cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/70813116
Investors and entrepreneurs are paying thousands of dollars for rare access to Chinese factories, seeking a front-row seat to what many believe could be the next technological revolution.
Many attendees avoid publicising their visits. Among those known to have made the trip are U.S. investment firms Dimension, Capital Group and Thrive Capital, as well as U.S. tech podcaster Lex Fridman.
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.