From Chongqing to Shanghai, why China travel is taking off among Singaporeans

In case you haven’t noticed, China is having a moment. Scroll through your social feeds and chances are someone you know or follow is there – posing in a hyper-aesthetic cafe, panning across a Blade Runner-esque skyline, soaking in a 24-hour spa or hiking to a cinematic “hidden gem” in the mountains. Overseas, the trend known as “Chinamaxxing” or “Becoming Chinese” has gone viral on TikTok and Xiaohongshu.

Closer to home, the signs are hard to miss. In Singapore, it can feel as though every few steps brings you past a Chagee, Luckin’ Coffee or Mixue outlet, a Pop Mart store, a BYD or Xpeng showroom, or another Hunan restaurant chain expanding its footprint. Chinese brands – from EVs to milk tea – have quietly but decisively embedded themselves in our everyday life.

Call it subliminal messaging, or simply proximity breeding curiosity. Either way, more Singaporeans – and Southeast Asians more broadly – are booking flights to China. The numbers appear to bear this out: In mid-2025, China overtook Japan as the top travel destination for Singaporeans, driven by a 58 per cent surge in visitor numbers, according to multi-currency wallet YouTrip.

“China is rising in popularity as a destination among Singaporeans as well as people across Southeast Asia,” said Edmund Ong, general manager of Trip.com Singapore. “According to Trip.com booking data from July 23, 2024 to Jul 22, 2025, China leads the pack as the top outbound destination by volume of bookings made by travellers from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In the first three months of 2026, China is also the number one overseas destination by flight bookings from Singapore, showing its continued popularity into this year.”

Trip.com data showed that in the first quarter of 2026, millennials and Gen X travellers drove the greatest demand, followed by family groups. Ong said families tend to prioritise immersive, meaningful experiences that foster togetherness.

Skyscanner is seeing a similar trend. As travel trends and destination expert James Tang noted, “We continue to see a strong interest in China as a destination country for Singapore travellers, with China experiencing a 16 per cent year-on-year growth in search volume as a destination country.”

A DISTINCTLY CHINESE CHARM

What is driving the demand? Part of the appeal is practical: Prices can be compelling, even at the luxury end of the market. Seasoned luxury travellers will also know that China has long offered some of the more accessible ultra-luxury hotel experiences in Asia, with selected properties offering rates in the high hundreds rather than the low thousands per night.

“The single biggest [demand] driver is that China has become both incredibly accessible and affordable,” said Tang. “For example, the increase in flight capacity has led to highly competitive prices.”

Major destinations such as Shanghai, Beijing and Chongqing are within about six hours of Singapore by air and share the same time zone, which means travellers do not have to contend with jet lag. On the ground, travel has also become more frictionless, with digital payment options becoming easier for Singapore visitors to use.

“China today is probably one of the safest and most efficient places to travel,” said multidisciplinary artist Dr Ng King Kang, who makes about six trips a year to mainland China. “Both the ‘software’ and ‘hardware’ of daily life have improved tremendously – from digital systems to infrastructure. High-speed rail, for example, is as good as, if not better than, Japan’s bullet train.”

Beyond convenience, China impresses through sheer scale and imagination. Its theme parks are immersive and interactive, with production values that rival film sets. Its retail venues operate on another level: Malls double as experiential playgrounds, flagship stores blur the line between retail and art installation – Louis Vuitton’s Nanjing West Road outpost in Shanghai, for instance, resembles a ship – and brands offer products and services rarely found elsewhere, such as the Adidas Tang jacket that recently went viral on social media.

Service designer Rebecca Cecilia Yip, 34, said each visit to China feels more advanced than the last, particularly in technology and beauty, where she has observed significant progress in techniques compared with many other countries. She was also struck by the creativity on display, from the way locals dress to food fusions, concept cafes and the overall street vibe.

THE FUTURISTIC AND THE FAMILIAR

Service standards, particularly in hospitality and dining, can exceed expectations. Then there is the technology factor: Kung fu robots performing at the Spring Festival gala, drone food deliveries in Shenzhen, and AI-powered robotic exoskeletons that help visitors climb hills or long stairways with ease.

For travellers accustomed to incremental upgrades elsewhere, China can feel like stepping a few years into the future – often at a price that still surprises. For global product manager Max Huang, 32, the decision to visit the ski resort town of Zhangjiakou in December 2025 “mainly came down to cost”.

“I wanted to go snowboarding over the December holidays, which can get really pricey,” he said. “But China hit that sweet spot between quality and affordability. Honestly, the ski resort blew me away. At most places I’ve been to, the gear and infrastructure can feel a bit worn out. Surprisingly, everything there was very well maintained and felt close to new. The snow was great for snowboarding and the food options were endless, almost like being in a mall.”

The familiarity factor is also hard to ignore. As Skyscanner’s Tang put it: “For many Singaporean travellers, the shared heritage between the countries makes exploring China feel more intuitive and welcoming. It lowers the stress of travel and allows for a deeper, more immediate connection with the people, food, and culture of the destination.”

