🍜 May 12, 2026 · By Sam

"Becoming Chinese" Sweeps Global Social Media: How a Cup of Hot Water Unlocked Billions in Consumer Spending

News Category

Viral & Trends

Executive Summary

Chinese American creator Sherry Zhu's "Becoming Chinese" series has gone viral on TikTok, inspiring millions of global users to adopt Chinese daily lifestyle routines, from drinking hot water and wearing slippers to avoiding raw vegetables in winter, brewing goji berry tea, and practicing tai chi. This cross-cultural phenomenon has translated from virtual screens into billions of yuan in commercial revenue, emerging as a new engine driving China's inbound tourism.

How It Started

One Video Ignites a Global Movement

In early 2026, Sherry Zhu posted a TikTok video with the opening line: "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, OK? Tomorrow you are turning Chinese." The video quickly amassed over 1.4 million views, with the series generating tens of millions of total views.

The video humorously laid down the "rules" of becoming Chinese:

- Always drink hot water

- Wear slippers at home, no exceptions

- Never eat raw vegetables in winter

- Keep a thermos filled with goji berry tea

Global Users Join the Movement

Inspired by Sherry Zhu, millions of overseas users began posting their own videos showcasing the adoption of Chinese daily routines:

- Drinking warm water and goji berry tea

- Wearing house slippers indoors

- Practicing tai chi

- Using hot water bottles for warmth

- Learning to use chopsticks

From Online Trend to Offline Commerce

What makes this trend remarkable is its transition from virtual content into tangible commercial gains worth billions of yuan. Goji berry tea, Chinese-style slippers, and thermos flasks have seen surging sales on global e-commerce platforms, with multiple Chinese brands leveraging the moment to enter overseas markets.

Data Highlights

Deeper Impact on Inbound Tourism

Reducing Cultural Distance

Everyday symbols like "hot water" and "slippers" help international audiences discover the warmth and charm of Chinese lifestyle, dismantling the "mysterious Orient" stereotype and lowering psychological barriers to visiting.

From "Seeing China" to "Living China"

Traditional inbound tourism centered on sightseeing, but the "Becoming Chinese" trend is fundamentally about experiential participation. Travelers are no longer satisfied with photo opportunities; they want to live like locals. This creates enormous demand for immersive experience-based products.

Social Media Word-of-Mouth Effect

User-generated content from around the world forms a natural word-of-mouth network that carries far more credibility and reach than any official promotional campaign.

Brand Opportunities

For inbound tourism service providers like ChinaTravelPlus, the "Becoming Chinese" trend offers three directly actionable product entry points:

1. Embed Daily Lifestyle Experiences: Integrate morning dim sum, tai chi sessions, wet market visits, and hot spring bathing into existing itineraries

2. Develop Viral Souvenir Products: Package goji tea gift sets, Chinese slipper kits, and thermos flasks as travel keepsakes

3. KOL Experience Marketing: Invite TikTok and Instagram creators to experience itineraries, capturing global traffic flow

Outlook

The essence of the "Becoming Chinese" trend is global youth curiosity about and identification with the Chinese way of life. This shift from "cultural novelty" to "lifestyle immersion" is redefining the product logic of inbound tourism. The next blockbuster will not be a landmark, but an experience.

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> Published: 2026-05-12

> Data Sources: Xinhua, CCTV, China.org.cn, People's Daily

> Brand: ChinaTravelPlus

> Website: chinatravelplus.com

> Slogan: More Than Travel. It's the Plus That Matters.

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🍜 May 16, 2026 · By Sam

Beijing Daxing Airport Hits 20M Passengers, Adding Milan-Lisbon-Bali Routes as Foreign Travelers Surge 40%

Beijing Daxing International Airport crossed the 20 million passenger mark on May 14—six days ahead of its 2025 pace—with daily peaks setting all-time records. More significantly for the inbound tourism industry, the airport's foreign passenger count has surged over 40% year-on-year, and three major new international routes launching in June will further expand its reach into Europe and Southeast Asia.

