China Travel 2026: International Creators Are Falling for Lanxi's 'Art of Living'
Six creators from the US, Mexico, Russia and Ireland spent two days in Lanxi exploring Li Yu's 'art of living' — opera, morning tea, TCM and a village built on the eight trigrams. Here's how to try it yourself.
Key takeaway
Lanxi, a county town in Zhejiang, hosted six international creators on Oct 7-8 for its Li Yu 'art of living' program: immersive opera at Li Yu Style Street, TCM therapies, a heritage food and craft market, Wuju opera, centuries-old morning tea at Youbu Ancient Town, and Zhuge Bagua Village. It works as a low-cost, two-day culture-immersion add-on to a Hangzhou or Shanghai trip.
Full report
Six international content creators from the United States, Mexico, Russia and Ireland spent October 7–8 in Lanxi, a county-level city in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, exploring the "art of living" of Li Yu (1611–1680) — the late-Ming dramatist often called the "William Shakespeare of the East."
The trip, run under the "Discover Lanxi: Internet Influencers Experience Li Yu's Art of Living" program, put a quiet county town on the international travel radar. It is also a signal of where the Chinamaxxing wave is heading next: not more megacity landmarks, but small towns where the same culture feels more intimate — and the budget goes further.
Who was Li Yu, and why does he matter now?
Li Yu spent much of his life in Lanxi and left behind Xianqing Ouji (《闲情偶寄》), a collection of essays on opera, garden design, food, health and leisure. It is often described as a guide to the Chinese art of living — essentially a 400-year-old lifestyle manual about slow mornings, good tea, theater and a body that feels looked after. For a generation of travelers hooked on immersive China travel, that is exactly the mood they are looking for.
What the creators actually did
Day one took the group to Li Yu Style Street, where they watched an immersive drama staging the meeting between Li Yu and Qiao Ji, a performer in his household troupe. They then tried traditional Chinese medicine therapies, and at the Lanxi Cultural Center joined an intangible cultural heritage food market, handicraft workshops and the ancient drinking game of pitch-pot. The evening closed with a Wuju opera performance of Three Battles with the White-boned Demon at Lanxi Theater.
Day two was a study in slow travel: morning tea at Youbu Ancient Town, a tradition with centuries of history, followed by Zhuge Bagua Village — laid out on the eight trigrams — where they watched an ancestral ceremony held by descendants of Zhuge Liang, the legendary strategist.
Their reactions, in their own words
Luke O'Farrell from Ireland: "Lanxi is a wonderful place full of history and culture. Pictures and videos can't do this place the justice it deserves."
Kurochkina Arina from Russia: "I feel completely immersed in the elegance of Li Yu's aesthetic world. My heart is full of the charm of Lanxi."
Why this fits the Chinamaxxing moment
Chinamaxxing tags have passed 4 billion views across platforms (People's Daily, Aug 2026), and the content has been shifting from landmark shots toward immersive daily life — guochao photo shoots, wellness stays and county-town trips. Lanxi ticks all three boxes: the itinerary of TCM therapies, opera, handcrafts, morning tea and a village built on an ancient philosophy is the "culture immersion" package international media keep writing about, at county-town prices that stretch a travel budget much further than Hangzhou or Shanghai.
How to try it yourself
- Getting there: take the high-speed rail to Jinhua, the nearest major rail hub, then continue to Lanxi by local transport. It works well as a two-day add-on to a Hangzhou or Shanghai itinerary.
- What to do: start with morning tea at Youbu Ancient Town (go early and order whatever the locals are eating), catch a Wuju opera night at Lanxi Theater, try a TCM wellness experience, browse the handicraft and food market at the Lanxi Cultural Center, then spend an afternoon wandering Zhuge Bagua Village for its layout and the Zhuge Liang ancestral ceremony.
- What to know: signs and menus are mostly in Chinese — a translation app is the essential travel tool; WeChat Pay and Alipay work at most venues when linked to an international card, and a little cash covers street stalls.
- Timing: a full weekend is the right amount of time, and October–November is a sweet spot for tea-town light and temple-town walks.
The takeaway
The Chinamaxxing story keeps getting smaller in scale and deeper in experience — from selfie spots to slow towns. Lanxi is the latest proof: six creators, two days, zero landmark crowds, and a 400-year-old manual for living well that still works. If you want to feel where China travel is going, spend one day of your trip in a county town instead of a megacity.
Sources: China Daily (Zhejiang) / ezhejiang.gov.cn, Oct 8 2026; People's Daily, Aug 2026.
What to do next
Add Lanxi as a two-day add-on to a Hangzhou or Shanghai itinerary: high-speed rail to Jinhua, then local transport to Lanxi; morning tea at Youbu Ancient Town, Wuju opera night, TCM wellness, heritage craft market, and Zhuge Bagua Village; carry a translation app, link WeChat Pay or Alipay to an international card, and keep some cash for street stalls.
What may vary
Signs and menus are mostly Chinese-only; seasonal schedules for opera and ceremonies vary — check locally before booking a specific performance; county-town prices are low but fixed-price venues may not offer foreign-language ticketing.