"The bosses in the game actually exist!" One day in July, German gaming blogger Alex stood before the thousand-year-old wooden carved dragon pillar at the Jade Emperor Temple in Jincheng, his words incoherent with excitement. Over the past week, he'd traveled through the ancient buildings of Shanxi, Wulong in Chongqing, and Anyue in Sichuan, following the filming routes of "Black Myth: Wukong," racking up over 30 million views on his livestreams. In his video, he lamented, "This isn't just a simple check-in; it's a journey through a thousand-year-old dimension."
In the summer of 2025, many foreign influencers like Alex are taking unconventional approaches: British birdwatcher Emma, who photographed the Oriental White Stork, the "bird panda," in the Poyang Lake Wetlands; Brazilian eco-blogger Joanna, who calls the Hani Rice Terraces the "blood vessels of the earth"; and an Australian photography team who delved into the colorful Danxia landscape of Zhangye, exclaiming, "It's like walking on Mars"... The China they capture is no longer the standard "Great Wall + Bund" image, but a hidden gem brimming with wildness and vitality.
Data from the National Immigration Administration shows that 38.053 million foreigners entered China in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 30.2%, with nearly 60% choosing in-depth cross-provincial tours. "Foreign tourists' interests are shifting from 'landmarks' to 'geology,' and from 'cities' to 'wilderness,'" said Jin Zhun, a researcher at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointing out that Chinese tourism has entered Phase 2.0, with "thematic, immersive, and niche" becoming the new keywords.
Destinations are also actively exploring new boundaries. Yunnan's Honghe Prefecture launched the "Terrace Guardian" program, inviting foreign bloggers to stay with Hani people and experience pulling rice seedlings, catching fish, and drying red rice. Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province offered an English-language ecological lecture hall, equipped with professional telescopes and an AI bird-recognition app. Shanxi Tourism and Culture collaborated with a gaming team to create a "real-life + AR" scripted tour, allowing visitors to summon the "Wukong Golden Cudgel" special effects by scanning ancient buildings with their phones. "We want to make culture 'visible,' history 'touchable,' and nature 'interactive,'" said Zhao Shuguang, Deputy Director of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
Convenient policies continue to support in-depth travel. To date, China has implemented a 240-hour visa-free transit policy for 54 countries, increasing the number of eligible ports to 60 and covering 24 provinces and municipalities. Meanwhile, Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, and other cities are piloting "international tourist multi-day passes," allowing visitors to combine subway, bus, and scenic spot access with a single scan, allowing for unimpeded travel. "Foreign influencers' livestreams are like free overseas PR for us," the marketing director of the Chongqing Wulong Scenic Area told reporters. Since Alex's livestream, overseas searches for the scenic area have skyrocketed by 420%, and visits to the official English, German, and Spanish websites have doubled.
"When young people from abroad see the real, diverse, and endearing China through games, short videos, and social media platforms, they become a new generation of 'tap water.'" Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, predicts that as the popularity of "China Travel" spreads, the number of inbound tourists is expected to exceed 150 million by 2025, of which "long-tail customers"-niche tourists attracted by niche content-will account for over 30%.
From "virtual travel" to "in-depth travel," from "spectating" to "co-creation," China's new hidden gems captured by foreign influencers are forming a glittering "experience belt" on the world map. As Alex said at the end of his video, "China is a three-dimensional book that can never be fully turned. Every page brings a new surprise." Perhaps the next hidden gem to be "virtually checked in" by netizens around the world is right here near you and me.