Speaking of Yiwu, Zhejiang, many people are familiar with it. This small county has already grown into a "world supermarket" with 2.1 million products shipped to 233 countries and regions. However, in addition to the dazzling array of small commodities, merchants in Yiwu International Trade City have also become popular this year. How hard are the merchants working so hard and why? Let’s walk into the English corner of Yiwu International Trade City to find out ↓↓↓
Let’s learn foreign languages together
Do “global business” through “bulk English”
At 8:30 in the morning, Yiwu International Trade City has just opened its doors, and there are not many customers. There was no sound of haggling or packing boxes in the market. The loudest sound was the sound of everyone reading their morning books.
From words to sentences, there is a topic every day, all related to foreign trade, and they are all tailor-made content.
Zhang Li, deputy general manager of the Human Resources Center of Yiwu Mall Group: The cultural levels of trading entities in our market are uneven, so we focus on simplicity and practicality. Different topics will have different scenarios, and then we will teach. It is highly targeted and updated every year based on our trade directions.
Zhang Li introduced that they have been doing this kind of English training for 17 years, with one or two sessions per month, each session lasting 20 days. The reason why this English corner is placed in the public area of the trade city is also a special consideration.
Zhang Li, deputy general manager of the Human Resources Center of Yiwu Mall Group: English requires an open mouth to speak, and doing business requires a certain degree of extroversion. The open venue will exercise their courage.
After the 40-minute class ended, everyone gathered around the teacher to ask for advice. Their enthusiasm was not lost to the students at school. Learning a new language is not easy, but in the eyes of these boss ladies, it is not a problem.
Lou Fangjun, an operator of Yiwu International Trade City: Because we run our own factory, there will indeed be many difficulties and we will encounter various problems. Compared with this study, which is accumulated over time, I think it is really not a difficult thing. As long as you persist in learning, this is a simple thing. It just means doing simple things repeatedly now.
Simple things become difficult when repeated many times. How hard do you work? After returning to the shop, Zhao Xiaoling continued to study. In two months, she had already written more than half of her notebook.
Zhao Xiaoling, an operator of Yiwu International Trade City: Before , we couldn’t understand the single guests coming. When foreign businessmen come and we don’t speak English, the foreign businessmen leave. Now that there are more foreign merchants, we can slowly communicate with them. I have successfully done two or three businesses, and the amount is not very large, just 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, which is pretty good, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
English and Chinese, Shan Chenxiao, who is 50 years old this year, works hard to communicate with foreign businessmen. Now, she is very motivated to study. Not only are there study materials on the table, but also the small corner under the shelf is full of study notes.
Yiwu International Trade City operator Shan Chenxiao: If I learn English, I can tell him that the introduction of comb materials can be more comprehensive. We can take more orders and get closer to foreign businessmen. Although my stall is small, our platform is big enough. I want to keep up with the international standards, work hard and have a try with young people, and always be on the way forward, never lying down.
Learn foreign languages and make videos
Create opportunities to connect the world
Merchants learn whatever they need to do business. Even if they do not speak foreign languages fluently enough, they can still have simple exchanges with foreign merchants who come to choose products. But just retaining these foreign businessmen who come to their homes is not enough in the eyes of the merchants. They also want to get out and go wherever there might be business. To this end, they started a new study project.
Ren Xiaoling is born in the 1980s and has some basic knowledge of English. After participating in English morning exercises in the Trade City, she began to try to record short videos in English, recommending small commodities, recording herself and helping others. She carefully writes the copy for each product and then translates it word for word.
Ren Xiaoling, an operator of Yiwu International Trade City: Customers of think it is good. They can give me a like or comment. It can attract more people. There are always many people who will add me and add friends. Like this customer, he will come next month, and he will bring another friend. The video allows those who cannot come to China to see that we are updating styles every day and every week. As long as you need it, we can provide you with more. China is a dynamic country.
Xiaoling is studying and doing business at the same time. Xiaoling, who once did not dare to speak English, is now confident and actively expanding her international business circle.
Ren Xiaoling, an operator of Yiwu International Trade City: Our English has a Yiwu flavor. I feel quite proud and will not feel embarrassed. I think Yiwu-accented foreign language is ok, and I won’t be afraid of traveling around the world.
In Yiwu, merchants learn whatever they need to do business. In addition to English, they also deal with Spanish-speaking guests. Spanish learning classes also emerged. Luo Li, a merchant who has lived in Spain for many years, established the "Jimingshan Charity Spanish Corner". Every Thursday night for 2 hours, we will teach everyone together for free. The number of participants has grown from dozens to hundreds. Everyone helps each other and grows together.
In addition to learning foreign languages offline, Yiwu merchants are also looking for high-tech assistance. In October 2023, Yiwu launched an AI tool software. Open the software and you can perform simultaneous translation in multiple languages. In less than a year, more than 10,000 Yiwu merchants have tried to use AI tools to assist in doing business.
Ren Xiaoling, a business owner of Yiwu International Trade City: I don’t know Arabic. If customers from Arab countries come in today, I will use this to speak.
Zhao Yuehong, an operator of Yiwu International Trade City: After we used this function in , many of our foreign trade customers said, Boss, are you so awesome now? How can I speak the languages of so many countries? I said this was done for me by AI.
Chinese videos recorded by merchants can be automatically converted into 36 languages through the software. The "digital boss lady" who can speak multiple languages has become popular and attracted more customers. In May this year, they appeared on the big screen in Times Square, New York.
Yiwu International Trade City operator Luo Li: In the worst environment of , there are many people who make a lot of money, and in the best environment, there are also many people who cannot make any money. A very important point is whether you have continued to grow and acquire various skills in various environments, and then want to expand your trade. Embrace change, embrace learning, and face challenges without fear.
