While data on tech tours is scarce, broader industrial tourism is booming. China's industrial tourism sector ⁠pulled in $17.8 billion last year, according to state media, and is projected to blow past 300 billion yuan ($44.6 billion) by 2029.

Shanghai-based tech tour agency GloPen says inquiries jumped 50% in 2026 from mostly European and Singaporean clients, and it now ​runs over 100 single-day company tours every month.

This is another hype to tell the so-called "China story" with an article that falls short of any in-depth content.

But the podcaster will help to spread the word.

In other articles, one author wrote that "I went to China to see a different AI future. It looked familiar",

My trip to China revealed an AI race that looks less like a clash of competing visions, and more like two countries racing toward a similar future.