While cross-border agents were still flocking to promote cosmetics and health supplements, a completely new “money-making” sector had quietly emerged, being both low-key and highly profitable – selling domestic civilian oxygen chambers to foreigners.
Over the past two years, in the high-end experience centers in Shanghai, one could often see overseas people holding translation devices and looking expectantly. They traveled thousands of miles to China just to try out the intelligent hyperbaric oxygen chambers launched by Chinese enterprises.
According to industry insiders, in the past six months, the demand for this civilian oxygen chamber in overseas markets has increased by 70%. The number of foreign language inquiries on the official website of leading enterprise Rlab has been steadily rising sharply. And guiding foreigners in the purchase process and handling cross-border logistics has become a “new business line” for many people.
Last month, I brought three clients from Dubai to purchase oxygen chambers. Just the commission fee alone was over 60,000 yuan, which was equivalent to my salary income for several months in the past. Ms. Zhang, who has been deeply involved in the cross-border health sector, is one of the earliest practitioners in this field.
She disclosed that these overseas clients were mostly high-net-worth individuals from the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Either they learned about the domestic oxygen chambers through international exhibitions, or they were influenced by their wealthy friends around them. “They have an extremely urgent demand for high-quality oxygen chambers. They would rather spend a high price and travel thousands of miles just to get a good device.”
This “wave of foreigners flocking to China to purchase civilian oxygen chambers” is not an accident; rather, it is the inevitable outcome of a sudden surge in demand combined with strong capabilities.
The global longevity equipment market is currently experiencing rapid growth. It is projected that the global market size will reach 16.6 billion US dollars by 2029, with an annual compound growth rate of 8.3%. The civilian oxygen chambers of the aforementioned enterprises precisely target the core needs of overseas high-net-worth individuals.
It is reported that the overseas orders of Rlab have been continuously surging in recent years. In the first quarter of 2026, international orders increased by 238% compared to the previous year. Many of these orders came from these “purchasing expeditions to China” by overseas customers. Even some high-end longevity clinics in Germany and Dubai organized groups to come to China for bulk purchases.
In the domestic market,The market demand is continuously rising, and the online experience reservations are always fully booked. Mr. Li, a 47-year-old business owner in Shanghai, is a typical user. He said, “This is not consumption; it’s a precise investment in youth and time.” Since last year when he started using it through the official website, he has used it more than three times a week, and his energy level is comparable to that of a “prime-aged” person.
The “taking foreigners to buy the Youth Cabin” trend has become extremely popular. The overseas expansion of Chinese-made products essentially showcases the strength of domestic longevity technologies and is also an inevitable trend of globalized healthy consumption. With the continuous upgrading of the demand for aging care among global high-net-worth individuals and the continuous efforts of domestic enterprises, this low-key “money-making” trend may also usher in a longer period of explosive growth.
Industry insiders believe that this not only brings new wealth opportunities for practitioners, but also enables Chinese manufacturing to occupy a more significant position in the global longevity economy sector. For ordinary people, this is not only a golden opportunity for wealth, but also a vivid illustration of China’s technology moving from “following” to “leading”.
Source: Finance Talk Continues