In recent years, Jinhua has been committed to building itself up as a global metropolis of small commodities, an international metropolis of screen culture, a base of innovation and smart manufacturing and a livable land where happiness among its residents is high, Chen said.

Statistics reveal that there are 75,000 stores in Yiwu's small commodities market, selling more than 1.8 million kinds of commodities. Over 550,000 overseas traders come to Yiwu every year, and more than 13,000 overseas traders permanently live in the city. Around 70 percent of China's film crews come to Jinhua's Hengdian town ever year, making a quarter of the nation's films and one third of the country's TV series. In addition, Jinhua now boasts 16 industrial clusters with annual output exceeding 10 billion yuan, and 29 national industrial bases.

A policewoman teaches local residents how to go through administrative procedures on a self-help machine in Jinhua. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] 

Chen said the growth could partly be attributed to the city's vigorous efforts in reform over the years, especially the "At Most One Visit" reform, which cuts red tape for companies by introducing internet technology to save their time and costs.

Further opening up the economy was another growth driver, Chen said, adding that two of the province's four key freight transport channels involve Jinhua - the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe cargo train route which now includes 10 railway lines connecting 35 countries, and the Yiwu-Ningbo-Zhoushan cargo channel that combines transport by river, sea, highway, railway and air.

According to statistics, Jinhua's exports grew 23 times over the past 15 years, ranking the city second among all the cities in Zhejiang. In addition, the city's cross-border online retail export ranks it first in Zhejiang. Its express delivery business volume ranks first in Zhejiang and second in China.

A freight train running from Yiwu to London crosses a desert. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]