The Changing National Health Perspectives in a Ten-Trillion-Yuan Market. By Fifi Kao
On a clear early summer morning in 2025 in Lingshui, Hainan, 73-year-old Li Bokang walked into the community sports health center using facial recognition technology, and the intelligent power bike synchronized his heart rate data to the cloud in real-time. Meanwhile, his 47-year-old daughter in Shanghai checks her father’s daily exercise prescription through a mobile app. This everyday scene from China’s first pilot community sports health center epitomizes the transformation of China’s health industry.
At the same moment, in a Shanghai office building, Zhang Zhe, a programmer aged around 30, spends over 1,000 yuan monthly on liver protection tablets and sleep gummies. After taking his liver supplement, his phone app displays a notification: “Insufficient deep sleep yesterday, recommend booking a head spa today.” Consumers like him are driving China’s functional food market to achieve 45% annual growth.
These morning snapshots of elderly, middle-aged, and young Chinese reflect the collective evolution of national health perspectives beneath China’s ten-trillion-yuan health industry wave.
On the policy front, the “Healthy China 2030” strategic blueprint has elevated preventive medicine to national strategy status, with local governments providing matching subsidies for community health services. The Hainan Lingshui pilot program exemplifies how such public subsidies have lowered the barriers to intelligent health management.
On the consumer side, in March 2025, the “China Health and Wellness Industry Consumption Trend Report” made waves at the Sanya International Health Expo: policy dividends and consumption upgrades are driving the health and wellness industry to expand at 9% annual growth, with market size expected to exceed ten trillion yuan in 2025. Behind this figure lies the urgent needs of an aging society. China’s population aged 60 and above has surpassed 300 million, representing 21.1% of the total, with approximately 10 million new seniors added annually.
However, the market’s explosive power stems from more than demographics alone. China’s spa and hydrotherapy market will exceed 40 billion yuan in revenue in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 20%. The primary consumers are female white-collar workers aged 25-35, comprising 54%. While women remain the dominant consumers, male consumer participation has increased significantly, driving service design toward gender-specific and functional specialization. Simultaneously, cutting-edge technologies like AI learning and virtual reality are transforming traditional spa services into dynamic health management systems responsive to user needs. The spa industry is using technology to reshape the “decompression economy.”
Data Loop and Biometric Sensing
Artificial intelligence and biotechnology are driving global health management through profound transformation, as traditional “one-size-fits-all” health models are gradually replaced by highly personalized precision intervention systems. In this transformation, precision nutrition and data loops have become key pillars, while the biometric sensing capabilities of new-generation intelligent devices provide the technical foundation for real-time monitoring and dynamic response.
In the precision health field, previously expensive services like genetic testing are rapidly becoming accessible to the masses. For example, Beijing white-collar worker Chen Lin spent only 399 yuan on genetic testing. Based on her weaker lactose metabolism capacity, the system automatically generated low-lactose meal plans and recommended pea protein as a nutritional substitute. Such personalized services are becoming increasingly prevalent. By the end of 2025, China’s precision nutrition market is expected to exceed 3.2 million users, with market size potentially reaching 32 billion yuan. Meituan Health’s “genetic testing nutrition supplement recommendations” feature achieved over 25% conversion rates within three months of launch, confirming strong market demand for data-driven health solutions.
Simultaneously, AI applications in healthcare continue to deepen. Tencent Medical AI achieved 91% accuracy in early chronic kidney disease screening, compressing the traditional two-week diagnostic process to 10 minutes. The proliferation of intelligent wearable devices further drives the “dailyization” of health monitoring, with 63.46% of smartwatch users highly dependent on sleep monitoring functions – a trend that has driven the melatonin market to grow 200% over two years. From genetic testing to AI nutrition recommendations, from dynamic intervention to real-time monitoring, technology is constructing a “detection-analysis-intervention-optimization” health management loop.
New-generation intelligent spa equipment further advances personalized health into deeper applications. Through millimeter-wave radar and other biometric sensing technologies, these devices capture users’ breathing, heartbeat, muscle tension, and other physiological signals in real-time, using adaptive algorithms to achieve instant responses. For example, when a user lies on an intelligent bed, the system can identify abnormally elevated muscle tension in the shoulder and neck area, subsequently adjusting air cushion pressure and massage trajectories for targeted kneading and low-frequency vibration while automatically reducing lumbar stimulation to avoid discomfort.
Shower systems are also advancing toward intelligence. AI records user preferences – such as repeatedly selecting “38°C water temperature + pulse water flow” – automatically storing this as “fatigue relief mode” with support for timed automatic activation. Such devices have been deployed at the Hainan Lingshui Community Health Center, capable of monitoring elderly nighttime sleep apnea and automatically raising back air cushions within 0.3 seconds of detecting abnormalities to promote ventilation, significantly reducing health risks.
Multi-Sensory Collaborative Healing: Virtual and Reality Convergence
The TRIA Spa at MGM Macau, inspired by Eastern “Five Elements” philosophy, uses cutting-edge technology and sensory design to merge virtual and reality, reshaping immersive spa experiences and marking a paradigm shift from physical relaxation to mental immersion.
The water element immersion pool, the first facility of its kind in Hong Kong and Macau, uses sound and light to simulate rainstorm, ocean, and tropical forest scenarios. As guests bathe in the pool, side-wall LED screens synchronously project rainforest or deep-sea imagery, accompanied by surround sound systems featuring storm thunder, gentle ocean waves, and birdsong, combined with water temperature fluctuations to create multi-dimensional visual, auditory, and tactile experiences. For example, in “storm mode,” when high-frequency water flows from overhead large-area sprinklers impact guests’ shoulders and necks, lightning flashes across screens with thunder rolling from distant to near, creating an immersive, exhilarating experience.
The vitality pool maintains 40°C constant temperature water flow with intermittent high-pressure jets, providing impact massage for the back muscle groups of sedentary populations. Amber-colored light effects embedded in the pool floor change with water flow intensity, dancing like flames. The “TRIA Aquatic Flow” treatment combines underwater stretching, rhythmic movements, and acupressure massage elements to relieve various physical tensions and discomforts, achieving deep physical and mental relaxation and recovery.
TRIA Spa features Macau’s largest Turkish bath, offering the distinctive TRIA Turkish Bath Journey. Beginning with foam massage, aromatherapy steam, body scrub, and shower, the bathhouse’s thermal sensors monitor indoor humidity and temperature in real-time, automatically adjusting to the optimal 55°C therapeutic environment. The treatment centers on precious agarwood as the core component, with wood elements providing heat-clearing, detoxifying, liver-nourishing, and spleen-stomach regulating effects. During the process, inhaling and exhaling salt vapors aids detoxification, while precious agarwood unclogs pores, restoring healthy, smooth skin with youthful radiance. When therapists perform traditional foam cleansing and black soap scrubbing techniques, the exotic cultural immersion reaches its peak.
Moving to the Himalayan salt room, tens of thousands of Himalayan salt bricks embedded in the walls refract pink crystal light under warm lamps. Users lie on temperature-controlled stone beds, breathing negative ion-rich salt mist, achieving deep meditative states through relaxation.
After completing high-temperature hydrotherapy, users enter the -5°C Snow House low-temperature space, where artificial snowflakes slowly fall accompanied by silver-white cold light, achieving dual effects of skin tightening and nervous system calming.
The technology-enhanced hydrogen-oxygen capsule pod combines high-pressure oxygen therapy with hydrogen therapy. This unique project at the TRIA Spa Center first introduces oxygen at twice the normal concentration into the body, promoting concentrated repair of damaged cells and tissues, then adds hydrogen for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, achieving anti-aging benefits, improved sleep quality, and enhanced bodily functions.
TRIA Spa is integrating numerous advanced technologies with warm, detail-rich treatments to reconstruct emotional connections between urban populations and natural rhythms. As one guest described it: “Like experiencing a journey from tropical rainforest to snowy peaks, awakening with both skin and soul simultaneously renewed.”
Male Market Demand and Consumption
Male spa consumption has increased by 7 percentage points to 17% over the past five years, driven by both demand diversification and precise product positioning.
Professional men view spas as “stress management tools,” addressing muscle tension, poor circulation, obesity, and hair loss caused by sedentary work and job stress.
Data from a Beijing men’s specialty spa shows 76% of customers choose 19-22:00 after-work time slots, preferring 60-minute “stress-relief body essential oil massage.” Some spas have designed “sports recovery zones” for male clients, allowing users to generate muscle tension reports using postural scanners before and after massage. Such designs have increased male average spending to 680 yuan, 1.2 times that of female customers, with 45% of male clients purchasing quarterly memberships.
Additionally, men’s spas offer specially designed “scalp anti-aging treatment packages” combining microcurrent introduction with polygonum multiflorum essence, driving 120% annual growth in male scalp care. To facilitate male purchasing decisions, these facilities are equipped with scalp detection and monitoring screens that display real-time parameters like “sebum secretion index” and “follicle activity values,” packaging treatment services as “biological data optimization services,” attracting high-net-worth male clients aged 35-45 to comprise 41% of the customer base.
As male consumers pay premiums for their health needs, technology is redefining the “relaxation” value chain, upgrading from standardized service delivery to dynamic health management based on biological data and psychological needs. Future competitive advantages will depend on integrating technological content into engaging and effective health experiences while achieving precise customer response across gender, generational, and cultural dimensions.
Sleep Economy and Whole-Family Health
Ctrip data shows that during the 2025 May Day holiday, family travel with children comprised 54.5%, with three-generation trips accounting for one-third, and over 80% having health-related requirements, catalyzing the hotel industry’s transformation toward “comprehensive health and wellness.”
The latest data from the China Sleep Research Association shows 64% of Chinese people suffer from sleep disorders, prompting numerous hotel brands to identify business opportunities.
Since Atour Hotels launched its “Atour Planet” retail brand in 2021, pillows have become core bestsellers. The “Deep Sleep Pillow PRO” generated 370 million yuan in sales in 2023; 2024 retail revenue reached 2.198 billion yuan, growing 126.2% year-over-year and comprising 30% of total revenue.
The Conrad Shenzhen’s “Nine-Dimension Pillow Menu” ranges from the firm support of buckwheat hulls to the aromatic healing of jasmine cores – nine materials corresponding to different sleep pain points, serving both cervical rehabilitation populations and anxiety-insomnia sufferers. One pillow filled with lavender and cassia seeds generated 680,000 yuan in retail revenue for a single store in one month.
Suzhou Museum’s cross-industry attempt demonstrates Eastern wisdom. Its “Clouds Passing Before Eyes” silk eye mask features patterns from Wen Zhengming’s “Thirty-One Views of the Humble Administrator’s Garden.” Scanning QR codes allows guests to listen to Gu Wenbin’s philosophical commentary on “paintings like clouds passing before eyes.” This product, transforming cultural memory into sleep aid, increased room bookings by 27% during trial placement at Park Hyatt Suzhou.
Sleemon, a leading Chinese mattress industry company and the first A-share listed company in the field, established in 1984, represents Chinese bedding technology innovation with the slogan “Dedicated to Human Healthy Sleep.” Ctrip and Sleemon’s “Deep Sleep Rooms” cover 20,000 guest rooms across 180 cities, with these moon-marked rooms creating 30-60 yuan per night premiums.
Kang Laoban Health Technology Group’s hotel air health solution brand enhances guest room negative oxygen ion concentrations to 100,000-650,000 per cm³ without altering existing hotel room structures through technological means, far exceeding WHO “fresh air” standards of 1,000-1,500 per cm³, achieving forest waterfall-level air quality and transforming ordinary hotel rooms into “forest oxygen bar-grade” air quality environments. Partnerships with JW Marriott, Narada, and other premium brands, have resulted in guest return rates increasing by 35%. When room negative oxygen ion concentrations ≥20,000 per cm³, viruses like COVID-19 lose transmission capability; ≥50,000 per cm³ significantly improves sleep and enhances immunity.
Beyond guest rooms and sleep, hotels are expanding multi-dimensional health experiences across all aspects. Sanya Haitang Bay Minsheng Westin Resort introduced paddleboard yoga to swimming pools, with guests experiencing ocean breezes while maintaining balance poses. Chengdu’s The Temple House moved tai chi classes into its Qing Dynasty courtyards, with morning silhouettes stretching against century-old blue bricks creating picturesque scenes.
