Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

As "Chinamaxxing" - a viral term on foreign social media describing foreign users who adopt Chinese lifestyles, fashions, and wellness practices - gains traction this spring, a growing number of international visitors are heading to smaller Chinese cities. There, they move past visiting landmarks to livestreaming from neighborhood markets, wandering through backstreet eateries, visiting local workshops and small factories, and taking part in hands-on cultural activities. What begins as curiosity about real life in China is increasingly translating into a broader shift in inbound tourism.

"This is Where I Live in China! (Neighborhood Walking Tour)," reads a vlog post on Sunday on YouTube by a foreign visitor who was documenting her walk through a local neighborhood in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province. The post has garnered about 10,000 views, nearly 1,000 likes, and more than 100 comments in just one day. This exemplifies a broader trend of Western vloggers traveling in China and producing street-level, real-time content, often livestreamed to large global audiences.

Numbers and scenes from smaller cities in China illustrate this trend. Inbound tourism to the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, North China's Shanxi Province, during the Spring Festival surged by as much as 735 percent, ranking first nationwide, CCTV News reported on Monday. Foreign visitors are stepping into intangible cultural heritage workshops, wearing hanfu, learning to make dumplings, and even firing their own pottery by hand.

The interests of visitors in China are becoming increasingly diverse. Some come with their children who are learning Chinese, seeking an immersive cultural experience. Others combine business with tourism, visiting industrial sites and factories to explore commercial opportunities. Still, many come specifically to experience traditional Chinese culture and share their experiences on social media.

The recent boom in immersive travel to China is directly driven by factors such as China's visa-free policies, improved transportation and tourism services, and new business models including social media and e-commerce. For example, visa-free entry, which allows eligible travelers from 55 countries to transit through China for up to 240 hours without a visa, has greatly increased foreigners' willingness to travel to China. For many international visitors, booking a flight is all it takes to conveniently reach the Chinese cities that interest them.

China's inbound tourism market saw a significant recovery last year, with more than 150 million inbound trips, a year-on-year increase of more than 17 percent. Visa-free arrivals exceeded 30 million. This year, the momentum of inbound tourism remains strong. During the Spring Festival, inbound travel continued to rise, with 460,000 visa-free arrivals - up 28.5 percent year-on-year, according to CCTV News.

As inbound tourism expands from first-tier cities to smaller cities, this represents not just a geographic spread of the tourism market, but also a deepening of foreign visitors' desire to understand China - shifting from checking off visits to landmarks to seeking cultural experiences. To explain why international tourists are increasingly willing to visit smaller cities for an immersive experience of authentic Chinese life, one needs to look at deeper factors. In recent years, China's enhanced international image and growing global influence have become underlying drivers attracting overseas visitors.

For instance, the inclusion of the Spring Festival in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity further fueled the inbound tourism boom. This recognition has encouraged more people to participate in traditional customs. Moreover, visits to small cities have gained popularity with travelers seeking less crowded destinations and richer folk culture. Lesser-known destinations with world-class natural and cultural resources - such as Wuyishan, Jinggangshan, and Altay - are entering the international spotlight.

Smaller cities in China are well-prepared to transform these cultural and lifestyle advantages into tourism and economic growth. Well-developed transportation, dining, and accommodation services in smaller cities and towns have impressed foreign tourists.

Meanwhile, local governments and tourism operators are integrating digital travel platforms, livestreaming, and e-commerce ecosystems to increase visibility and engagement. Tourism platforms provide personalized artificial intelligence itineraries, augmented reality previews of attractions, and cultural content that can appeal to younger, experience-seeking foreign visitors.

The continued diversification of inbound tourism presents a unique opportunity for China's smaller cities to redefine their role in the global travel market. As visitors increasingly seek the real China, smaller cities are poised not only to share their local heritage and natural beauty but also to contribute to sustainable economic growth, turning this new wave of experiential tourism into a lasting advantage for the regions beyond the megacities.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn