Foreign tourists visit Beijing's Shichahai lake on July 4. Photo: VCG

When Marco Bianchi, a 34-year-old software engineer from Rome, stepped out of Shanghai Pudong International Airport on July 20, he expected the usual summer heat. However, he was greeted by something far more surprising: shaded sidewalks, air-conditioned metros, misting fans at tourist sites and a travel system built for comfort.

"I came to escape the heat," Marco, a first-time visitor from Italy, told the Global Times on Sunday. "What I found was not just cooler weather. It was a whole 'ChinaCool' experience."

As temperatures soar across the Northern Hemisphere, a growing number of global travelers are heading to China in search of cooler destinations and experiences, according to CCTV News reports.

Industry observers said the "ChinaCool," which is used by some media outlets to describe a cool summer experience offering relief from the heat - is gaining traction overseas, driven by a combination of favorable climates, social media buzz and comprehensive infrastructure. 

This year, destinations such as Zhangjiajie in Hunan, Changbai Mountain in Jilin, Guizhou, Xinjiang, Yunnan and Sichuan have become popular summer vacation destinations for overseas tourists. What sets this trend apart is that visitors are not merely taking in the scenery - they are actively purchasing Chinese cooling gadgets, blending vacation, lifestyle immersion and shopping into a seamless "travel plus consumption" model, said analysts.

Since June, high-altitude destinations known for their natural environments have led China's inbound summer tourism growth.

In Southwest China, Kunming has leveraged its average summer temperature of around 22 degrees to boost inbound tourism. As of June 26, the city's Changshui International Airport had handled more than 2 million inbound and outbound passenger trips this year, up 16.66 percent year on year. The trend extends to more remote regions: inbound flight bookings to Kashgar in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region since June 1 surged 11-fold year-on-year, while Nyingchi in Xizang saw a 2.7-fold increase during the same period, CCTV News reported on Saturday.

Changbai Mountain in Northeast China's Jilin Province has also emerged as a summer favorite. With average temperatures below 22 degrees Celsius from June to August over the past decade, the destination offers visitors a cool escape surrounded by forests and mountains. Since July, the Changbai Mountain scenic area has witnessed a significant increase in inbound visitors, with daily visitor numbers exceeding 30,000, partly due to visa-free policies benefiting visitors from Russia, South Korea and other countries.

China's summer appeal is no longer limited to its landscapes. Consumer products, local cuisine and cultural experiences are becoming integral parts of the foreign visitors' journey.

Since July, inbound tourist arrivals in the coastal city of Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, have risen by 60 percent year-on-year, according to a CCTV Finance report. The city's seaside promenades, cultural attractions and aquarium have become popular among tourists seeking relief from the summer heat.

Marco from Rome is among those who swapped Mediterranean heat for a cooler summer in China. "I came here to escape the heat. Rome has been brutal this July - temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius, and the humidity is unbearable," he told the Global Times. "A friend who lives in Shanghai told me, 'Come to China, we have air conditioning everywhere.' I thought he was joking, but after landing in Shanghai, I realized he was serious. The metro, the taxis, even the bus stops - everything is cool."

Rachel, a 36-year-old Australian tourist, told the Global Times on Sunday that she arrived in China in July. She found that Chengdu, a city in Southwest China, could be quite humid in summer. Fortunately, indoor air conditioning was widely available and effective - malls and cafes were pleasantly cool, which made urban sightseeing much more comfortable.

International visitors' growing interest in experiencing Chinese culture is also reflected in Sophia, a visitor from Portugal, who spent 11 days traveling through Chengdu and Shanghai. "Chengdu cuisine is very spicy, while Shanghai food is milder and delicious overall," she told the Global Times. "My absolute favorite dish of the whole trip was the pickled vegetable sour fish in yellow broth." She also experienced local spa massages and cupping therapy, which she described as "very special."

Jocelyne from France made Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei electronics market in South China's Guangdong Province her first stop after arriving in China, where she bought a portable mist fan after researching such products online before her trip. Jocelyne has already posted about her Huaqiangbei purchases on Instagram. "I bought twenty of those little mist fans to bring back to Paris," she said. "My friends are asking me to bring more."

Gail Bennett from Canada took a different route, heading to second- and third-tier cities to avoid the domestic holiday crowds. "I followed my friend's advice and headed to Southwest China's Guiyang and Kunming - cities I'd never really heard of back in Toronto," she told the Global Times via social media platform Xiaohongshu on Sunday. 

"While Shanghai and Beijing were apparently sweltering and packed, I found myself strolling through Guiyang's Qianling Park with plenty of elbow room, and the temperature hovered around a very pleasant 26 degrees Celsius. In Kunming, they call it the 'city of eternal spring,' and I finally understood why. I was wearing a light jacket in the evenings - in July," Bennett said.

According to data from third-party travel platforms, European countries accounted for 30 percent of the top 20 source markets for inbound tourism in China during this year's summer holiday season. Bookings from European travelers surged 275 percent year-on-year, while ticket reservations for attractions increased more than 20-fold. The UK, France and Germany alone accounted for nearly 42 percent of European visitors, with their combined bookings rising by nearly150 percent, according to CCTV News.

Data from HopeGoo, the international platform under Tongcheng Travel, also showed that flight bookings from European cities such as Edinburgh, Barcelona, London, Madrid and Rome to China rose by more than 20 percent month-on-month in July. Some routes from the UK to major Chinese cities saw year-on-year growth of more than 80 percent, according to a note sent to the Global Times on Sunday.

Behind the surge lies a web of policy support and infrastructure that has lowered barriers for international visitors.

China has expanded its visa-free policies in recent years, allowing longer stays and travel across a wider range of destinations. The country currently offers unilateral visa-free entry to nationals of 50 countries. Meanwhile, nationals from 55 countries can now use the 240-hour visa-free transit policy to enter China via 65 designated ports. 

According to the National Immigration Administration, foreign nationals made 22.91 million inbound trips to China in the first half of 2026, up 20.4 percent year-on-year. Of these trips, 17.82 million were made under visa-free policies, accounting for 77.7 percent of all foreign entries.

Payment and customer services have also been streamlined. Scenic spots in Zhangjiajie, Central China's Hunan Province, have introduced multilingual ticket machines and AI-powered translation and interpretation tools. Since July, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon has seen strong demand from families seeking summer getaways, with daily arrivals nearing 10,000 and foreign visitors accounting for more than half, CCTV News reported.

"The high-speed rail between Guiyang and Kunming took just over two hours, and the stations were as modern as anything you'd find in Toronto or Vancouver," Gail from Canada told the Global Times. "Metro announcements were in English, scenic spots had multilingual signage, and I could pay with my credit card at most hotels and restaurants."

Summer tourism among overseas visitors to China is shifting from "enjoying the scenery" to "experiencing local life," moving beyond shopping and dining toward cultural immersion and local experiences, Xu Xiaolei, marketing manager at CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Xu said various destinations have developed a wider range of tourism offerings, such as study tours, healthcare, sports and cultural events, which provide windows for overseas tourists to gain a deeper understanding of China. 

The summer surge in inbound tourism also underscores the growing international appeal of China's cultural and tourism market, Jiang Yiyi, a tourism and sports expert at Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times on Sunday. She added that behind this rising "ChinaCool" trend lies a combination of structural strengths that is enhancing China's appeal as a destination.

China's extensive high-speed rail network, widespread air-conditioning coverage, public safety, easier visa-free entry policies and increasingly accessible cross-border mobile payment options are helping solve some of the biggest difficulties faced by international travelers. Together with improved public services, these advantages have made visiting China significantly easier, making the country a more accessible holiday destination, she said.