China's Sci-tech-driven Tourism Captures Global Eye

This summer, "Chinamaxxing," a buzzword meaning "the ultimate experience of a Chinese lifestyle," went viral worldwide. Within just a few months, related hashtags had been viewed over four billion times. Driven by this trend, a wave of enthusiasm for traveling to China quickly surged overseas.

The surge in foreign tourists visiting China is nothing new, so what makes this wave special? This time, travelers are no longer content with climbing the Great Wall or seeing pandas. They're touring Xiaomi's super factory to witness smart production lines, gathering on Hainan's Wenchang beaches to watch rocket launches, venturing deep into Guizhou's mountains to explore the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope, and heading straight to the Huaqiangbei electronics market in Shenzhen to shop for "Made in China" tech products. Technology has become a vibrant spark, igniting a new era of traveling to China.

This phenomenon stems from the continuous advancement in China's sci-tech strength. In the "unboxing videos" by foreign bloggers, DJI drones, AI glasses and Unitree's four-legged robot have become the most eye-catching "specialties" from China. What they take away is not only the products, but also a showcase of the vigorous development of China's sci-tech industry.

The deeper value of the "Chinese sci-tech tour" lies in the power of people-to-people exchanges. Last year, due to the U.S. attempt to ban TikTok, a large number of foreign netizens flocked to Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media platform, and an unexpected online peer-to-peer exchange exposed the long-standing lies of Western media slandering China.

Today, the way the world perceives China is undergoing a transformation. As short videos showing street robot performances, drone delivery of takeout food, and the speeding Fuxing trains sweep the globe, the old stereotypical notions of China "remaining at the low-end manufacturing level" are being shattered frame by frame by these firsthand images.

Making technology tangible, making China approachable. Four billion views are just the beginning. What they put to the test is not only the strength of China's sci-tech achievements, but also our ability to "translate" them for audiences around the world.

Source: Science and Technology Daily