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Becoming Chinese trend: what it is and how to try it

The 2026 TikTok trend of adopting everyday Chinese habits: where it started, the main habits, what it costs to try and the criticism.

Updated 2026-10-11

"Becoming Chinese" is a social media trend, mostly on TikTok and Instagram, in which people, many of them young Americans with no Chinese heritage, post videos of themselves picking up everyday habits associated with Chinese homes: drinking hot water instead of iced drinks, wearing slippers indoors, eating congee and soup, going to bed earlier and trying practices such as tai chi or gua sha. It took off in January 2026. Some of it is a deliberate joke, some of it is sincere, and a lot of it is both. This guide explains where it came from, what people actually do, what it costs to try, and why some Chinese and Chinese-diaspora writers have mixed feelings about it.

What the trend is

Participants describe themselves as being on a "becoming Chinese" journey, sometimes posting day counts, and swap tips about habits they have adopted. The trend is also called Chinamaxxing, and a version aimed at women uses the tag #chinesebaddie. NBC News described it in February 2026 as an intentionally absurd joke that also shines a light on traditional Chinese wellness habits. The Conversation's analysis, republished by Southern Cross University, called it part parody and part politics, and noted that most of the humorous videos are not mocking Chinese people.

A common caption is "you met me at a very Chinese time in my life", a remix of a line from the 1999 film Fight Club. For the meaning and the vocabulary behind it, see what does becoming Chinese mean.

When and where it started

The trend built up over about a year before it went mainstream:

Date	What happened	Source
March 2025	Streamer IShowSpeed's trip to China, cited by several outlets as an early spark	GoEast Mandarin, Wikipedia
April 2025	X user @girl__virus posts "you met me at a very chinese time in my life"	Know Your Meme, Wikipedia
December 2025	Chinese-American TikTok creator Sherry Zhu (@sherryxiiruii) posts videos telling viewers to drink hot water and wear slippers indoors; Know Your Meme lists them at 5.5 million and 6.3 million views	Know Your Meme
January 2026	Response videos spread, including a welcoming video from Chinese creator Emma Peng; Complex covers the trend on 15 January	Know Your Meme, Complex
February 2026	NBC News, the South China Morning Post and The Conversation publish explainers; China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian welcomes the interest on 6 February	NBC, SCMP, Wikipedia

Zhu is a 23-year-old who grew up in New Jersey; her father is from Pinghu in Zhejiang and her mother from Guizhou, according to the South China Morning Post.

Why interest is rising

The clearest evidence is reach. The South China Morning Post and GoEast Mandarin both report that videos showing these habits passed 20 million views by February 2026, and the trend was covered by NBC News, Complex, the South China Morning Post, The Conversation, Bloomberg and AP within a few months. It also spilled into shopping: Complex listed an Adidas track jacket with Chinese knot buttons among the most hyped items of 2026, saying it was reselling for double its $150 retail price before a wider release.

Commentators offer several explanations, which are interpretations rather than measured facts:

Burnout. The Conversation links the appeal of rest, warmth and moderation to fatigue with hustle culture and economic insecurity.
The RedNote moment. NBC and GoEast both point to January 2025, when many American TikTok users moved to the Chinese app Xiaohongshu (RedNote) during the threatened TikTok ban and talked directly with Chinese users.
Shifting views of China. NBC cites an October 2025 Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll in which 53% of Americans favoured cooperation and engagement with China, up from 40% in 2024.
Soft power. Travel vlogs, Labubu toys and Chinese drinks chains have raised China's cultural profile, according to GoEast and Wikipedia's summary of BBC reporting.

Know Your Meme describes the trend as having peaked in early 2026, so treat it as an established meme rather than something still accelerating.

The main habits

Most videos draw on a handful of everyday practices, many rooted in the Chinese idea of 养生 (yǎngshēng), "nourishing life":

Drinking hot or warm water and avoiding iced drinks
Wearing slippers indoors so your feet stay warm
Eating congee (rice porridge) and soups instead of salads
Boiled apple water with red dates and goji berries
Going to bed earlier
Morning tai chi or Baduanjin qigong
Foot soaks before bed
Gua sha, cupping or acupuncture

The background behind each one, and what health bodies do and do not say about them, is in becoming Chinese habits explained.

