China continues to be a puzzling place, with the specifics of its development still poorly understood. Few have delved deeply into deciphering the ground-level intangibles of the nation s recent socio-economic past. In this book, Mark Jacobs, a Fulbright Scholar, presents an in-depth study of Yiwu, Zhejiang, a place known throughout China as the nation’s small commodities city. Yiwu encompasses over 60,000 bazaar-like stalls, where, each day, thousands of traders from throughout China and the world buy goods that supply the ubiquitous dollar stores and other merchandisers. Yiwu s rise was emblematic of China s success; the challenges it is currently facing portray China s recent difficulties. The book outlines these successes and difficulties, doing so by integrating the views of those directly involved, drawn from hundreds of interviews, conducted over a six-year period. Based on interview results, the book also offers suggestions regarding how Yiwu (and by proxy, China) might continue to progress.

1. Yiwu Xian (China) ? Economic conditions