BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- As summer vacation draws near, Liu Li, a mother from Beijing, signed her child up for a study tour at a high-speed train manufacturing base in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.
Rather than heading to theme parks or scenic mountains, the family opted for a factory visit. "I want my child to experience firsthand the strength of China's advanced manufacturing," Liu said. "Travel can also be a way of learning."
Across the country, a growing number of tourists share the same preference. Factories, shipyards, industrial museums and manufacturing parks are attracting surging visitor flows. China, the world's manufacturing powerhouse, is seeing its factory floors become popular destinations for sightseeing, educational tours and cultural exploration.
This trend, known as industrial tourism, has received fresh support from policymakers.
Recently, the general offices of seven central ministries and departments, including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, jointly issued a circular on promoting industrial culture, preserving industrial heritage and advancing industrial tourism. The document outlined eight priority measures, ranging from improving industrial heritage protection to expanding tourism offerings.
To date, China has designated 142 national industrial tourism demonstration bases. Industry research institutions predict that this sector will maintain average annual growth of about 18 percent between 2024 and 2029, with the market expected to exceed 300 billion yuan (about 44 billion U.S. dollars) in size. The outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) calls for coordinated development of industrial tourism alongside "red tourism," rural tourism and wellness tourism.
The rising popularity of such trips mirrors a shift in Chinese consumers' travel demands. More visitors now seek travel experiences that integrate leisure with educational value.
According to data released by the online travel platform Qunar on June 30, searches for factory visits, automobile plants, shipyards and science-themed exploration trips surged by 230 percent over the past month compared with the previous month. Demand for industrial study-tour products, meanwhile, increased by more than 50 percent from a year earlier.
One of the most popular destinations is Xiaomi's automobile factory in Beijing. Opened to the public in March 2024, the 718,000-square-meter complex has hosted over 250,000 visitors to date.
Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi Group and a deputy to the National People's Congress, has called for further efforts to improve the development environment for industrial tourism, including developing new tourism scenarios and upgrading visitor experiences. "These activities not only allow the public to experience industrial civilization through immersive encounters, but also play a vital role in science popularization, cultural inheritance, boosting employment and advancing urban renewal," he noted.
Zhu Wanfeng, a council member of the Beijing Tourism Society, said industrial tourism bridges manufacturers and consumers while meeting people's growing enthusiasm for domestic brands, industrial technologies and craftsmanship.
Industrial tourism is not a newly emerged concept. Back in 1994, production lines of China FAW Group in Changchun opened to tourists. Later, well-preserved industrial venues including Beijing's 798 Art Zone, Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard and Tsingtao Brewery in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, evolved into iconic tourist landmarks.
What is changing now is the scale and ambition.
Sun Xing, deputy director of the Industrial Culture Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the latest policy initiative signals a shift from general advocacy and encouragement to systematic promotion. Industrial tourism, he said, is no longer merely a tourism format, but a systematic undertaking that boosts industrial culture, urban renewal and consumption upgrading.
Sun said the broader policy framework aims to break down departmental barriers and encourage localities to develop tourism models tailored to their unique industrial resources.
The sector is underpinned by China's manufacturing strength. The country's manufacturing value-added output has ranked first globally for 16 consecutive years, while most of its major industrial products lead the world in output volume.
For some visitors, modern factories offer a glimpse into technologies shaping China's future. For others, older industrial sites provide a connection to the country's industrial past.
In Huangshi, a city in central China's Hubei Province, the former Huaxin Cement Plant remains a powerful symbol of local identity. Founded in 1907, it was among China's earliest cement producers and supplied materials for landmark national projects, including the Great Hall of the People, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge and the Three Gorges Dam.
Local residents still regard the factory as a symbol of the city's industrial legacy and collective memory.
After production ceased at the original site in 2007, the old factory was renovated into the Huaxin 1907 Cultural Park, while Huaxin Cement itself remains in operation at a new location. At the park, disused conveyor corridors were turned into immersive viewing walkways, a former slag warehouse became a multi-functional exhibition hall, and concerts and cultural events now take place on grounds once devoted to manufacturing.
Since 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has designated 264 national industrial heritage sites. The new policy document emphasizes protection first, while encouraging the adaptive reuse of industrial sites through creative design and new business models. "Making heritage come alive is the key," Sun said. "Once these resources are activated, they will become the most compelling cultural narrative in urban renewal."
As summer travel begins, industrial tourism appears poised for further growth. Rocket factories, AI robotics manufacturing bases and shipyards have become popular destinations for study tours.
The sector's commercial potential is already visible in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, where the revitalized industrial compound "Eastern Suburb Memory" has turned former factory buildings into a cultural hub featuring music stages, digital light installations and trendy retail. The site received more than 18 million visitors in 2025.
Sun said the next stage of industrial tourism development should move beyond one-way sightseeing, prioritizing participatory immersive experiences and shifting from a ticket-based revenue model toward integrated consumption -- combining industrial tourism with study tours, corporate team-building activities and the night-time economy to extend the whole industry chain. ■
