'China Cool' tourism opens eyes and minds

In the sizzling summer of 2026, when "China Cool" became a buzzword on social media feeds worldwide, China's tourism market was experiencing a hot streak of its own. As global temperatures soared, so did the number of foreigners coming to China to escape the summer heat.

In the first half of 2026, the National Immigration Administration recorded 22.91 million entries by foreign nationals, up 20.4 percent year-on-year. Visa-free entries surged 30.6 percent to 17.8 million, accounting for 77.7 percent of the total arrivals. These figures suggest that China is emerging as a popular summer destination for globetrotters around the world.

The reason for the surge is obvious. Summer is the peak holiday season, and China has vast expanses with a relatively cool climate. Visa-free policies provided just the push needed to make travelers choose China with their feet.

There is also a psychological dimension to this unprecedented rise in summer tourism. Many of the foreign travelers who come to escape the heat want to go somewhere cool. But the temperature is just one aspect of what "cool" means.

Traveling abroad brings many new experiences, but the uncertainty can also lead to stress. In this sense, China offers a travel environment with relatively little friction and a high degree of predictability. While the temperature at the destination may not be any different, the experience is more manageable.

Visa-free entry, 240-hour visa-free transit, convenient payment options, convenience stores that stay open late, high-speed railway information screens and easily accessible border checkpoints are more than just infrastructural improvements. Together, they reduce the uncertainty that people often face in an unfamiliar setting.

This might explain why the most viral moments often capture the mundane. Under the "China Cool" trend, videos of foreign visitors riding high-speed trains, traveling in subways, sleeping on bamboo mats, savoring wontons at night markets, practicing traditional exercises and watching basketball in village squares are taking center stage.

These are new experiences for foreigners, but they don't make one feel less independent simply because they are unfamiliar. Instead, they offer a rare opportunity to step into the rhythm of everyday life and, for a few days, live like a local. It is a deeper form of cultural travel.

Perhaps the essence of "China Cool" lies in the erosion of stereotypes. When we lack knowledge about a group or place, we often rely on simplified assumptions, which then shape our judgments about almost everyone in the group. In this sense, stereotypes are mental shortcuts that help us make decisions when information is limited. But they come at a cost. They can distort reality and allow hearsay to overshadow first-hand experience.

For places we have never visited, hearsay often fills the void. Before coming to China, many foreign visitors may harbor preconceived notions about the country. Travel opens doors for direct contact between different groups, which is an effective way to get rid of prejudices. "China Cool" offers countless immersive experiences that can reshape visitors' perceptions of China.

When I was traveling in Germany, a friend once asked me, "Don't you find it boring to eat a bowl of plain white rice with nothing else?" I explained that in China, we don't normally eat only rice. It is accompanied by other dishes. She probably didn't know that China has such a rich variety of noodles and wheat-based foods that even a rice-loving Chinese person might struggle to name them all.

Without visiting China and dining amid the crowds at a Chinese restaurant, it is difficult to understand why Chinese people eat plain white rice. You can understand only when you go there. This understanding will not come from reading a travel guide, but from sitting at a table and using chopsticks to polish off a bowl of rice and a plate of stir-fried food. Such experiences become part of memory, leaving a more lasting impression than any written account.

Safety is another example. Foreigners in China might see people leaving electric scooters by the roadside with keys in the ignition, phones on restaurant tables, or belongings forgotten in shared bikes. These lost or forgotten items are returned to their owners. Such ordinary moments have a powerful effect because they are tangible and irrefutable. They can shape visitors' perceptions of safety.

When foreign visitors come to China for the first time, their preconceived notions may be challenged and changed, one small moment at a time. Their connection with China unfolds everywhere: in teahouses, on bustling streets and in the ordinary moments of everyday life. Boundaries begin to fade, not because someone persuaded them, but because people share the same experiences and moments with them.

The popularity of "China Cool" also reflects deeper psychological needs. Around the world, many people feel that the fast pace of modern life is draining them. There is anxiety about artificial intelligence replacing human workers, pressure from social media and fewer opportunities for meaningful face-to-face interactions.

As a result, people can easily lose three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and connection with others.

In today's lexicon, "cool" can mean more than just low temperature. It can mean being in control without having to make an effort, connecting with others without forcing it and being able to relax without feeling watched or judged.

When a foreigner buys a cold drink on a Chinese street at 2 am and rides a shared bike through a busy crowd, the experience is no longer just traveling. It becomes: "I can live like this."

At the heart of that experience is the return of a sense of control. It is the fading of psychological boundaries, and a small but meaningful reshaping of the story people tell about themselves. That may be the true essence of "China Cool".

The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.