By the Numbers

The record-setting single-day peaks—1,133 flights and 192,500 passengers—represent the highest figures since the airport's opening in 2019, confirming that Daxing has moved well beyond its pandemic recovery phase into genuine growth territory.

International Network: 40+ Destinations, 29 Countries, and Growing

Daxing currently operates international and regional routes to 40+ destinations across 29 countries, with 72 domestic and international airlines operating from the airport. Routes added or restored so far in 2026 include:

- Colombo (Sri Lanka)

- Phu Quoc (Vietnam)

- Malé (Maldives)

- Moscow and Yekaterinburg (Russia)

- Frankfurt (Germany)

The June additions are particularly notable for inbound tourism:

These three routes fill significant gaps in Daxing's European and Southeast Asian coverage. Milan, in particular, addresses a long-standing absence—Italian tourists have been among the fastest-growing European inbound segments, with Trenitalia-style interest in China's high-speed rail and cultural heritage sites.

Inbound-Friendly Infrastructure

Beyond route expansion, Daxing is actively integrating inbound tourism convenience into its operations:

- Inbound travel discounts for international visitors arriving at the airport

- Ticket-stub promotions linking airport arrival with local tourism experiences

- First-time traveler incentives encouraging visitors who have never flown to China before

- Domestic network expansion: Nearly 40 new or increased-frequency domestic destinations since the spring schedule change, enabling seamless connections from international arrivals to second-tier tourism cities

The airport's role as an inbound gateway is reinforced by its physical design: immigration processing, customs clearance, and the airport's "convenience service center" (providing payment setup, SIM card purchase, and transportation guidance) are co-located in the international arrivals area, reducing the "first-hour friction" that many foreign visitors experience when landing in China.

What This Means for Inbound Travel Planning

For travel professionals, Daxing's expansion has several practical implications:

1. European itinerary design: Milan and Lisbon routes open one-stop connections from secondary European cities that previously required transit through PEK, PVG, or CAN. This is especially valuable for small-group and custom tour operators serving Italian and Portuguese markets.

2. Multi-city China itineraries: Daxing's 180+ domestic connections mean an international visitor can land in Beijing and connect to virtually any second-tier tourism city within 3 hours—a logistical advantage that PEK cannot match due to slot constraints.

3. Visa-free transit leverage: The 240-hour transit visa-free policy, which allows nationals of 55 countries to visit China without a visa if transiting to a third country, becomes more attractive with each new international route. The Milan and Lisbon routes create natural round-trip itineraries (Europe → Daxing → Southeast Asia → Europe) that qualify for transit visa-free entry.

4. Pricing dynamics: As a newer airport with lower slot costs than PEK, Daxing tends to attract competitive pricing from airlines—beneficial for inbound tour operators managing group costs.

Daxing's trajectory—from a pandemic-era underperformer to a 20-million-passenger gateway with 40+ international routes—mirrors China's broader inbound tourism recovery. The airport's 40%+ foreign passenger growth outpaces the national average, suggesting that infrastructure investment and route expansion are converting visa-free access into actual arrivals.

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🍜 May 12, 2026 · By Sam

Beyond Beijing and Shanghai: Inbound Tourism Surges in China's Second-Tier Cities

The map of China's inbound tourism is being redrawn. While Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou remain the foundation of foreign arrivals, a powerful "going west, going deep" trend is pushing international visitors into cities that rarely appeared on any foreign itinerary just two years ago.

The numbers tell the story. During the 2026 Spring Festival, Datong in Shanxi province saw inbound tourism interest surge 735 percent. Over the May Day holiday, Zhangjiajie in Hunan recorded an 80.3 percent jump in foreign arrivals. And through early May, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport processed 95,000 inbound foreign passengers, a 14.05 percent year-on-year increase—with over 60 percent entering visa-free.

