The TikTok trend 'Chinamaxxing,' which saw creators adopting Chinese habits like drinking hot water and wearing slippers indoors, has sparked mixed reactions from the Chinese diaspora. While the trend gained traction from mid-2025, many of Chinese heritage find it 'jarring' to see their culture reduced to viral snippets.
Michelle She, a London-based fashion label owner, described the phenomenon as people 'trying to be more Chinese regardless of their heritage.' Variations include being in one's 'Chinese era' or saying 'You met me at a very Chinese time of my life.'
Jamie Cohen, an associate professor of media studies at Queens College, attributes the trend to disillusionment with the West and an obsession with wellness. Tingting Liu, a research fellow at the University of Technology Sydney, notes that 'what's spreading globally is not China in its full complexity, but fragments of everyday life.'
For the diaspora, the trend evokes memories of childhood shame and recent xenophobic attacks during the Covid pandemic. Jenny Lau, British author of An A-Z of Chinese Food (Recipes Not Included), said being told how to celebrate Lunar New Year by non-Chinese creators felt unsettling. Vanessa Li, a Sydney-based content creator, worries that 'when something becomes a trend it becomes disposable.'
Concerns about cultural appropriation are also prevalent. Sherry Zhu, a US content creator, fears that traditional medicine is being reduced to a wellness fad. Lau sees Chinamaxxing as 'Orientalism by any other name,' while Cohen traces its origins to early 2025 when users flocked to Chinese app Red Note, calling it a 'de-propagandisation device.'
