Welcoming the world

A recent salon examines how China's visa relaxations and parallel developments are coaxing a surge of inbound visitors, Erik Nilsson reports.

Noel Su Nuoyi, a Spanish social media influencer with over 3 million followers on short-video platforms like Douyin, says an unexpected encounter with an android charmed his mother when she visited China following its recent visa relaxations for inbound visitors.

"We were in a hotel in Shanghai, and we ordered something, and then it came. A really cute robot brought the food, and my mom opened the door, and she was (in shock). She was like: 'How do I do this? What's this? What's going on?'

"I showed her how to take out the screen, and she took out the meal. Then, the robot left, and my mom closed the door. She came back to me and was like: 'Can we order something more? I want the robot back.'"