What happened at the Spring Festival Gala recently was quite interesting from a global trade perspective. Yiwu, the city in Zhejiang that has become the epicenter of international retail trade, managed to position itself as one of the main stages of the 2026 broadcast.

Jackie Chan was the one who opened the segment dedicated to Yiwu with a phrase that served as a narrative bridge to show how the city went from being a small trading town to what is now known as the supermarket of the world. They used lights and shadows to historically contextualize the place, connecting the spirit of the ancient Ming Dynasty frontier soldiers with the contemporary reality of freight trains linking Yiwu with Xinjiang and Europe.

The most notable part was Jackie Chan joining later with Lionel Richie for a Chinese version of We Are the World, which had its world debut during the gala. Westlife also participated with My Love. But what really captured attention was seeing the live reactions of foreign merchants from different parts of the world. A Mexican merchant from Mexico City expressed pride in seeing her city connected with Yiwu. From Quito, a Peruvian merchant said she was very proud of Yiwu. There were also connections from merchants in Mumbai, Kathmandu, Maryland, and Medellín.

The broadcast reached over 200 countries and regions, and Yiwu was clearly one of the topics that generated the most online discussion during the eve of the Lunar New Year. It’s interesting to see how a city that represents the heart of global trade ends up being a protagonist in an event of this magnitude, reflecting the importance that Yiwu has gained in the worldwide trade network.