From Touring China to Buying China: Foreign Tourists’ Suitcases Are Renaming Chinese Cities
This National Day, the rhythm of foreign travelers visiting China has shifted: arriving with empty suitcases, departing loaded with three.
Numbers tell the story first: During the holiday period, border control across the country processed 15.462 million inbound and outbound travelers, a 6.7% increase year-on-year. In the first half of the year, 22.914 million foreign visitors entered China—up 20.4%—of whom 77.7% arrived visa-free. The number of overseas tourists applying for exit tax refunds surged by 366% compared to last year.
More telling than statistics are the evolving trends on TikTok.
In the era of “China Travel,” foreigners documented landscapes. In the age of “Chinamaxxing” (China at its peak), they focused on postmodern, high-tech experiences—bullet trains, night markets, drone food delivery. Now, in the current phase of “China Haul”—the act of opening and showcasing purchases—they are filling their suitcases with goods.
Seeing, entering, possessing—three steps completed, perception takes root. A sightseeing trip ends upon departure, but purchased items remain: taken home, used daily, filmed in unboxing videos, met with streams of comments asking for links. As products stay in users’ hands, trust in China grows continuously within their everyday lives.
To date, videos tagged with “China Haul” have accumulated over 110 million views on TikTok. Even more subtle shifts are occurring at the city level.
Previously, international perceptions of Chinese cities were shaped by official promotional films. Now, they are being redefined, one unboxing video at a time, by foreign social media users: a content creator stood stunned in a snack warehouse in Changsha, overwhelmed by thousands of options and prices as low as 1.5 yuan per pack of dried tangerine peel, calling it “Disneyland for snacks.” One video garnered over 2.4 million views. Shenzhen’s hauls equate to AI glasses from Huaqiangbei—$80, two hours to pick up. Guangzhou represents fashion; Shanghai stands for lifestyle finds. “Changsha Haul,” “Shenzhen Haul,” “Guangzhou Haul,” “Shanghai Haul”—each city now holds a handcrafted “unboxing identity card” made by foreign users.
The transfer of naming authority is among the most valuable assets in international communication. A thousand statements from official sources cannot match the impact of a single user-generated label. And that label spreads through TikTok’s mechanics: algorithms aggregate scattered individual unboxings into searchable hashtag clusters, turn comment sections into cross-border shopping forums, and transform a single traveler’s discovery into a global consensus within days.
Traditionally, export relied on shipping containers. This time, it relies on carry-on luggage. Traditional advertising highlighted product features; now, buyers themselves become the storytellers.
The contents of the suitcase have evolved: from the old trinity of tea, silk, and panda plushies, to AI glasses, domestic running shoes, and Pop Mart collectibles, even to loquat syrup—branded by foreign influencers as “Oriental miracle medicine.”
The motivation has changed too—from buying because it’s cheap to buying because it’s good. From manufacturing to cultural dissemination, the hardest step—the transition from being purchased to being recognized—is now being achieved, one overstuffed suitcase at a time, through the phenomenon of “China Haul.”
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1878997125859468/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author.