Main image: Courtesy of Xiaomi
Factory tourism
China’s latest tourist attraction is a robot-run production line.
Factory tourism itself is not new, but in 2026 it is taking on a different character in China. Visitors are increasingly heading to EV plants, robotics facilities and food factories to watch automation in action, learn how products are made and, in some cases, take part in hands-on workshops.
In July, Xinhua reported that searches for terms including “factory visit,” “car factory” and “shipyard” had risen 2.3 times month on month, while interest in industrial study-tour products was up more than 50% year on year. Industry forecasts suggest China’s industrial tourism market could exceed RMB300 billion (around €38.5 billion) by 2029.
The star attraction is Xiaomi’s EV Hyperfactory in Beijing. Covering 718,000 square meters and filled with hundreds of robotic arms, the factory has become so popular that public tour places are allocated by lottery. More than 250,000 people have visited since it opened to the public, while demand for some sessions has run into the thousands for only a handful of places. Inside, visitors watch highly automated production processes including giant die-casting machinery and vehicle assembly, turning industrial efficiency into spectacle.
More than 250,000 people have visited Xiaomi’s EV Hyperfactory in Beijing since it opened to the public. Courtesy of Xiaomi
Other manufacturers are building more accessible versions of the experience. XPeng opened AI-themed manufacturing tours to the public earlier this year across its Guangzhou headquarters and manufacturing bases, giving visitors access to EVs, robots and flying-car technology. In Shenyang, BMW Brilliance opened its plants to students over the summer, while COFCO Coca-Cola World allows families to watch filling, capping, labelling and packaging unfold behind panoramic glass. The attraction is increasingly educational as well as visual: some sites offer DIY activities, product-making workshops and STEM-style programs for children.
That expansion is now being encouraged from the top. In May, seven Chinese government departments jointly issued guidance calling for stronger development of industrial tourism, spanning sectors from aerospace and shipbuilding to robotics, textiles and food processing. The policy explicitly encourages richer tourism products and educational functions, signaling that factory access is becoming part of China’s formal tourism offer rather than an occasional corporate open day.
The phenomenon is also starting to attract a very different visitor: international executives and investors. Reuters reported in September that foreign founders, technology professionals and investment leaders are joining specialist study tours to China’s factories, with some five-day programs costing as much as €13,000. Robotics, AI and EV production are becoming reasons to travel in their own right, particularly for visitors trying to understand how China is scaling new technologies.
What makes this feel new is the reframing of manufacturing itself. For a generation accustomed to factories being distant, closed-off spaces, the modern production line is being presented as futuristic, photogenic and interactive. Robotic arms, giant presses and near-human-free workshops offer the same sense of technological spectacle once associated with science museums or theme parks.
Liu Boying, associate professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Architecture, told CGTN that stepping inside smart factories allows visitors to visualize China’s advances in high-end manufacturing — helping reshape older perceptions of “Made in China.”
For brands, opening the factory doors can do more than entertain. It turns production into storytelling, gives consumers visible proof of quality and innovation, and makes manufacturing part of the brand experience. In China, “Made in China” is increasingly becoming something visitors want to see being made.
