From bustling hub to ghost town: heart of China’s e-commerce sector feels price war pain

Today, the legacy from that period still lingers in the 99 houses once occupied by live-streaming sellers in Beixiazhu. Signs advertising “super supply chains” and “viral hot-selling live-stream products” remain displayed on storefronts. On a weathered wall, one can still make out a fading painted slogan: “Without dreams, why come to Yiwu?”

A business owner, pointing at a narrow path outside his shop, said the place used to be jammed with cars and live streamers. If one product went viral, everyone would jump on it, selling it a lower price to beat each other out. Eventually, it came to a point when no one was making any money, and everything fell apart, he said.

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