Why global visitors are shopping in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei

When Pallavi Koonjul searched TikTok for places to visit in south China's Shenzhen, one destination kept appearing: Huaqiangbei.

The visitor from Mauritius was not there for a conventional souvenir.

Walking through one of the world's largest electronics marketplaces, she stopped at a shop selling AI-powered plush toys.

"It's very new for me," she said, holding up one of the products.

"I'm buying these to try." Nearby, Dylan Brummer, a visitor from South Africa, had a longer shopping list: AI glasses, a laptop and a bigger television for his brother.

For a growing number of international visitors, scenes like these are adding another dimension to travel in China.

Alongside food, culture and traditional tourist attractions, some are adding electronics markets, technology companies and new consumer gadgets to their itineraries.

From sightseeing to tech shopping The trend comes as China continues to make inbound travel easier.

Ordinary passport holders from 50 countries can currently enter China without a visa for up to 30 days for purposes including tourism and business under China's unilateral visa-free policy.

Separately, nationals of 55 countries are eligible for the country's 240-hour visa-free transit policy, which allows qualified travelers transiting to a third country or region to stay for up to 10 days and engage in tourism and business activities.

For Shenzhen, that growing international footfall is increasingly visible in Huaqiangbei, and what brings them here is not necessarily low prices.

Brummer, for example, tried a pair of Chinese AI glasses and was surprised to find that they cost more than Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses.

But what caught his attention was their functionality.

"The screen is better, and the translation is way better," he said.