Capturing mundane everyday grass-roots multilingualism in Yiwu, China

China has traditionally been seen as a relatively homogenous country. For extended periods of time, China pursued a path of being self-sufficient and was relatively closed for foreign business and trade. However, in recent decades, the overriding forces of globalization have brought foreigners to China, which effect change to the nation’s linguistic and semiotic landscape and urban ecology in general. Yiwu in particular has established itself as a major trade city and a hub of 'low-end' globalization, which has attracted traders and businessmen from the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and beyond. The incoming businessmen and traders have led to the existence of ethnic enclaves and/or multicultural areas (e.g. ‘Little Arabia’ and ‘Little India’ areas) in parts of the city (e.g. Chouzhou North Road and Chengbei Road). In many ways, Yiwu represents the very interface of China-foreign intercultural communication and civilizational contact. Language on signs represents a key indicator of anthropogenic changes to the urban landscape and geography in general. Drawing on photographic evidence, this essay visualizes and documents the transformative power of business and trade and the juggernaut of globalization in shaping the face of an otherwise homogeneous Chinese city. More specifically, it illustrates, using images, how the existence of foreign traders has triggered fascinating sociolinguistic, sociological and anthropological ecologies, highlighting how the seemingly ordinary locals in Yiwu improvise and resort to multilingual communication at a grass-roots level to meet the needs of such a ‘low-end’ globalization. It also highlights that the city’s multilingual repertoire represents an important asset and resource for city branding.