Instead of rollercoasters, you can ride on a self-driving car, instead of scary ghosts you can watch a dancing robot. In China, factories and high-tech facilities have become new tourist attractions, after the Ministry of Tourism began requesting robotics, automobile and aerospace companies to hold doors open for visitors and offer special themed tours and demonstrations. Tech tourism is the new trend.
Shenzhen: The Tech Capital's Spectacular Tour
The first to join this movement was the city of Shenzhen – at the heart of China’s technology industry. The local government launched a “tech tour” featuring a self-driving car ride, a drone delivery show, robot dances, and augmented reality glasses, all available to the public with a professional guide. Contrary to the expectations of most visitors, who were anticipating an ordinary factory tour, Shenzhen offered them a stunning technological fireworks display. Many consider it a Disneyland-level experience.
While such business-oriented trips are usually aimed at venture capitalists and feature business development meetings with founders (for about €3,000 per person, including the tour itself), regular tourists also express interest. In recent years, social media users have been fascinated by videos of robots dancing or self-driving cars and want to see these marvels of modern technology with their own eyes.
Xiaomi's Factory: A Sold-Out Sensation
The highlight of the tour is a visit to the robotized car factory of Xiaomi, which is located near Beijing. This high-tech complex, which produces one car every 76 seconds, has become one of China's most popular tech tourism destinations. Locals line up for 40 minutes to see how robots fold doors and paint cars, while tourists who have managed to get tickets describe the experience as breathtaking. “It’s like watching a ballet,” said one visitor. There are so many eager visitors that empty tickets cause a frenzy among queue organizers, and a popular black market with counterfeit passes emerges. Moreover, the tours are so in demand that it is almost impossible to visit two factories in one trip. For example, last year, 130,000 visitors signed up for a tour of the Xiaomi complex, and those who missed out had to wait until the next month.
The roadshow also includes a visit to the robot car manufacturer BYD, the robot “valley” owned by Unitree near Shenzhen, where many popular TikTok videos are created, and a tour of the artificial intelligence company DeepSeek, which is considered one of the three largest Chinese counterparts of ChatGPT.
National Pride and Global Showcase
Factory tours are popular among both domestic and foreign visitors. For the former, they are a source of national pride, while for the latter, they are an eye-opener, demonstrating what China is capable of. Perhaps, a few decades ago, it seemed unimaginable that China would be able to surpass its traditional allies and partners (such as America, Japan, and Germany) in technological development, but today, it is difficult to deny the achievements of Chinese technology companies in the fields of electric vehicles, smartphones, and robotics.
For companies, such open doors are a smart marketing move. By inviting ordinary people to factories, they are building trust and loyalty to the brand. After seeing how their favorite robot folds car doors, a customer will be much more likely to choose this car for themselves. Not coincidentally, the principle of Apple stores, where technology is presented to the public, has already been imported to China.
