Linyi Trade City, a crucial logistics hub and a wholesale trading center located in Linyi in East China's Shandong province, has evolved into one of the largest, most diverse in terms of product variety, and most advanced in terms of logistics, national commodity distribution hubs in the country.

Thanks to the country's reform and opening-up policies starting from 1978, Linyi has enthusiastically developed its commercial markets, paving the way for comprehensive regional economic and social development. 

The wave of reform and opening-up swept through Linyi from 1978 to 1982, leading to the emergence of the city's first-generation marketplaces with small roadside stalls set up by local suburban farmers and some out-of-town traders near the Linyi West Suburban Bus Station and Dongfanghong Square.

From the establishment of the first small department store in 1982 to the subsequent development of specialized wholesale market in the city, and later the formation of a modern commercial and logistics hub by the early 2000s, the Linyi Trade City has made remarkable strides.

In 2011, the Linyi government authorities laid out a development strategy to promote the internationalization of the trade city. Emphasizing the integration of domestic and foreign trade, Linyi strengthened measures, introduced supportive policies, and actively explored international markets to accelerate the pace of internationalization of the Linyi Trade City.

Currently, the urban area boasts 131 specialized wholesale markets and 2,065 logistics enterprises, reaching over 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions nationwide, as well as more than 20 countries and regions worldwide. 

An exhibition at the Linyi Trade City Planning Exhibition Hall in Linyi, Shandong province, tells the story of the changes of the trade city from roadside stalls to an international commercial and logistic city over the past decades. [Photo/WeChat account: linshanghongketang]