In China’s ‘Christmas Town,’ Trump’s tariffs are dimming the lights

Your Christmas decorations probably come from this one Chinese city. But anxiety is high, with vendors on the front lines of the US-China trade war.

It’s a familiar, beloved scene for millions across America: snow drifting outside and Christmas music playing while families decorate their homes with string lights, stockings and a star atop the tree. But few know exactly where those iconic holiday items come from. Most of the time, they hail from just one city in China’s Zhejiang province: Yiwu, nicknamed “Christmas Town,” which supplies nearly 90% of all decorative Christmas goods used in the United States, according to state media. And many of those products can be traced back to Yiwu’s wholesale market — the biggest in the world. It’s a labyrinthine complex measuring nearly 1,000 acres, the equivalent of roughly 750 football fields. Inside, foreign buyers browse narrow corridors overflowing with merchandise, ranging from piano-playing musical Santa dolls to artificial Christmas trees — as well as countless other items destined for American homes, including “Make America Great Again” hats, massage guns and foldable camping chairs. But these days, there’s an undercurrent of anxiety. These vendors are on the front lines of global trade — and are now grappling with triple-digit tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, which have sent shockwaves across the world and upended relationships forged over decades between the US and China, two superpower economies.