(Yicai) Aug. 11 -- Technology-themed tourism is emerging as a new frontier for China’s inbound travel industry, attracting foreigners eager to see firsthand the factories, laboratories, and innovation hubs that are powering the country’s rapid technological ascent.

This group of foreign visitors to China is remarkably diverse, people who organize tech tours for foreign visitors told Yicai. They range from software developers and engineers to ordinary travelers inspired by social media coverage of China’s technological progress. They also include business executives and sports enthusiasts who combine tech tourism with visits to events such as the China International Import Expo, the Canton Fair, or the Shanghai Marathon.

Costs varies considerably depending on trip length, accommodation choices, and service levels, the people said. Per-head costs range from a few hundred US dollars for shorter experiences to as much as USD4,000 to USD5,000 for more extensive programs.

Shanghai-based Glopen, which arranges business inspection tours, trips for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, as well as educational exchanges, welcomed nearly 1,000 tech‑related visitors last year, with the figure likely to double this year, said founder Shen Boyang.

After spending more than a decade working in Germany, Shen began producing educational online content in 2023 that explained China’s business environment, educational system, and sourcing ecosystem. His audience included many overseas executives, many of whom later contacted him directly to ask whether he could organize company visits for employees and students.

Sensing the business opportunity, Shen founded Glopen to provide tech tourism services for international visitors. His clientele is concentrated in Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia, particularly France, Germany, and Brazil.

Their objectives for visiting vary widely, from entrepreneur associations and industry chambers seeking exposure to China’s startup ecosystem and leading technology firms, to sector specialists pursuing highly targeted visits, Shen pointed out. One Brazilian agribusiness client, for example, traveled specifically to tour a Chinese manufacturer of pesticide‑spraying spraying drones, he said.

Robots and EVs Draw Visitors

Other groups include high‑performing corporate employees on team building trips, as well as business school students, Shen said, noting that visits to major tech companies account for 50 percent to 60 percent of itineraries. "Factory tours give students access to information unavailable in textbooks or online, representing the really valued part of the program for clients,” he said.

Another operator who has been running half-day and full-day technology tours in Shenzhen for overseas visitors since late last year said most of her clients are programmers and engineers between the ages of 30 and 45. She added that many arrive with a deeper knowledge of, and curiosity about, China’s technology ecosystem than she initially expected.

One example involved two retired US engineers who wanted to understand how Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei evolved into the center of China’s electronics and smart-manufacturing supply chain, and they specifically requested visits to an open-source hardware company and a humanoid robotics developer, she said.

Among the most popular draws are autonomous driving technologies, followed by humanoid robots, according to the operator. Visitors are particularly eager to watch robots dance, see demonstrations of robotic arms and dexterous robotic hands, and experience drone delivery systems and new energy vehicles firsthand, she said.

The trend is being fueled in part by a fear of missing out, according to Yuan Shaoyu, an adjunct professor of international relations at New York University. “Without firsthand exposure to the country's development, they risk being at an informational disadvantage to competitors who have gained on‑site insights,” he noted.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev