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By Marni Rose McFall
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There’s a new viral trend among Gen Zers: “Chinamaxxing.”
The new lifestyle trend sees a romanticization of life in China, from praising Chinese culture to adopting elements of Chinese culture into their daily lives.
Why It Matters
The relationship between the U.S. and China is one that has long been adversarial. Last year, tensions heightened over trade, but a one-year trade truce between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping was brokered in October. Despite these concerns that clashes will come into play over trade, Taiwan and cyber remain prominent. The online cultural romanticization of China is indicative of a departure from these tense political relations.
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What To Know
For those uninitiated, or those aged over 30, the term “maxxing” is applied by Gen Zers to different words to mean maximizing or taking something to extremes, with popular examples in the lexicon including the terms “looksmaxxing” and “strengthmaxxing.”
In this instance, the term “Chinamaxxing” refers to the appreciation or adoption of Chinese culture. The terms “very Chinese” and “becoming Chinese” have also circulated online, as has the term “you met me at a very Chinese time in my life.”
Some elements of “Chinamaxxing” are focused on wellness. For example, a workout routine, posted to X with the text “POV: you started using Chinese longevity biohacks to reset your energy,” has been viewed over 100,000 times.
Other features of the trend that are circulating online include cooking rice and drinking warm water. The trend has also prompted an interest in Chinese fashion. A video, shared by the creator @wettowel71, shows him looking at a garment and has the text overlay “Is Chinesemaxxing a vibe?” has been viewed over 700,000 times. Other videos have focused on speaking about Chinese fashion designers.
The trend has perhaps been propelled by the upcoming Lunar New Year, which is in February, and this year, signals the arrival of the year of the horse. Ahead of the Lunar New Year, there has been a significant amount of advice videos shared about how to enter the new year as your best self, and what to ‘shed,’ as the Year of the Snake comes to an end.
For some, the trend has signified a shift in how the U.S. is perceived, and is evidence of young people looking for a new superpower. Zing Tsjeng, a journalist, said in a TikTok video filmed for The I Paper, “Being American no longer commands the same cultural cachet. Now social media users are looking towards other countries like China.”
There has been a romanticization of Chinese culture, which could signal discontent over life in America and the West more broadly. This includes social media users marvelling at people’s apartments and at the high-speed rail system.
Of this, Daniel Ahmad, the Director of Research & Insights at Niko Partners and a video games analyst, wrote on X in a post viewed over 290,000 times “Chinamaxxing is one of the many ways that Gen Z and millennial populations in the West, primarily the US, are lamenting worsening material conditions and state capacity, while viewing China's ongoing development and ascent through a part aesthetic, part orientalist lens. Almost a coping mechanism.”
There has been some criticism levelled at the trend. Irish TikTok creator @heyamiliaa posted a video with the text overlay, “Anyone else feel kind of weird about the “Chinamaxxing” tend? It isn’t explicitly x3nophonic… but it doesn’t feel right. Why is engaging with Chinese culture a big joke to you? Certainly doesn’t feel like appreciation.”
What People Are Saying
Daniel Ahmad, the Director of Research & Insights at Niko Partners and a video games analyst, wrote on X in a post viewed over 290,000 times: “It's easy to fall into the trap of seeing China as a utopia, or the greatest evil, but a real analysis focuses on successes, mistakes, flaws, and material outcomes. There must be a belief that decline is reversable, and that we can learn from what works and ignore what doesn't to advocate for change.”
Jing Theory, a TikTok Creator and Founder & CEO of Fly By Jing, in a TikTok video: “Chinamaxxing is not just a meme. It exposes how the hierarchy of taste is beginning to shift. For most of my life growing up in the West, Asian existence was filtered through the Western gaze. That gaze decided what was beautiful and what was backward, what was sophisticated and what was cheap, and what was worthy of curiosity versus ridicule.”
What Happens Next?
Lunar New Year falls on February 17th.
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