Becoming Chinese, also known as Becoming Chinese Trend, Becoming Chinese Meme or Being Chinese, refers to a viral trend that involves Western internet users, primarily Gen Z users on TikTok and Instagram, adopting traditional Chinese customs in an effort to "become Chinese." The trend reflects a wider appreciation, ironic or genuine, for China and Chinese culture among younger internet users, similar to the related You Met Me At A Very Chinese Time In My Life meme.
The trend emerged in late 2025 and spread throughout early 2026, with numerous social media users showcasing how they've incorporated various Chinese traditions, practices or aesthetics into their lives, as well as things like drinking Tsingtao beer, drinking hot water with lemon or goji berries and consuming other Chinese goods or dishes. Many posts include notes about how many days they've been "being Chinese." The trend and related memes notably garnered media attention in early 2026 amid their peak.
In the spring of 2025, the catchphrase-based meme trend You Met Me At A Very Chinese Time In My Life emerged, with social media users sharing it alongside videos or images related to China, being Chinese or doing something stereotypically Chinese.
The original tweet coining the phrase was posted on April 5th, 2025, by X[6] / Twitter user @girl__virus, which was a parody of the last line of dialogue spoken in Fight Club, in which the protagonist says to Marla Singer, "You met me at a very strange time in my life." The tweet garnered over 27,000 likes and 3,500 reposts in seven months.
Additional pro-China memes like the Why Does Everyone Want To Go To Japan Let's Go To China format in early January 2026 contributed to the proliferation of the Becoming Chinese trend.
Terms like "Chinamaxxing" and other social media posts referencing people becoming Chinese began appearing as early as November 2025, such as a post on November 12th, 2025, by Instagram[7] user @adam.thealright that included clips of a Chinese man that received nearly 400,000 likes and 880 comments in five months.
In late 2025, TikTok[1] creator @sherryxiiruii began posting videos jokingly instructing non-Chinese viewers on how to “become Chinese.”
On December 17th, 2025, Sherry posted a video following up on previous instructions to drink hot water instead of cold, in accordance with traditional Chinese medicine. The video received 5.5 million views and 778.200 likes in about four months.
@sherryxiiruii you drank cold water didn’t you? #chineseamerican #中文 #chineseculture #asianamerican #americanbornchinese ♬ original sound – sherry
The following day, Sherry posted[2] another video, stating "now that you're Chinese, you need to stop walking around your house barefoot," explaining that Chinese people wear slippers around the house. The video received over 6.3 million views and 968,500 likes in less than four months.
@sherryxiiruii another lesson to get you to embrace your inner chinese baddie #chineseamerican #中文 #chineseculture #asianamerican #americanbornchinese ♬ original sound – sherry
On January 2nd, 2026, TikTok[3] user @sosadeee10 posted that she was "officially Chinese" thanks to Sherry's advice. The video received about 883,400 views and 96,000 likes in about three months.
@sosadeee10 @sherry thank you girl I’m officially Chinese 😂 it’s day 1 I have on my slippers and I’m drinking my hot water #sherry #hotwater #chinese #imchinese #newyear ♬ original sound – sosadeee10
The trend continued to spread on the platform in early 2026, which prompted conversations from other Chinese content creators.
On January 5th, 2026, TikTok[4] user @emmapeng0619 posted a video welcoming the trend, which received 5.6 million views and 769,600 likes in less than three months.
@emmapeng0619 a statement on the recent trend of being Chinese , #newlychinese ♬ original sound – EmmaPeng
On January 14th, TikTok[5] user @leilani142214 posted a video showing how to make hot water with lemon in accordance with the trend. The video received 3 million views and 291,700 likes in less than three months.
@leilani142214 @sherry am I doing this right? 😅 #chinesemedicine #hotlemonwater #fyp #trending #chinese ♬ original sound – alex
On January 17th, 2026, Redditor authspice made a post to the /r/asianamerican[10] subreddit discussing the phenomenon with an image from TikTok of the "Now I'm Chinese Trend" trending on the platform. In the post, which garnered over 330 upvotes and 80 comments in three months, authspice wrote:
Soooo… I’m seeing that “becoming Chinese”, “I’m having a very Chinese time of my life” or “I’m Chinese now” or “how to be a Chinese baddie” is trending on tiktok now. I actually downloaded tiktok to check this trend out.So far, I’m seeing that “becoming Chinese” means folks of non-Chinese descent are adapting practices of keeping the feet warm, drinking hot water / goji berry concoctions, eating congee for breakfast, and cooking very home cooked Chinese meals like silken eggs — focused on the traditional Chinese wellness practices.
Chinese / Chinese-American influencers also seem to really welcome this trend in a light-hearted way. I found it pretty funny, and also kind of weird that these are the very practices I semi reject as I associate them with the feelings of my mom always nagging about me drinking iced water or not wearing socks… and now it’s cool to do these things?
What do we think of this trend, yall?
On February 13th, 2026, Bloomberg[8] published an article on the trend, titled "The 'Becoming Chinese' Meme Is a Flex of Soft Power," which discussed how the meme was reportedly a sign of China's growing soft power around the world.
On April 15th, 2026, AP News[9] then published an article on the meme, titled "The ‘becoming Chinese’ meme shows China’s soft power moment is here," which voiced similar opinions about the trend being a display of soft power for China.
@lavishchichi 1- We wear house slippers 2- Get our Lymph nodes moving, jump 50x loosely every morning 3- Drink warm water/herbal tea multiple times per day. #chinese #hotwater #chinatiktok #fyp ♬ original sound – alex
@simplysashanoel We are about to become Chinese baddies this year. #chinesebaddies ♬ original sound – simplysashanoel
@meabhmorgan5 I’m only a beginner Chinese, please share tips. The apples aren’t stewed cause I’m in the office and I have limited capabilities. #appletea #chinese ♬ original sound – alex
@welcometolynnslife My mom and grandma would be proud. #vlog #chinese ♬ original sound – Lynn
@mikeandgwynn When the “becoming Chinese” trend goes too far 🇨🇳🫠 #china #chinese #skit #internationalcouple #funnycouple ♬ original sound – Mike & Gwynn
@xcelinchen And yes I’m wearing slippers too while making it. haha, absolutely love this trend. #chinese #chinesemedicine #tcm #applewater #chinesesong ♬ original sound – alex
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