Students begin their immersion in Yiwu's Small Merchandise Market by stepping into the role of sellers rather than observers. Guided by Prof. Nicole C. Wang, each student is required to approach suppliers as a potential buyer or distributor, initiating real conversations about pricing, minimum order quantities (MOQs), customization options, packaging, and delivery timelines.

This role-based interaction allows students to uncover operational details that are rarely visible in textbooks—how products are priced across different order scales, how negotiations unfold in practice, and how suppliers position themselves within dense competitive environments.

Spanning over 6.4 million square meters, Yiwu's Small Merchandise Market comprises 75,000 stalls and attracts around 220,000 visitors daily.

Day 2 focuses on understanding Yiwu not only as a manufacturing hub, but as a full global supply chain ecosystem that connects production, global distribution, platform-driven e-commerce and brands.

Rather than viewing supply chains as a linear process, students explore how value is created across multiple layers — from factory-floor operations and semi-automated assembly, to cross-border e-commerce infrastructure, livestream service platforms, and creator-enabled retail models. These visits highlight how modern entrepreneurship in China often emerges through networks of suppliers, data systems, incubators, and commerce services, not isolated firms.