Inside China's 'Christmas Factory' Town, Yiwu

jones_supa writes China's manufacturing industry continues booming, which has led to the the town of Yiwu (a city of about 1.2m people in central Zhejiang province) being christened "China's Christmas village." The town has become the home of 600 factories that collectively churn out over 60% of all the world's Christmas decorations and accessories. The "elves" that staff these factories are mainly migrant labourers, working 12 hours a day for a maximum of £200 to £300 a month – and it turns out that all of them are not even entirely sure what Christmas is. Nevertheless, there are corridors lined with nothing but tinsel, streets throbbing with competing LED light shows, stockings of every size, plastic Christmas trees in blue and yellow and fluorescent pink, plastic pine cones in gold and silver. The complex of Yiwu International Trade Market was declared by the United Nations to be the "largest small commodity wholesale market in the world" and the scale of the operation necessitates a kind of urban plan, with this festival of commerce organised into five different districts, of which District Two is solely dedicated for Christmas stuff.

Comments

TFA is a big bullshit !

[Taco Cowboy]

I am from China, although I am an American now, I do run businesses and some of them are in China

When I read the " ... for a maximum of £200 to £300 a month" I know that TFA is a big bullshit !

The minimum salary for even an unskilled labor in the China's eastern shore is at least £500 a month

While that figure is still minuscule by Western standard, nevertheless that figure is still much more than that " ... a maximum of £200 to £300 a month" bullshit !

Re:TFA is a big bullshit !

[ShanghaiBill]

The minimum salary for even an unskilled labor in the China's eastern shore is at least £500 a month

It is likely that they are using data from a few years ago. Salaries have risen dramatically in the last few years. I lived in Shanghai ten years ago, and was able to hire unskilled workers for $100 / month, and degreed engineers for $400. Today, it would cost at least five times that. Shanghai is more expensive than many other areas, but Zhejiang is not cheap. It is just south of Shanghai, and a lot of high end manufacturing is done there.

I have been to Yiwu several times, and the place is amazing. There is block after block of buildings filled with product displays and sales offices. There is often an entire building devoted to just a single product, like, say, hair pins. Most major retailers, including Walmart, Target, Sears, etc. have permanent offices there. But most of the stuff sold there is not manufactured in Yiwu. Most of the goods are shipped in from manufacturing hubs in Shenzhen, Pudong, etc.

Re:TFA is a big bullshit !

[LynnwoodRooster]

I am from China, although I am an American now, I do run businesses and some of them are in China

When I read the " ... for a maximum of £200 to £300 a month" I know that TFA is a big bullshit !

Really? I think you don't know China, nor do you do any business there. Zhejiang has the highest minimum wage, and it peaks in Ningbo at 1550 RMB per month (this information is out of date a bit, but pretty close to current conditions). That's 160 pounds sterling. Given that only inexperienced/brand new workers will earn minimum wage, the range of 200 to 300 pounds sterling is completely understandable and expected (that's about 2000 to 3000 RMB per month).

Additionally, new sales staff/office trainees in places like Shanghai run about 3500 RMB per month (low-level white collar) and a fresh acoustical engineering grad from the University of Nanjing (top Chinese school) in the top 10% of his class earns 4500 RMB (about 450 pounds sterling) per month. A very experienced (8 year) office manager with excellent English skills and 5 years experience working for Western companies earns 8000 RMB per month. How do I know? I just returned 4 days ago from Shanghai, where I signed contracts for all those positions.

Factory workers in China in the East rarely start at more than minimum wage. 1500 to 2000 RMB is a very good starting wage, and line bosses/leads may earn double that amount. Well below your 5000 RMB per month minimum salary.