I’ve started learning Chinese again. And with that comes a renewed fascination in what’s happening there: what are people really consuming, driving, eating. And how are they relaxing?
Last Summer, in June 2024, TikTok creator Xixi Liu (@xixiplease) posted a video documenting a full day in one of China’s new luxury bathhouses. Soaking pools and spa rooms, buffets piled with seafood, silk pyjamas folded neatly for lounging, and the hum of social spaces that feel more like a members’ club than a bathhouse.
It’s a scene that reads more like Aman (almost), who have a fine offering in China, than municipal baths. But in China, this is increasingly normal. Bathhouses, once a no-frills service stop for a scrub and soak, have become sprawling, multi-sensory leisure complexes. Some are the size of football stadiums. Others are designed like Japanese onsens or Nordic retreats. And they are pulling in the one demographic luxury executives everywhere are chasing: Gen Z.
According to industry reports citing Meituan, a retail tech company used to reserve these experiences, more than 40 million people booked bathhouse visits online last year, with spending estimated at RMB 15 billion (≈$2bn). The cohort driving that growth? University students and young professionals who see a day at the bathhouse as a micro-vacation, a way to socialise, recharge, and, crucially, to share on social media.
Harbin, the snowy northeastern city, recently hosted over 3 million visitors and generated RMB 5.91 billion ($824 million) in tourism revenue over a single New Year weekend, with bathhouses a central draw.
Gen Z’s micro-vacation
The attraction is partly cost. Entry can be as little as ¥29 (~$4 USD) at traditional northeastern bathhouses. In contrast, a wave of design-led chains has created an accessible version of the luxury bathhouse: Shuiguo (水裹汤泉), Tangland (汤连得), Cheersum (浅深), Space Yang (SPACE 漾) have expanded across major cities with interiors inspired by Japanese onsens or Nordic spas, fruit buffets, themed pools and co-working-style lounges. For around ¥300–400 (~$45–60 USD), they offer an all-day, social spa experience that has become a staple for Gen Z and millennial consumers.
Above this sits the prestige tier, identified by Chinese media and travel platforms as the true flagships of the category. Qushui Lanting (曲水兰亭) and Yashui Onsen (亚水 ONSEN) are positioned at the very top end, with packages reaching ¥2,000 (~$270 USD) for a 24-hour stay that includes silk pyjamas, caviar buffets, personal attendants and shelves lined with Dior, Valmont and Kérastase. Their positioning is less communal bathing hall, more urban resort, theatres of wellness where luxury brands are woven into every stage of the ritual.
But the pull is also emotional. In a high-pressure economy, bathhouses have become what gyms and co-working clubs once promised: a third space where wellness, social status and community converge. A way to escape the pressure of everyday life without the credit card bill to match.
Where brands slip in
For beauty and lifestyle brands, this is another opportunity to get on the radar of this demographic whilst they’re relaxing. At Qushui Lanting in Shanghai and Beijing, shelves of Dior make-up and Valmont skincare are positioned less as amenities than as trial experiences. Dyson hairdryers in dressing rooms turn a simple routine into a brand encounter. And because bathhouses run on digital platforms, the operators know exactly which guests lingered in which zones, and for how long. They’re luxury laboratories, if you will.
Western parallels exist, Equinox Hotels, Soho House spas, the cold-plunge clubs currently sprouting in Brooklyn and Shoreditch. But what’s striking in China is the scale, the accessibility and the social virality.
If the wellness economy really is on track to hit $9 trillion globally by 2028, the question for western luxury groups is who will be first to bring the “social spa” model westwards, and whether they can make it feel as seamless, theatrical and shareable as the Chinese already have.
Importantly, McKinsey’s 2025 Future of Wellness report underscores that wellness is no longer a luxury add-on; it has become a necessity for younger consumers. Millennials and Gen Z increasingly treat it as a daily, personalised practice spanning health, sleep, nutrition, mindfulness, beauty and fitness. The challenge for brand leaders is how to tap into this shift, a $2 trillion market where demand continues to outpace supply.
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