The New Inbound Geography

Online travel platform data shows that during the 2026 May Day holiday, non-traditional inbound cities saw outsized growth in flight bookings:

The pattern is clear: visa-free policies, new international routes, and digital payment infrastructure are enabling foreign visitors to explore far beyond the traditional "golden triangle" of Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai.

What's Driving the Shift

Three forces are converging to push inbound tourism deeper into China:

1. Visa-free expansion creating "go-anywhere" confidence

China now offers unilateral visa-free entry to 50 countries and mutual visa-free agreements with 29 nations, plus 240-hour transit visa-free access covering 55 nationalities at 60 ports. The sheer breadth of visa-free coverage means travelers can arrive on impulse—and when they do, they are increasingly willing to venture beyond obvious gateways.

2. New international routes opening secondary cities

Wuhan added direct flights to Vientiane (Laos) and Jakarta (Indonesia) in April 2026 alone. Similar route expansions are underway at airports in Kunming, Nanning, and Yanji, connecting secondary Chinese cities directly to Southeast Asian and Central Asian markets where visa-free access is mutual.

3. Social media driving destination discovery

Foreign visitors are no longer relying solely on guidebooks. Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), TikTok, and YouTube travel creators are showcasing experiences in lesser-known cities—from Datong's Yungang Grottoes to Zhangjiajie's glass bridges and Yanji's Korean barbecue scene. The 2026 Mafengwo "China Cultural Tourism New Play Report" documented a decisive shift from "destination-driven" to "experience-driven" travel decisions.

City Snapshots: What Foreign Visitors Are Finding

Datong, Shanxi — The 1,500-year-old Yungang Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with 51,000 Buddhist statues, have become a viral sensation on international travel social media. Improved high-speed rail connections from Beijing (under 2 hours) make Datong an easy add-on.

Zhangjiajie, Hunan — The towering sandstone pillars that inspired Avatar's floating mountains continue to draw adventure travelers. The city reported 80.3 percent growth in foreign arrivals during the May Day holiday, boosted by expanded international flight connections.

Wuhan, Hubei — The Yangtze River metropolis has quietly become an inbound bright spot. Through May 5, Tianhe Airport processed 95,000+ inbound foreign passengers (+14.05% YoY). During the May Day holiday, over 60 percent of arriving foreigners used visa-free entry. New routes to Vientiane and Jakarta are expanding the catchment area.

Yanji, Jilin — This border city's vibrant Korean Chinese culture—authentic Korean barbecue, bilingual street signs, and traditional hanbok experiences—has made it a magnet for South Korean visitors, who benefit from mutual visa-free arrangements.

The Infrastructure Catch-Up Challenge

While the demand is real, secondary cities face infrastructure gaps that could limit sustained growth:

- Hotel capacity: International-standard hotel rooms remain scarce in many Tier-3 cities

- Language support: Multilingual signage, translation services, and English-speaking staff lag behind Tier-1 cities

- Payment acceptance: International card penetration at smaller merchants varies widely

- Transportation: Last-mile connectivity from airports to tourist sites often requires private car hire

Government initiatives are beginning to address these gaps. The March 2026 joint policy document from nine ministries, "Measures to Promote Travel Service Exports and Expand Inbound Consumption," specifically mandated improved multilingual signage at airports, high-speed rail stations, scenic areas, and key commercial districts, along with enhanced payment convenience and multilingual versions of navigation, ride-hailing, food delivery, and shopping apps.

Why This Matters for Travel Professionals

The diversification of inbound destinations represents both opportunity and challenge. Tour operators who can craft itineraries combining Tier-1 gateways with secondary-city experiences—from Datong's ancient grottoes to Yanji's Korean culture—will differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market. The key is timing: getting in now, while these destinations are still novel and visitor numbers are manageable, offers the best experience for early-adopter travelers.

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