Surfing Santas ride waves along Florida’s Space Coast

07:00, December 26, 2019

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  Yiwu: Santa's new hometown

  HANGZHOU, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Christmas trees, hats and lights from the major small commodity hub of Yiwu in eastern China are adding festive atmosphere to a large number of homes around the world.File photo by fotomore.comThis small town in Zhejiang Province, known as "Christmas Village," has led many to believe that the worlds Christmas holiday cannot be separated from Made-in-China goods.According to industry statistics, 80 percent of the worlds Christmas products come from China, of which Yiwu accounts for 80 percent.Students from Futian primary school nearby the massive Yiwu International Trade Market have already regarded Santa as their neighbor. "Santa Claus is not from the Arctic or Finland, but from Yiwu.""I am not surprised at this figure at all," said Li Qunwei, who owns an import and export company in Yiwu. "There are more than 2,000 Christmas tree wholesalers here. My annual sales range from 30 to 40 million yuan (around 4.3 to 5.7 million US dollars), just above the average level."Many exporters are feeling the pressure from the slowing global economy, but some have managed to win more orders with new innovative products."Orders from the United States grew by 20 percent and new products accounted for half of the sales this year," said Qu Xiaoping, an ornament lights wholesaler in Yiwu.Yiwus exports of Christmas products reached 1.97 billion yuan from January to November this year, an annual increase of 22.8 percent, according to Yiwu customs."The 2008 financial crisis had a huge impact on Yiwu enterprises and we began to realize that we couldnt rely on one big client or a single market," said Long Xijin, a marketing manager in Yiwu.Long told Xinhua that his company has been expanding rapidly in South America and Southeast Asia with an expected growth of 10 percent this year.Li has also expanded sales from the United States and Europe to dozens of other markets including Aus...

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