Why 38m snap-happy tourists are going crazy over Chinese brands

Wukang Mansion Shanghai where PANE's sneaker store is set up like a movie set to be filmed: tourist purchases are going viral on Tik Tok and other platforms

EARLY June, the UK's Foreign Secretary became the 26th senior official to visit China this year, stopping in Shenzhen to see the tech ecosystem firsthand. But right behind the diplomatic motorcades is a massive wave of global consumers.

Fuelled by a new visa-free transit scheme, China is on track to welcome roughly 35.17 million foreign visitors in 2026. And they are filming absolutely everything they buy. With over 2.8 billion views across ChinaHaul on Tik Tok and on ChinaSouvenir, the new ultimate souvenirs aren't generic trinkets, they are must-haves like PANE trainers, Songmont bags, and Pop Mart blind boxes.

The global showroom

The consensus from both state officials and digital creators is exactly the same: China has become the ultimate global showroom for "what's next".

Ashley Dudarenok

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Fuelled by a new visa-free transit scheme, China is on track to welcome roughly 35.17 million foreign visitors in 2026. And they are filming absolutely everything they buy

Bear in mind, hardware is already global. Looking at reported figures on the share of revenue earned outside China by brand, the figures are telling. Bambu Lab (92%), EcoFlow (87%), DJI (80%) and Anker (72.5%) earn the most revenue outside China and they are competing strongly in international markets today.

Consumer brands sit earlier/lower on the curve: Pop Mart (35.8%) and Songmont (12%) have the most headroom for sales growth, on the same path a step behind the big names. From state visits to street-snap shopping, the arrivals hall tells the story.

China spent 2026 hosting rather than travelling. President Xi Jinping received foreign dignitaries at home while the visa-free map widened for everyone else.

Think 26 leaders from 23 countries. Visitors include Canada's Mark Carney, South Korea's Lee Jae-myung, and Germany's Friedrich Merz, alongside Trump and Putin, most seeking trade certainty and access to China's technology and supply chains.

The tech pilgrimage is explicit. Chancellor Merz toured Unitree's humanoid robots in Hangzhou in February with a German executive delegation; the UK routed its Foreign Secretary through Shenzhen.

Tourists are streaming in at a record pace. Foreigner arrivals reached 21.33 million in Q1 2026, up 46.3% year-on-year, with 8.315 million arriving visa-free — these visa-free arrivals rose 49.5% across 2025.

Consumer, tech brands go viral

Brand shopping views went viral. ChinaHaul and ChinaSouvenir cleared 2.8 billion views in late May, with the unboxings built around PANE trainers, Songmont bags, and Pop Mart blind boxes.

Shoppers are self-organising. English-language posts under Xiaohongshu's China shopping-guide topic jumped, and PANE sold out three Tmall Global product listings within 48 hours of a viral Tokyo street snap. These stores are built to be filmed: PANE's Shanghai shops are presented as retro film-set cafés, Songmont's courtyard like a gallery. The store visit becomes a post. The haul has moved from silk and tea to design labels and hardware. Both define "cool."

PANE. The Shanghai sneaker label's Wukang Mansion flagship saw 37% foreign foot traffic in May 2026, and overseas orders were 18% of its Tmall Global sales.

Songmont. Overseas revenue rose 180% in Q1 2026, with Tik Tok organic traffic driving 45% of conversions; its Beijing courtyard store ran 41% foreign visitors.

Pop Mart. Overseas and Greater China revenue reached about US$245 million in Q1 2026, 35.8% of the group, across 172 overseas stores.

Laopu Gold. At Beijing SKP, foreign buyers were 28% of counter sales in May 2026, favouring ancient-method gold bangles priced US$280–$1,100.

To Summer (the luxury niche fragrance brand) and Documents (high end perfumes) saw overseas sales increase. To Summer's overseas Tmall sales rose 240% month-on-month in May; Documents' Shanghai garden-scent space attracted 33% foreign foot fall in Q1.

Insta360. Its overseas sale figure was about 70% of 2025 revenue; its US and EU action-camera share climbed to 18.6% in Q1 2026.

DJI. Around US$6.7 billion in 2025 revenue, roughly 80% from overseas, with handheld imaging up 35% abroad in Q1.

EcoFlow and Anker. Shenzhen-based EcoFlow (power stations and smart devices) holds 11% of Germany's home-storage market, second only to Tesla; Anker drew 72.5% of revenue from overseas .

Unitree exported more than 400 H1 humanoids in the first five months of 2026, about 65% of sales overseas, at a US$6 billion valuation .

The throughline is a domestic aesthetic the design press calls "New Chinese 3.0": de-symbolised, led by fabric and silhouette, made to be worn daily rather than as a costume. On RedNote, the #NewChinese and #EffortlessStyle tags have each drawn billions of cumulative views.

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Reprinted with the author's permission from Jing Daily

Ashley Dudarenok is a Chinese entrepreneur, author, and media personalitywho keenly follows emerging trends in China. She is the founder of ChoZan, a China-focused research and digital transformation consultancy. Ashley and her team help multinationals learn from China through tailored tours, research, and briefings. She is a speaker, author of best-selling books,and shares her insights with a community of over 500,000 China watchers across LinkedIn and YouTube. Her latest show is The Hidden Switch, spotlighting billion-dollar founders from emerging countries.

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