You’re on the bus home, deep into your Instagram doomscroll when you see a reel. It’s like all the others, where a person tells you how to better yourself. Except the title of this one is… different: “How to Be a Chinese Baddie.” A bit weird, you think, but reasonable enough, you’ve seen Korean beauty tutorials and Japanese exercise hacks before. This, however, is a bit more off, but not too unsettling. You continue scrolling and another video surfaces: “I’m in a very Chinese time of my life,” the caption reads. An influencer, who isn’t even Chinese, stirs goji berries and some longans into a cup of tea. And you can’t help but begin to wonder: why is everyone suddenly in a very Chinese time of their lives?

Recently, there has been an influx of videos of people in some variation of a "Chinese Era.” These videos usually display people drinking warm water in the morning, wearing house slippers indoors, or stirring up a batch of herbal soup. As if, somehow, those acts are the sole signifiers of being Chinese. If you’ve opened social media during the past week, you might also come across several people frantically explaining how you should not wash your hair during Chinese New Year, unless you want to wash all your luck away. The weirdest part is that most of these videos aren’t made by Chinese people, yet their messages are delivered with enough confidence and command to rival most aunties you meet at CNY parties.  

This ‘Chinesemaxxing’ trend started in late 2025 and boomed in popularity a few weeks before the recent CNY in mid-February. Since then, it has been rapidly adopted by Western audiences, viewed as a tranquil lifestyle and aesthetic. Although some people may genuinely be interested in Chinese culture, it's clear that many others are simply cherry-picking the culture and habits that look best on social media. 

Admittedly, one may argue: isn’t this still a good thing? Chinese culture is being put on a pedestal, even if it's done a bit incorrectly. That's better than overt racism, right? A quote by Faith Xue (editor-in-chief of Coveteur) sums up the situation nicely.

It is interesting how people went from bashing and tearing down the Chinese diaspora during the COVID-19 pandemic to idolising their culture and trying to follow their habits. As much as this trend may stem from appreciation, the reality is that many of the alleged cultural/habits people post are taken out of context and watered down to make them easy to replicate. Furthermore, many people seem to use these trends to push their own agendas. An example of this is how many influencers use Chinese New Year to push reels about personal rebranding and manifestation when it has always been a communal celebration to exchange blessings and gifts amongst loved ones (this is known as bai nian; 拜年), not to further your own. 

There needs to be an important reminder that this trend is not just a trend; it's someone’s life, identity, and culture. Influencers may easily utilise culture to their convenience and drop their Chinese era when it stops gaining traction, but to others, no matter how many hardships they may face, they are Chinese until the day they die. People do not recognise what a privilege it is to be able to use another culture’s identity for a day without facing any of the backlash; to be able to adopt segments of culture you like, then throw them away before moving on to the next trend. 

If you are reading this and want to genuinely adopt and learn Chinese culture/habits beyond the trends. Here are two concepts worth looking into that are more than just stereotypical hacks you see on social media. 

1. Cooling vs Heating Foods:

In traditional Chinese medicine, foods are classified as "cooling" (Yin) or "warming" (Yang) based on their metabolic effects and water content, not physical temperature. Cooling foods such as barley, kiwi, and chrysanthemum tea are believed to clear heat and toxins, cool the blood, and nourish yin. Warming foods such as red dates, ginger, and pu’er tea raise the yang energy (qi) of the organs, warm and improve circulation, and dispel cold.

Eating too many warming (Yang) foods creates excessive internal heat, leading to symptoms like sore throats, acne, constipation, and inflammation. Eating too much cooling (Yin) is like putting a wet blanket over a fire, which weakens the spleen (digestive function), causes circulation issues, and reduces metabolism and energy. Therefore, it’s best to keep a nice balance between both cooling (Yin) and warming (Yang) foods.   

Next time when you’re having a meal, try and see whether the foods you’re eating fall into a cooling or a warming category, and whether or not you have a balance between the two.

2. Pressure Points:  

In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that your body has fourteen meridians or energy-carrying channels. A meridian channel (also known as a Jing Iou; 经络) is where Qi (vital life energy), Xue (blood), Jinye (body fluids), Jing (essence) and Shen (spirit) flow. Picture it like a flowing river. When there’s something disrupting the flow, there’s going to be a blockage. The popular method of rebalancing Qi is acupuncture, in which needles are inserted into acupoints (pressure points) throughout your body. If you’re not a fan of needles, you can try applying pressure on them instead. This is called acupressure. 

First, locate a pressure point. Across 14 meridians, there are a whopping 361 standard acupoints, but the most well-known is PC6 (Neiguan), located about 3 finger-widths below your palm. After finding the location, use your thumb to apply steady pressure to the area for 1-2 minutes. You can also massage the area to further relax yourself. It’s believed that this point can help with insomnia, calm the Shen (spirit), and ease nausea and vomiting. 

So when you’re feeling a bit anxious for your first assignment or having trouble falling asleep, give acupressure a try! It might just help soothe your nerves. Feel free to explore the rest of the pressure points for any specific ailments you may have! (Note: Acupressure is a complementary way to relieve certain symptoms. It is not a replacement for medicine and doctors.)

There are many more habits, philosophies and cultures that you can learn and adopt, but these are just a few that this author uses in her daily life. You are more than welcome to explore other topics that interest you. In fact, I'm sure most people (Chinese or from any other culture) would be more than happy to share their cultures and educate others. This author would like to remind everyone, whether this is your "first time being Chinese" or if you were born into it, to be mindful, respectful, and to acknowledge the history and significance of traditions. You should also be mindful of the unfair treatment that people of those exact cultures were once—and are currently—exposed to. 

With that in mind, go forth and live your best Chinese life.

Hailey Sit is a third-year psychology student who watches obscure YouTube videos instead of doing her assignments. She’s passionate about books, music, anime, games—honestly, almost anything, but especially loves animation. You’ll find her blaming her bad luck on her room feng shui instead of her own clumsiness.