China Focus: Industrial tourism sparks momentum in the world’s manufacturing leader
BEIJING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — As the global manufacturing powerhouse, China is transforming its vast industrial landscape into immersive tourism experiences. These behind-the-scenes tours reveal the hidden allure of factory life, injecting fresh energy into the country’s consumer market.
In Beijing’s Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town), interest in visits to the Xiaomi automobile factory has surged among tech enthusiasts eager to witness the futuristic scenes where popular electric vehicles are manufactured. Aimed at blending professional knowledge with tangible displays and popular science, the facility logged over 150,000 bookings from last April through this June, averaging more than 10,000 visitors per month, according to project lead Shi Xiaomin.
Factory tours are becoming a key trend in China’s tourism sector. Regions nationwide are innovating the “industry plus tourism” model to offer diverse experiences while advancing industrial upgrading and development.
China maintains a comprehensive, independent, and integrated modern industrial system, anchored by a wealth of historical and cultural heritage, notes Xin Guobin, vice minister of Industry and Information Technology. He adds that recent years have seen nationwide achievements by treating industrial culture as a primary driver for the creative transformation and innovative evolution of cultural resources such as industrial heritage.
Official data indicate China hosts 264 national-level industrial heritage projects and nearly 500 provincial-level ones. As industrial tourism grows, more heritage sites are being repurposed into cultural and creative parks, commercial hubs, and technology parks, drawing visitors to internet-famous destinations.
At Liuzhou Luosifen Industrial Park in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, visitors can observe the production of pre-packaged luosifen (river snail rice noodles) on-site, witness the techniques recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, and even try their hand at making a bowl of noodle soup.
In Qingdao’s Tsingtao Beer Museum, located in Shandong Province, an immersive time-travel drama has become popular among younger crowds. Participants play the role of Tsingtao brewers in a live-action game that blends mystery, escape-room challenges, and scripted narratives, letting visitors experience the factory’s century-long evolution.
Industry observers describe this integrated model—combining tours, study, and consumption—as beneficial for both visitors and businesses. It offers unprecedented access to industrial environments while enhancing brand value and revenue opportunities for involved enterprises.
Market researchers project industrial tourism to grow at an average rate of about 18% annually over the next five years, potentially surpassing 300 billion yuan (roughly $42.4 billion) in market size by 2029, according to the ministry.
China has also outlined plans to accelerate a robust manufacturing sector and deepen culture-tourism integration in its recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030). Looking ahead, the ministry intends to safeguard and pass on industrial culture, develop effective mechanisms for culture-technology-industry integration, and cultivate new cultural consumption scenarios and industry clusters, Xin says.
And this is where the conversation gets provocative: as industrial heritage becomes a driver of economic value, how should sites balance accessibility with preservation, and how might different regions leverage these experiences without homogenizing their unique industrial identities? Share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments.
