China Travel – the secret to gaining online fame
In the past, Chinese opened their eyes to the world; now, the world open their eyes to China.
Since November 2023, China has implemented the visa-free policy for Norwegian citizens. As of today, this policy has been expanded to 54 countries, including New Zealand and Australia. 1
Under the visa-free policy, the number of foreigners going to China has significantly increased.
According to data from Shanghai Customs District P.R. China, from January to March 2024, the number of arriving foreign travelers in Shanghai reached 1.185 million – that is a year-on-year increase of 6.9 times.
On domestic and international social media platforms, various videos related to China Travel have become the “secret to gaining fame”, showing China to the world from a more authentic and immersive perspective.
This time, it’s the foreigners’ turn to be the special-forces style travelers.
Foreign travelers deciphered the secret to gaining online fame with China Travel
Is China “city” or not “city”? (中国 CITY 不 CITY 啊？)
Recently, on short video platforms, the foreign travel blogger @保保熊 (Bao Bao Xiong) has become popular with his catchy phrase “CITY不CITY” (Is it “city” or not?). Phrases like “The Great Wall is not city at all,” “Drinking tea is so city,” and “Nature is not city” have fascinated millions of netizens.
@保保熊 (Bao Bao Xiong) is not the only foreign travel blogger who has recently gained unparalleled popularity. With China’s visa-free entry policy for foreigners, more and more foreigners are traveling to China, and “China Travel” has become a secret to gaining online fame.
On TikTok and YouTube, many bloggers are creating their China travel vlogs with the topic “144-hour visa-free transit in China”, attracting significant traffic.
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@Oliver Dadema is a Spanish YouTuber with 8,130 subscribers. His early travel videos in other countries mostly had a few thousand views, but his recent videos about traveling in China have reached tens of thousands of views, rapidly increasing his subscriber count.
Similarly, a video by German YouTuber @Ken Abroad about his trip to Shanghai has reached 828k views, making it his second most-watched video to date.
Riding the huge traffic under China Travel, foreign travel bloggers become the cultural ambassador of China
A common theme that attracts loads of traffic is their perception of China before going there vs. the opposite feeling they developed when traveling in China.
After getting off the train in Shanghai, @Ken Abroad first praised the cleanliness of the streets. He was further captivated by the stunning aerial views, expressing that China was very different from what he had imagined.
The Japanese YouTuber @osada, who suffers from social anxiety, was very stressed before visiting China, despite doing a lot of research on Google. He was even nicknamed “Anxious Immortal” by Bilibili users.
Besides marveling at the safety and cleanliness in China, the most frequently mentioned topics in videos of foreign travelers in China are the speed of high-speed trains and the local cuisine. Even a simple Chinese breakfast crepe (煎饼果子) can be described as “the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
With the contrast of imagination vs. reality, and fueled by the curiosity of netizens, videos of foreign travelers in China become instant hits across various social media platforms, making “China Travel” an undeniable secret to gaining online fame in 2024.
And China is a lot more than just Beijing and Shanghai
On TikTok, traval itineraries in China are quite repetitive and somewhat obsolete.
Most travelers first arrive in Shanghai, experiencing the high-speed trains, and then visit a series of similar popular tourists attractions. This phenomenon leads to many foreign travelers gathering at the same places, creating popular photo spots that are only internet-famous on international social media platforms.
Local Chinese watching these videos will only wish they could guide these foreign travelers to see more local attractions and taste authentic local food.
Generally, only those foreign travelers who have visited China more than one time will further explore cities like Chongqing, Hangzhou, Xi’an, and Harbin.
The lack of the itineraries of in-depth tourism in China in international social media platforms creates a next-level opportunities for foreign travel bloggers to gain online fame. Their authentic experiences provide valuable references for other foreign travelers who are considering traveling to China. At the same time, these foreign travelers’ videos also offer the latest travel tips to some extent, helping other travelers to experience China in-depth and more authentically.
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