Immersive Chinese Lifestyle Experiences: What Foreign Travelers Are Trying Now | China Travel

Sightseeing is no longer the point of a China trip. The new trend is "doing China" — joining a morning wellness ritual, mixing herbs in a century-old pharmacy, or dressing up as a Tang-dynasty poet for an afternoon.

The numbers keep climbing. Chinese border authorities said 11.6 million foreigners entered the country in the third quarter of 2026, and 8.99 million of them — more than 70 percent — came visa-free. In Shanghai alone, border police logged 4.68 million foreign arrivals in the first nine months, up 20.7 percent year on year. But the quieter story is a change in how visitors spend that time. From Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai to old pharmacy lanes across the country, travelers are trading the "snap and leave" itinerary for experiences they can join.

Pai ba xu": a wellness ritual you can actually join

On most mornings at Yuyuan Garden's Golden Square, a small crowd gathers with bamboo moxa hammers. The session is called pai ba xu (拍八虚) — a traditional practice of gently tapping eight "hollow points" of the body: armpits, elbows, groin and the backs of the knees. It sounds niche. But for many foreign visitors, it is the first time they have touched traditional Chinese wellness instead of just reading about it.

"Really interesting and relaxing," said Kate, a Russian visitor who joined a session, after the instructor walked the group through the movements. The demo is short, open to anyone passing by, and requires no language — you just follow the person next to you.

A sachet made by your own hands in a pharmacy older than your country

A short walk from the square, a century-old Chinese pharmacy has turned itself into a workshop. Visitors smell each raw ingredient — dried tangerine peel, mugwort, sandalwood — learn what each one is for, then grind and blend their own mix before sewing it into a sachet. Staff explain the properties in simple terms, and the whole session takes about an hour.

It is a small souvenir with a real story, and it is exactly the kind of "experience layer" that younger travelers now build a trip around: not just what to see, but what to do with your hands.

The Tang-dynasty photoshoot that took over Yuyuan Garden

Walk through Yuyuan Garden's old alleys and you will see it everywhere: visitors in flowing Tang-dynasty robes, hair pinned with flowers, being photographed against carved pavilions. Local studios say foreign guests now make up more than half of their customers.

Nepalese traveler Akshara tried a Tang-era outfit for the first time and called it "a way to actually step into the culture." Finn, a visitor from the Netherlands, put it differently: "Before, I traveled to see beautiful things and take a photo. Now I can be inside the culture for an afternoon — you understand it differently than from a picture."

Most studios list package prices by scene, and several now offer English menus and same-day editing.

How to try these experiences yourself

• Block out half a day for Yuyuan Garden. The pai ba xu sessions run in the morning at Golden Square; check the day's schedule at the garden's information desk.
• Ask your hotel for a traditional pharmacy nearby. The sachet workshops are run by old pharmacies in the old-city areas; the Yuyuan one books on site or a day ahead.
• Book a costume photoshoot in the late afternoon. Golden-hour light against the old architecture is worth the timing.
• Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you go. Every one of these experiences — from the sachet fee to the photographer — is cashless, and payment works with a passport-linked account.
• Pair it with a nearby market or night stroll. The wellness-and-costume circuit sits right next to Shanghai's old-city food streets, so it fits naturally into one evening.

The pattern is spreading well beyond Shanghai. In Yunnan's Shaxi, travelers learn tie-dye in village workshops; in Jingdezhen they spend a full day at the potter's wheel; in Quanzhou they try the flower-pin headdress of local women; in Foshan, lion dance schools run classes for foreigners. The old checklist — Great Wall, Terracotta Army, skyline photos — is not going anywhere. But the travelers coming back with the best stories are the ones who spent an afternoon doing something, not just seeing it.

For more experience-led China travel ideas, browse ChinaPie's city guides — and if you are planning a November trip, check our Shenzhen APEC visitor guide for what's new at the border and in the city.