Additionally, over 1,200 Chinese hotels have integrated “AI Doctor” mini-programs, providing guests with seven days of free health consultations. Data from a Sanya resort shows this service increased family orders with elderly and children by 28%. Chengdu’s “carbon-neutral gym” connects exercise bikes to community street lighting circuits, with members’ one-hour cycling sessions powering street lamps, attracting 30,000 Gen Z users. A Qingdao hotel’s “grandparent-grandchild wellness package” offers traditional Chinese medicine therapy for elderly while children participate in nature education courses.
Future Challenges and Trust Building
China’s health industry faces dual challenges of inclusivity and trust reconstruction amid robust development, including electronic age concerns about AI, data privacy, and algorithms, as well as health anxiety caused by over-reliance on quantified metrics.
Rapid online channel development has created new regulatory challenges. First-half 2025 data shows 43% of false health advertisements targeting elderly spread through short video platforms, with misuse of pseudo-scientific concepts like “traditional Chinese medicine wellness” and “mitochondrial repair” rising 17% year-over-year. These advertisements often exploit elderly anxiety about health and trust in traditional culture, using carefully designed rhetoric to induce consumption, forming complete gray industry chains.
Current markets exhibit obvious polarization: 44% of consumers consider health product prices too high, while 33% cannot understand complex nutrition labels and professional terminology. Meanwhile, markets are flooded with exaggerated promotional products, such as “quantum energy water” promoted in live streams, costing less than 5 yuan but priced at thousands, falsely claiming “cure-all” effects – such chaos seriously damages industry reputation.
Facing these challenges, the industry is breaking through via policy regulation, technological innovation, and trust system construction. Policy-wise, the National Health Commission’s “Probiotic Health Food Application Guidance Principles” requires companies to provide strain-specific efficacy evaluation data, while 70% of health products are sold under registration requirements, significantly raising industry entry barriers.
Technologically, genetic engineering fermentation breakthroughs reduced collagen production costs by 50% in 2025. Huaxi Biology’s “Precision Age Customization” series products – antioxidant formulas for 20+ populations and anti-wrinkle formulas for 40+ populations – achieved 40% terminal price reductions, making high-quality health products more affordable.
Regarding the establishment of trust, major platforms have taken active measures. Douyin removed over 2,000 exaggerated probiotic products and mandated “Blue Hat” health food certification displays. Some innovative companies launched intelligent supplement capsules with built-in NFC chips, allowing consumers to scan codes for tracing back to ingredient farm information and clinical research reports, achieving transparent product lifecycle management.
The essence of this health revolution is the awakening of consciousness in Chinese people regarding life quality control. When a ten-trillion-scale health market meets 1.4 billion people’s desire for healthy living, the story written together by industry and consumers represents not merely a commercial miracle, but a nation’s collective pursuit of “dignified living.”
Future health technology development must inevitably seek balance between technological innovation and humanistic care, leveraging data-driven precision advantages while addressing potential negative effects of technology – this is the key to achieving long-term healthy industry development.
Opportunities and Hidden Concerns in the Emotional and Wellness Economy
China’s emotional and wellness economy is experiencing explosive growth, emerging as a highly dynamic new sector in the consumer market. By 2025, the market size of this field is expected to exceed RMB 2 trillion, with a compound annual growth rate of 12%, reflecting strong contemporary demand for emotional fulfillment and psychological comfort. From AI companion toys to tipsy socializing, from ACG (anime, comics, games) consumption to the “self-pleasure” spending of the silver-haired generation, the emotional economy is permeating all age groups in diverse forms, reshaping business logic and consumer behavior.
Young people are the main force in emotional consumption. 65% of Gen Z are willing to pay a premium for social products, and 52.2% of young people relieve stress through consumption, driving rapid growth in categories such as stress-relief toys and blind boxes. For example, the Shanghai BiliBili World anime exhibition attracted 400,000 visitors in three days, with nearby flight bookings increasing by nearly 50%. Young consumers are not just buying products – they are seeking emotional resonance and social capital.
Emotional consumption among the silver-haired generation is also on the rise. In 2025, orders placed by seniors aged 60-69 on Taobao for comforting small items increased by 47% year-on-year. Beijing’s Chaoyang Park even saw the emergence of a “Silver-Haired Emotional Market,” where older adults are willing to pay for nostalgic experiences. The consumption logic has shifted from “I need” to “I deserve.” For instance, a medical aesthetics clinic in Shanghai launched a light cosmetic package for seniors priced at RMB 6,800 per session, with appointments booked up for three months.