Who is joining in

The Conversation and GoEast describe the participants as mostly Gen Z users in the United States, with GoEast adding Europe. Many are not of Chinese heritage. Chinese-diaspora creators such as Sherry Zhu, Angela Shan Hu and Kaila Wenn have played along, and NBC credits them with taking it mainstream. NBC also notes that comedian Jimmy O. Yang joined a related meme.

What it costs to try

Most of the habits cost nothing: you can boil water in a kettle you already own and go to bed earlier. The common purchases are cheap. Prices below were checked in October 2026 on the retailer pages listed in the sources.

Item	UK example	US example
Insulated flask	Thermos 500ml flask, £20 (John Lewis)	Thermos 16oz Stainless King, $29.99 (Thermos)
House slippers	Faux fur lined suede mules, £21 (Next)	dluxe by dearfoams slide slippers, $35 (Target)
Loose jasmine tea	Whittard Jasmine, from £9.95	Whittard Jasmine 100g, $16.95
Goji berries	Holland & Barrett 210g, £6.89	Made in Nature organic 20oz, $21.07 (Walmart)

A basic set comes to roughly £58 in the UK or $103 in the US at these prices, and you can spend far less by using a flask and slippers you already own. The becoming Chinese starter kit has a fuller budget table, including rice for congee and red dates.

Downsides and criticism

The trend has drawn criticism, mainly from Chinese and Asian-diaspora writers:

Hurt and scepticism. NBC spoke to Chinese Americans who remember being bullied over their food or habits, and anti-Asian blame during COVID-19. One creator, Jennifer Lee, worried it could feel like "we're the laughingstock again".
Who gets credit. PureWow editor Marissa Wu, who is Chinese American, wrote that she liked the curiosity but questioned who profits from "being Chinese" and whether acceptance should depend on non-Asian approval.
Flattening the culture. An LBB Online piece by Abigail Goh of We Are Social argued that algorithms reward simple, confident narration, turning traditional Chinese medicine into a lifestyle accessory and stripping context from items such as the Tang jacket.
Stereotypes. Wikipedia summarises further criticism in Wired, Time and from a RAND scholar, including that some portrayals have racist or sarcastic undertones.

Supporters quoted by NBC, such as Angela Shan Hu, argue the trend is appreciation rather than appropriation because participants openly credit the habits' Chinese origins.

There are practical cautions too. Some videos promote treatments such as cupping or acupuncture, which carry real risks for some people. This page is general information, not medical advice; check with your GP or pharmacist before trying anything that could affect a health condition or medicine you take.

How to get started

Start with the free habits. Swap one iced drink a day for warm water or tea, and move your bedtime earlier.
Learn the why. Read about 养生 and the ideas of warmth and balance behind the habits rather than treating them as a checklist.
Cook one dish. Plain congee needs only rice and water.
Follow Chinese creators. Many of the most-watched videos come from Chinese and Chinese-diaspora creators who explain their own families' habits.
Spend only when you need to. A flask or slippers are the only items most people buy.

Guides in this section

What does becoming Chinese mean?: the meaning, origin, Mandarin vocabulary and hashtags.
Becoming Chinese habits explained: each habit, its cultural background and the health evidence.
Becoming Chinese starter kit: what to buy, UK and US prices, and what is optional.

Guides

Becoming Chinese habits explained, with the evidence
Hot water, slippers, congee, early nights, tai chi and more: the cultural background to each habit and what health bodies say.
Becoming Chinese starter kit: what to buy and costs
What you need to try the becoming Chinese trend, with UK and US prices for a flask, slippers, tea, rice, red dates and goji berries.
What does "becoming Chinese" mean on TikTok?
The meaning of becoming Chinese and Chinamaxxing, where the phrase came from, the Mandarin words behind it and how the hashtags are used.