Shanghai's Newest China Travel Craze: 'Pa Baxu' — the Traditional Wellness Ritual Tourists Are Tapping Into

What is pa baxu, and why are tourists hooked?

On a recent morning at Yuyuan Garden's Golden Square in Shanghai, a line of international visitors stood holding small wooden hammers with round, cloth-wrapped heads. Following a teacher's lead, they raised their arms, bent their knees and gently tapped their armpits, inner elbows and groin areas — a traditional Chinese wellness ritual called pa baxu (拍八虚, literally "tap the eight hollows").

The "eight hollows" refer to eight creases where the body's joints fold — the armpits, elbows, hip creases and back of the knees. In traditional Chinese medicine, these are spots where qi and blood tend to stagnate, and tapping them with an herbal moxa hammer is believed to help circulation and relieve tension.

Russian tourist Kate, who tried it at Yuyuan, told Chinese broadcaster CCTV: "It was so much fun, and my body felt really relaxed. I love learning about Chinese culture, and anything related to traditional Chinese medicine — these methods are really practical." The session cost nothing extra on top of the garden visit, making it the kind of low-cost, hands-on moment that has come to define the new China Travel.

The numbers: wellness experiences are now a tourism engine

The National Immigration Administration reported on October 20 that 11.6 million foreigners entered China in Q3 2026, with 8.99 million entering visa-free — more than 70% of the total. Shanghai tells the same story at city level: border inspection recorded 4.68 million inbound foreign travelers in the first nine months of 2026, up 20.7% year on year, with visa-free visitors passing 3 million, or 64.5% of the total.

Compared with the old sprint through famous landmarks, foreign tourists now want to join experiences — wellness, crafts and photo shoots are where they spend their time and money.

Beyond tapping: the full 'Chinese life' experience menu

Pa baxu is one entry in a longer menu of hands-on "Chinese life" experiences popular with visitors:

• Hanfu photo shoots. At Xi'an's Great Tang All Night Mall, Luoyang's Yingtian Gate and the Chang'an Twelve Hours street district, foreign visitors in hanfu are a common sight. One French traveler described the experience this way: "The beauty of hanfu is a tenderness and elegance that has been refined over a thousand years."
• Herbal sachet workshops. At time-honored Chinese medicine shops, visitors smell and grind spices, then sew their own sachets. British tourist Edward said: "It really opened my eyes to see how herbal medicine has helped so many people through history. Combining modern medicine with traditional methods is a good thing."
• Pa baxu itself. The Yuyuan Garden session takes minutes to learn: tap the eight hollows lightly with a moxa hammer, then continue your day around the garden.

How to try it on your next China Travel trip

Build a "Chinese life" day into your itinerary. In Shanghai, ask whether the Yuyuan Garden session is running that day; in Xi'an or Luoyang, book a hanfu photo shoot (outfit plus makeup usually starts around a hundred yuan); on the way, step into a time-honored medicine shop and make a sachet. Each one is cheap, photogenic, and leaves you with a souvenir that has a story.

Plan the route first on chinapie.ai's Shanghai, Xi'an and Luoyang experience pages.