That resonates with Paul Lim, 45, a freelance marketing director who travels frequently to China. For Lim, the country offers a sense of depth, with layers of history and tradition that can be seen and felt across its different regions. Travelling through China, he said, has also given him the chance to slow down, observe and better understand a culture that has shaped many ethnic Chinese Singaporeans.

China’s vastness means it offers something for every type of traveller, Tang added. Adventurous travellers can seek out snow-dusted peaks in Harbin or mountain scenery in Yunnan. C-beauty devotees can plan beauty-focused itineraries in Shanghai, while food lovers can explore the culinary scenes of Chengdu, Guangzhou and Quanzhou.

THE HOTTEST DESTINATIONS IN CHINA RIGHT NOW

So where are Singapore-based travellers looking to go? According to February 2026 figures from Skyscanner, Chongqing, Kunming and Chengdu saw search increases of 38 per cent, 30 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.

This broadly reflects the travel patterns of Singaporeans such as homemaker Justina Loh, 46, who visited Chongqing, Chengdu and Jiuzhaigou in 2025 with her husband and several close friends. “We spent four days in Chongqing, five days in Chengdu and three days in Jiuzhaigou,” she told CNA Luxury. Among the highlights, she said, were the food and cafe scenes, which impressed her with their variety, quality, aesthetics and value.

On Trip.com, interest in Chongqing, Chengdu, Beijing and Shenzhen continues to climb, said Ong, with views of their Trip.Best destination pages increasing two- to three-fold year-on-year. Lijiang, in Yunnan province, is also growing quickly in popularity, helped by social media. Other emerging destinations include Zhangjiajie, whose dramatic sandstone pillars are widely associated with the landscapes of Avatar, and Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

During this year’s Chinese New Year period, however, Guangzhou and Shanghai were the clear winners. The two Tier One cities were the fastest-growing hotspots, with booking volumes up nearly 200 per cent year-on-year, according to Trip.com data.

A DEEPER DIVE

“Singaporeans are well-travelled people,” said Trip.com’s Ong. “As they continue to visit familiar destinations while exploring new ones, the trends we’re seeing reflect a growing desire among Singaporeans for deeper engagement on their travels.”

Given China’s scale and pace of development, new attractions are constantly emerging, even in familiar destinations. For Singaporeans seeking deeper engagement, one approach is to rediscover old haunts. Take Shanghai, for example. For many Singaporeans, the sprawling metropolis has long been a gateway to mainland China.

Within Shanghai, new districts continue to emerge. One notable example is Qiantan in Pudong, a riverfront area envisioned as a second Lujiazui, the financial district behind Shanghai’s iconic skyline. It has already attracted major names, including Hong Kong’s Swire Properties and Hilton Worldwide.

Hilton unveiled the city’s second Waldorf Astoria property, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai Qiantan, in October 2025. The opening came 15 years after the brand made its Asia-Pacific debut with Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund. 

“With the opening of Waldorf Astoria Shanghai Qiantan, we saw an opportunity to offer travellers a different way of experiencing a city they know well,” said Candice D’Cruz, vice president of luxury brands at Hilton, Asia Pacific. “Shanghai remains one of the most compelling destinations for both domestic and international travellers, and as the city continues to evolve, so do expectations of how it should be experienced.”

SHANGHAI QIANTAN: A NEW FRONTIER

Waldorf Astoria Shanghai Qiantan, D’Cruz added, was conceived as an urban riverfront retreat that invites guests to pause amid Shanghai’s vibrant energy. 

With a scenic riverside park, jogging trails and cycling paths at its doorstep, the hotel felt like a calm counterpoint to the bustle of the Former French Concession and Nanjing West Road. Such infrastructure, as D’Cruz put it, offers “wellness that is seamlessly embedded into the guest journey rather than treated as an add-on”.

“What excites me most about Qiantan is its clear sense of direction,” said Stephane Roubin, the hotel’s general manager. “It is a planned district with a strong vision, not a place that grew by chance. There is room here – physically and creatively – to rethink what urban luxury can feel like in Shanghai.”

For those seeking traditional luxury retail, Swire Properties’ Taikoo Li Qiantan is about a five-minute drive away. There, shoppers will find Hermes, Leica, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co, as well as AP House Shanghai Taikoo Li Qiantan.

Meanwhile, art lovers can head to the West Bund Art Center and West Bund Museum, about a 10-minute drive from the hotel across the river. At the time of CNA Luxury’s visit, the West Bund Museum was showing Reinventing Landscape: Highlights of the Centre Pompidou Collection Vol. IV, an exhibition focused on landscape art.

EVOLVING LUXURY IDEALS

Luxury, of course, has many definitions. For Roubin, luxury hospitality comes down to authenticity, flexibility and a personal touch. In a fiercely competitive market, he believes today’s luxury travellers value how a stay makes them feel.

That may also explain China’s renewed appeal. Beyond value and convenience, the country is offering Singapore travellers something harder to find in more familiar destinations: a sense of discovery, scale and constant reinvention.