The Sunny Side of Winter

Yiwu merchants ride a winter sports boom as"Made in China" winter gear heats up the global economy.

Yiwu, located in east China's Zhejiang Province, is globally renowned as a hub for small commodities. This winter, its snow and ice sports products are generating a surge in business. Products such as snowboards, ski goggles, and ski poles are drawing an increasing number of merchants worldwide for purchases. Orders are shipping to countries across the world, including multiple European ones like Sweden and Finland, with some schedules extending into next March.

At a specialty eyewear store in Yiwu International Trade City, hundreds of ski goggle styles are neatly displayed, drawing frequent inquiries from domestic and foreign buyers. Shop owner Zheng Zhihao, a 90s-born Zhejiang native, told China Today:"The ski goggle market is exceptionally strong this year, with scales up roughly 40 percent year on year. During the peak season for winter sports products from November to December, the store sold 3,000 to 4,000 pairs."

Zheng's booming business is no exception. Yiwu merchants are riding a wave of brisk sales in ice and snow products as winter sports popularity fuels the snow and ice economy. With its complete industrial chain, the world's supermarket, as Yiwu is known, is shipping"Made in China" winter sports goods worldwide, boosting the global economy.

A foreign merchant tries on a pair of ski goggles in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, on December 13, 2025. 

Explosive Growth in Orders 

"Our core business is foreign trade, with about 90 percent of our market [being] overseas, particularly among young adults in Russia, Northern Europe, and South America," said Zheng. His primary clients are large overseas wholesalers who import goods in bulk. These wholesalers then act as distributors, supplying the products to smaller, local wholesalers in their respective countries.

The global appeal of Yiwu's small commodities lies largely in their recognized value-for-money, a combination of quality and competitive pricing, even in more sophisticated product categories. Zheng illustrated this by highlighting a ski goggle model. It features this year's popular magnetic-attachment design, developed collaboratively with a Guangzhou partner to cater to overseas market preferences."Customers can switch lens colors to match different outfit," he said,"but our real focus is on technical innovation. We've actively enhanced the goggles with critical performance features like anti-fog, impact resistance, and UV protection."

Within the Yiwu trade market, ice and snow products are distributed across multiple zones and encompass a wide range of varieties. These include snowboards, ski goggles, ice cleats, ski helmets, ski boots, balaclavas, ski gloves, thermal earmuffs, protective goggles, ice skates, and various related accessories. These products are highly popular domestically and are also exported in large quantities to many countries and regions, including Russia, Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States.

According to the China Ice and Snow Industry Development Research Report (2025), released at the recent World Winter Sports Expo last October in Beijing, the size of the country's ice and snow industry is expected to surpass RMB one trillion in 2025, with Yiwu – accounting for over 30 percent of national exports to key markets like Russia, Europe, and Kazakhstan – being a significant driver.

Citizens have fun playing on ice carts at the dragon-shaped waterway ice rink in Beijing's Olympic Park, on January 3, 2026. 

Upgraded Features, New Market 

The rise of Yiwu's snow and ice industry is no coincidence. Many local merchants foresaw the opportunity around the time of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Zheng, who originally focused on regular eyewear, had a seminal moment in 2023 when a long-time Russian client placed an order for 1,000 pairs of ski goggles. This opened his eyes to the niche's potential."With skiing growing in popularity, we decided to strategically enter the market for ski goggles and other winter sports gear," he said.

Zheng's experience reflects a broader trend. Across Yiwu's wholesale markets, other entrepreneurs have adeptly capitalized on the surging demand. In an outdoor products store, a carbon fiber trekking pole has been converted into a popular ski pole simply by adding a snow basket.

This clever adaptation reflects a dramatic market transformation catalyzed by the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which ignited a nationwide passion for winter sports and prompted merchants like Zheng to strategically expand into ice and snow sports products.

"Previously, ski equipment accounted for a very small share of the market, and foreign brands were the hot sellers. However, over the past two years, China's ice and snow industry has been booming, and many more merchants in the market are now selling winter sports products," said a manager of the Yiwu International Trade City. Attracted by policy support and market potential, Yiwu market players have secured a place in this new track, and the market size continues to expand.

Foreign merchants negotiate prices of ice and snow equipment with the Chinese seller at the Yiwu International Trade City in Zhejiang Province, on January 7, 2026.

Full-Chain Support

"It's the peak sales season for winter gear now; but for factories, it's actually the slow period for new orders," Zheng told China Today. Overseas buyers placed their advance orders for ski goggles as early as last September, and production is tailored to meet this specific demand.

Zheng highlighted two key factors behind Yiwu's global competitiveness in winter sports equipment: its comprehensive range of skiing products, which allows for one-stop sourcing; and its vertically integrated supply chain, which ensures strong price advantages."Russian buyers get their ski goggles from me and then find snowboards and ski suits just upstairs. It's all here, which makes procurement very efficient," he explained.

He further noted that Yiwu has established a complete production and sales ecosystem, spanning the entire industrial chain from personal gear to venue facilities, and from professional competition equipment to leisure products for the general public. By leveraging its role as a hub within regional manufacturing clusters, the city has built a well-structured, full-category production network.

Zheng's own operation illustrates this model. His eyewear production factory is based in Zhejiang's Taizhou. This allows his business to be seamlessly integrated from production to sales."Our process is streamlined: Once an order is received, production and shipping arrangements are activated immediately. This lowers costs and enables a quick response," he said. The surge in orders is also fueled by the robust production capabilities of Zhejiang's manufacturers.

A highly efficient logistics system is another key factor in ensuring Yiwu's snow and ice products reach the global market. As Zheng said, Yiwu benefits from well-developed production and transportation networks both domestically and internationally."For overseas orders, products can be shelf-ready in about 25 days, which offers tremendous convenience to our customers," he said.

The growing influx of international buyers, Zheng observed, is also a testament to the growing global reputation of the Yiwu International Trade City. This trend is helping steer the local ice and snow industry from scale-driven growth toward value-added transformation. The sector is now seeking new growth through innovation and enhanced services, shifting product development toward smarter, more specialized equipment.

With an eye on growth in domestic and international markets, Zheng intends to diversify his snow and ice product offerings next year."Our core will stay anchored in the overseas market," he said,"with a key objective being category expansion. This is essential to meet the increasingly varied needs of our customers."