When most textile professionals still sum up September in Keqiao with the word "peak season," a more telling signal has already surfaced: foot traffic is back, but orders are fragmented. In late September 2026, China Textile City in Keqiao, Shaoxing entered its traditional "Golden September, Silver October" window. Trading areas along Dongsheng Road, the East Market and the North Market saw steady streams of buyers, yet the deal structure has shifted from bulk centralized purchasing to small-batch, multi-frequency, quick-replenishment orders. Rising volumes, stable prices and fragmented orders are becoming the truest undertone of this peak season.
Peak Season Quality: Heat Is There, Rhythm Has Changed
By category, as temperatures cool, autumn-winter apparel fabrics and home textile materials enter a concentrated stocking period. Thermal fabrics, wool blends, elastic knits and brushed materials have become market favorites, while in the home textile zone, demand for minimalist solid-color bedding, wedding series fabrics and sofa fabrics has risen steadily. Buyers compare swatches on site, and the pace of sampling, price inquiries and small-order confirmations has clearly accelerated.
But what truly determines the quality of the peak season is not foot traffic, but the way orders are placed. Downstream brands are generally cautious about inventory control, mostly choosing small-batch trial orders, resulting in a market characterized by "rising volume, stable prices and fragmented orders." Since mid-to-late September, walk-in customers have continued to increase, with many rushing to finalize sample fabrics before the National Day holiday and scheduling production after the break. For factories, this means the scheduling logic is shifting from "large orders with long cycles" to "small orders with high frequency," placing higher demands on production flexibility and delivery management.
Cost Transmission: Fluctuating Raw Materials, More Cautious Order Taking
Raw material trends are a shared focus for merchants. Recently, upstream chemical fiber and cotton yarn prices have fluctuated upward, with cost pressure transmitting along the supply chain to the fabric end. Against this backdrop, merchants are taking orders more cautiously, generally insisting on case-by-case negotiation to strictly control order risks.
The impact on buyers is direct: quotation validity periods are shortening, price locking is becoming harder, and the old model of "negotiate volume first, then price" is losing effectiveness. For factories, relying solely on low-price competition is unsustainable; only by deepening product innovation and improving services can they stand firm in the peak season. Many merchants have increased R&D investment, closely following apparel fashion trends, continuously updating patterns, and breaking through via product differentiation.
Dual Domestic and Export Channels: Differentiated Fabrics as Bargaining Chips
Before the National Day holiday, many operators leveraged old customer resources and online channels to push new products, continuously exploring domestic and international market opportunities. Merchants package newly developed fabric sample cards and real-shot videos, sending them to domestic and overseas customers through online channels to promote autumn-winter new fabrics in advance.
Foreign buyers prefer eco-friendly recycled fabrics and functional fabrics, which have stronger bargaining power. From waterproof-breathable and anti-static fabrics to recycled polyester and eco-friendly dyeing and finishing fabrics, innovative fabrics have become key chips for exploring overseas markets. Many merchants have proactively reduced stocking of ordinary commodity goods, focusing instead on new materials and new processes. The exhibition-market linkage model continues to be effective, with merchants shifting from passively waiting for customers to actively connecting with exhibitions and overseas buyers, opening up online and offline customer acquisition channels. Keqiao fabrics continue to be sold to more than 190 countries and regions worldwide.
Livestreaming commerce is also a mainstream trend in the market. Many merchants conduct online fabric livestreams in their stores, showcasing fabric texture and patterns, receiving remote customers online, and breaking geographical limits. Online traffic generation and offline sample viewing allow efficient fabric selection communication even when customers cannot visit the market in person.
Market Support and Pre-Holiday Rhythm
To ensure orderly pre-holiday trading, China Textile City market management has continued to optimize the business environment, doing well in market environment improvement, fire safety and logistics support. The logistics area sees frequent vehicle traffic, with packaging, loading and shipping work pushed forward with overtime. Rolls of fabric are sent to major apparel factories and export ports across the country.
As the National Day approaches, the market rhythm is gradually entering its final sprint. Many merchants plan short breaks during the holiday while using the time to review orders, develop new styles and connect with customers. From riverside cloth streets to an international textile capital, China Textile City has maintained its vitality through decades of trials. The bustling scene before the National Day holiday is not only a true reflection of the textile industry's "Golden September, Silver October" but also a vivid embodiment of industrial resilience.