing the Gala's auspicious theme of "galloping steeds, unstoppable momentum." The performances wove together intangible cultural heritage elements including rattle drums, Wu opera, and dragon lantern processions, blending Chinese and international cultures through technological innovation and creative expression to present a magnificent vision of the new era.

Ancient and Modern Symphony Performs New Silk Road Rhythms

Throughout the evening, Yiwu employed a "single chicken feather" as its central motif—a tribute to the city's entrepreneurial origins of trading feathers for sugar, while embodying the contemporary spirit of daring innovation and perseverance. At Fotang Old Street, a feather transformed into a "leaf-like boat" showcasing the vitality of "twin dragons dancing"; at Ximen Drum Plaza, on the giant rattle drum stage, dancers Zhu Jiejing and Zhou Xiaohui soared through the air performing Phoenix Rising; across ancient villages, thousands of residents simultaneously illuminated bench dragon lanterns, illustrating the rural prosperity of the "Thousand Villages Project." Hundreds of Geely Lynk & Co new energy vehicles arranged themselves into a massive "auspicious" character before the trade center.

In an eight-minute narrative, the Yiwu sub-venue brought the legendary tale of "chicken feathers flying to the heavens" to screens worldwide, presenting the commercial city's historical depth, developmental dynamism, and modern elegance to global audiences.

The evening also featured the thunderous Wu opera Yiwu Warriors, with martial arts actor Wu Yue riding gallantly as Ming Dynasty anti-piracy hero Qi Jiguang—a performance resonating with the Gala's theme of "galloping steeds, unstoppable momentum" while carrying Yiwu's "Six Virtues" culture and spirit of righteousness and courage. The so-called "new specialty of Zhejiang"—a 1.8-meter-tall "Mecha Wukong" clad in dozens of kilograms of armor and wielding a staff—stood back-to-back with actor Zhang Ruoyun, rising through the mist beneath the dome of the Global Digital Trade Center's Digital Trade Port as its battle robes slowly unfurled amid streaming light beams.

The climax arrived when two international superstars, Jackie Chan and Lionel Richie, bridged generations and continents to perform We Are the World together. As Silk Road artists from various nations sang in unison, the sub-venue's "international foreshadowing" reached its peak: Chinese and international friends in Yiwu, regardless of skin color or language, joined hands. The main stage at the Global Digital Trade Center—a landmark without beginning or end—mirrors Yiwu's relationship with the world: cyclical, endless, and ever-evolving.

A Night Where World Cultures Converge into an Ocean

Within the "Giant Egg" of the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center, a saxophone sounded the opening notes of Tea-Picking Dance, the famous melody of Zhejiang province—setting the stage for the Chinese version of We Are the World. Chinese dance shared the spotlight with performances from across the globe. Permanent foreign merchants from over one hundred countries celebrated Chinese New Year in Zhejiang, savored Chinese cuisine, and offered the traditional greeting "Gong Xi Fa Cai" in Mandarin. Reunion and blessing—these ritualistic essences unique to the Chinese New Year—are now settling into the shared memory of our global village.

Yiwu showed the world that confident Chinese culture fears no collision, nor does it reject others through aloofness. Like the spring wind and rain, it embraces all rivers to become the sea. It invites the world to draw near, and to find resonance within its embrace.

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