AI technology is further driving the development of the emotional economy. 2025 marks the first year of AI toys, with the global market expected to exceed RMB 100 billion by 2030, while China’s compound annual growth rate surpasses 70%. The audience for AI products is no longer limited to children but has expanded to single adults and the elderly. For example, a high-end AI “pet” that can recognize emotions and remind users to take medication remains in short supply despite its price tag of several thousand yuan.
However, the emotional economy also comes with multiple risks. In the first half of 2025, consumer associations nationwide received 996,000 complaints, a year-on-year increase of 27.23%, with a significant rise in grievances related to emotional consumption. Issues include false advertising, induced consumption, refund difficulties, products not matching promotional claims, and pseudo-scientific concepts misleading consumers. Some merchants exploit private livestreams to evade regulation, with involved amounts often reaching millions of yuan.
Data privacy and ethical concerns are equally prominent. Most companies lack robust data protection mechanisms, putting user information such as voice recordings and biometric data at risk of leakage. Excessive anthropomorphism of AI products may blur the boundaries between humans and machines, potentially impairing users’ real-world social abilities.
The sustainable development of the emotional economy requires a balance between technological innovation and risk prevention, as well as the establishment of a transparent and well-regulated ecosystem. The China Consumers Association has recommended the introduction of industry standards to clarify access requirements, service processes, and refund rules. It also advocates for platforms to implement features such as “tipping limits” and “immersion reminders” to prevent excessive consumption.
Technological Innovation Drives China’s Fitness Market
The Chinese fitness market is undergoing a profound transformation driven by consumption upgrades and technological innovation, demonstrating strong growth momentum and distinct segmentation characteristics. According to the 2025 Tmall Fitness Industry Trends White Paper, China’s fitness market is leading the world with an average annual growth rate of 18%, far exceeding the global compound annual growth rate of 3.9%. This growth is fueled by a massive wave of 420 million Chinese people reshaping their healthy lifestyles. This expansion is reflected not only in market size but also in the refined stratification of consumer behavior and the deep penetration of technology-enabled solutions.
In terms of consumer segmentation, the fitness needs of different groups exhibit highly differentiated characteristics. The cardio and fat-loss demographic, primarily consisting of young women, has driven the topic of “fasted cardio” on Little Red Book Xiaohongshu to exceed 100 million reads. This group demands both functionality and fashion in sportswear, leading to a 220% growth in cooling + quick-dry composite functional apparel. Meanwhile, strength training enthusiasts focus more on the professionalism of muscle training. The topic “mental nitrogen pump” on Douyin has garnered over 500 million monthly views, and smart barbells, which monitor force balance in real time, have become a new favorite with a premium rate of up to 30%. The home fitness group demonstrates unique consumption patterns: 65% of new Pilates reformer customers are from the maternal and infant demographic, and smart fitness jump ropes with body measurement capabilities have achieved annual sales of 240 million RMB. Parents use companion apps to track their children’s coordination improvement, forming a complete health management closed loop.
Innovations in fitness equipment are profoundly reshaping traditional exercise scenarios. Foldable treadmills have grown by over 150%, addressing the spatial constraints of urban small apartments. AI-powered smart mirrors, which personalize workouts through heart rate-linked resistance adjustment technology, have seen a 70% sales increase. The rise of office wellness economics is evident, with silent-design massage guns accounting for 70% of sales in workplace health devices. The explosive growth of the smart fitness equipment market further confirms this trend. The global smart fitness market is expected to grow from $12.88 billion in 2024 to $33.77 billion by 2032, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.8%, with China’s market contributing significantly.
At its core, this wave of fitness consumption upgrade represents a deep integration of technology and scenario. From biometric monitoring via wearables to AI-powered movement correction, from smart home gym equipment to workplace wellness solutions, technology is redefining the relationship between people and exercise. The segmentation of consumption indicates that China’s fitness market has entered a stage of refined operation. The ability to accurately identify and address the specific needs of different consumer groups will be a key determinant of brand competitiveness in the future.
TCM Leads the Way in Climate Wellness
China’s health industry is undergoing an unprecedented ecological transformation, with the modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and innovative practices in climate wellness serving as the dual engines of this change.
