BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- At Robot Mall in Beijing, when music was playing, Melissa Valarezo and two of her friends raised their phones to record a robot performing Chinese martial arts, amazed by how smoothly it moved.
"This is incredible. I never expected a robot to do kung fu so well, almost like a real person," the university student from Ecuador told Xinhua in an interview.
Valarezo and her friends also planned to have afternoon tea at a nearby restaurant, where nearly 20 robots of different types work together to provide services, from greeting guests to cooking, serving and cleaning up after meals.
"We just couldn't wait to try," Valarezo said. "Everything here feels so futuristic!"
The three were among a growing number of global tourists drawn to China not only by the country's ancient wonders and culinary delights, but also by its futuristic intelligent robots, as the country's artificial intelligence (AI) boom turns cutting-edge technology into a new tourist hook.
During the week-long National Day holiday in early October, multiple Chinese cities rolled out robot-themed events and AI-powered experiences that became unexpected hits among visitors.
In east China's Shanghai, a street fair dedicated to embodied AI drew crowds, with foreign tourists seen posing for photos with humanoid robots. In tech hub Shenzhen in south China, the Huaqiangbei electronics market attracted overseas shoppers eager to try AI translation glasses and flying devices. Similar scenes played out in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, where robot shop managers greeted customers and introduced products.
Official data shows that foreign nationals made almost 61.29 million border crossings in the January-August period this year, up 19.5 percent from the same period in 2025. Over the National Day holiday week, visits by foreign tourists also maintained an upward trend, increasing 5.4 percent from last year.
For Anna Seferta and Thomas Drayton, a young couple from the United Kingdom aged 24 and 29, Robot Mall in Beijing was a must-stop. Drawn by online clips of humanoid robots running a half marathon in Beijing in April, they decided to see it for themselves.
"We think it's very advanced. We've never seen anything like this in the U.K.," Seferta said, highlighting that she was mostly impressed by the hospital section. "The robot arm helps cut surgery down by five hours, and the exoskeletons for old people would be very good. All these applications are rewarding."
Launched in 2025 in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as E-Town, the mall is the world's first 4S store for embodied AI robots.
It displays more than 100 of China's most advanced robot products across fields like medical care, elderly care, entertainment, logistics and industry, turning sci-fi fantasy into an experience within arm's reach.
Inside the mall's exhibition hall, visitors can interact with a wide range of robots. They can grab a cup of robot-made latte with their own image printed in the foam, ask a humanoid robot resembling Albert Einstein questions about almost any topic, or join a tabletop drift car race in which speed depends on their brainwaves.
"International visitors are a common sight here," said Yang Song, an on-site technical supporter at the mall. "They enjoy robot boxing and soccer the most. Many find it interesting to control robot players in competitive games."
The mall did not land in E-Town by chance. Home to over 300 leading robotics companies, E-Town has put the whole district to work as a testing ground: self-driving cars, robot restaurants, robot elderly care stations and the world's first humanoid robot half marathon have all taken root there, alongside Beijing's largest public AI computing platform.
The area is working to build a global AI hub, with its core AI industries projected to surpass 200 billion yuan (about 29.74 billion U.S. dollars) in scale by 2030.
E-Town's rise mirrors the country's broader momentum. China's robotics industry has developed a complete industrial chain covering key chips, components and complete machines. By the end of June, China had completed or brought into operation more than 70 robot training facilities, with over 40 others under construction or on the drawing board.
This growing network is preparing more machines for roles beyond the factory floor, and beyond the country's borders. In the first half of 2026, Chinese manufacturers accounted for 97 percent of humanoid robot shipments worldwide, according to a report released at the 2026 World Robot Conference.
Among the visitors to E-Town was Phillip Sepulveda, a 34-year-old photographer from New York. The young man has since childhood suffered from a neurological condition caused by a tumor. Touring the exhibition hall in a wheelchair, he was drawn to a hiking exoskeleton on display.
"The exoskeleton is the sort of thing that would help me a lot," he said. "There are many products now, devices for the hips, for the knees, but we are looking for something for the whole leg."
His father, Jorge Sepulveda, a physician, photographed the product information and said the family was interested in further research.
"We came to see medical devices for mobility, like exoskeletons. It seems China is investing a lot in AI," the father noted, stressing the importance of global cooperation in this rising industry. "AI could be dangerous, as agreed by the CEOs of some AI companies. But if governments and the world cooperate, maybe we can prevent the dangers of it and use it to benefit more people."
For the family, the visit was about more than sightseeing. They left the mall hoping that somewhere in China's expanding robotics industry, they might find a device that could help Phillip walk more easily.
It is a hope that speaks to something broader. Technology is ultimately about changing lives for the better. ■