In the field of TCM, technological empowerment is reshaping the application scenarios of millennia-old prescriptions. At Hangzhou’s Huqingyutang Chinese Medicine Museum, an intelligent herbal decoction system analyzes patient constitution data to precisely control cooking temperature and time, ensuring each dose of medicine delivers optimal efficacy. This system is seamlessly integrated with a drone delivery network, enabling end-to-end intelligent management from prescription to consumption. At Jiangxi’s Jianchangbang Intelligent TCM Preparation Center, an AI-based processing decision-making system has digitized over 200 key parameters of traditional techniques, reducing batch-to-batch variation in active ingredients to within 5%. Patients can track the decoction progress in real time via their smartphones.
As a national-level industrial hub, Gansu’s Longxi TCM Information Port integrates full-chain data from cultivation to consumption. Its online herbal medicine trading platform now handles daily transactions exceeding 100 million yuan and is poised to secure national pricing power for Chinese medicinal herbs.
Market data reflects the explosive growth of TCM-related initiatives. TCM wellness leads the health industry with a 19% market share, and over half of consumers are willing to pay a 15%–20% premium for products incorporating TCM elements. This consumption upgrade has spurred numerous cross-sector innovations: Yunnan Baiyao incorporated freeze-dried strawberry powder into its toothpaste formula, successfully capturing the young female market segment. Dong’e Ejiao’s “Ejiao Peptide Energy Drink” sold out 100,000 boxes in just three minutes during a livestream hosted by Luo Yonghao, highlighting the successful rejuvenation of traditional medicine companies.
TCM diagnostic equipment is also undergoing an intelligent revolution. The latest generation of TCM four-diagnostic instruments integrate tongue, facial, pulse, and inquiry data to generate personalized health plans within three minutes, with an accuracy rate of 95%. These devices have been deployed in over 3,000 grassroots medical institutions across the country, significantly alleviating the uneven distribution of high-quality TCM resources. The TCM AI market is projected to exceed 140 billion yuan by 2027.
The climate wellness industry, meanwhile, is unlocking new growth opportunities through resource valorization. A high-end hotel in Sanya’s Haitang Bay offers a “Migratory Bird Package” combining thalassotherapy and mangrove negative oxygen ion breathing sessions, maintaining winter occupancy rates above 95%. Jilin’s Changbai Mountain, leveraging its summer average temperature of 22°C and abundant forest resources, has developed signature programs such as “Pine Needle Essential Oil SPA,” which not only increased local farmers’ annual income by 30% but also boosted comprehensive tourism revenue by 55% year-on-year in June–July 2025.
The localization of international practices has further enriched the industry. For example, Hainan introduced Germany’s forest therapy system and combined it with Li ethnic herbal medicine to create a “Rainforest Healing” program. Chengdu drew inspiration from Japan’s mutual aid elderly care model to establish “time banks” in communities, where young people can exchange volunteer services like accompanying seniors on walks for TCM therapies.
This new industrial ecosystem benefits from dual drivers: policy and market. Yunnan’s Department of Culture and Tourism issued a “Negative List for Residential Tourism Development,” delineating boundaries for the climate wellness industry. Zhashui County, aiming to become “China’s Wellness Capital,” implemented eight wellness projects in 2025 with a total investment of 457 million yuan, building a comprehensive industrial system integrating healthcare, wellness, tourism, sports, medicine, and diet.
Market-side data is even more striking: the China Tourism Academy predicts the domestic residential tourism market will exceed 500 billion yuan by 2025. In Guiyang, where the average summer temperature is 23°C, 45% of retired tourists stay for over 30 days during the summer. Twelve key residential tourism projects encompass 139 characteristic villages, forming an all-region development pattern.
Amid this health industry revolution, the integration of TCM and climate wellness demonstrates unique advantages. The Guizhou Huaxi International Mountain Sports Culture Tourism Resort invested 210 million yuan to introduce advanced testing equipment and established Miao and Dong ethnic medicine studios. Its 276 wellness suites were fully booked during the summer season, generating monthly revenue exceeding 100 million yuan.
The innovative model of “modern technology + traditional medicine + ecological resources” is not only redefining the value chain of health consumption but also exploring a Chinese path to upgrading traditional TCM industries while promoting ecological conservation.