Why read this: This B2 version keeps the argument of the original feature but shortens the sentences and trims the literary allusions. B2 students meet two habits worth practising: first, reading a 'delayed thesis' — the article's main idea only appears in the last paragraph, not the first — and second, noticing hedged language as the sign of an opinion, not just filler. The article's subject (a TikTok trend students will know) lowers the barrier to entry, so the class can spend its energy on reading moves rather than topic comprehension.
What to notice: Two features reward attention. First, the structure: each paragraph does one job (set up the creators, name the trend, handle the appropriation question, widen the frame to toys and apps, close with a political reading). Students can label each paragraph with a purpose sticker — 'introduces,' 'defines,' 'answers objection,' 'widens,' 'interprets' — and see the article's shape at a glance. Second, the hedging in the closing paragraph ('it is not hard to imagine,' 'can start to look'). Hedging is not weakness; it is the author keeping the reader's room to think. A B2 reader who notices hedging will read opinion journalism far more accurately.
Skills practised: Reading: locating a delayed thesis; matching paragraphs to purposes; noticing hedging words as opinion markers; tracking pronouns across paragraphs ('the trend,' 'this time,' 'the response'). Writing: practising cautious opinion language ('may be,' 'it is not hard to imagine'); building a short paragraph that uses two pieces of evidence to support one idea. Analysis: weighing whether a short trend piece's argument is supported by the evidence it cites.
Why ‘becoming Chinese’ is taking over social media
A TikTok wellness trend flips the usual appropriation script — and may signal a broader mood.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
A Chinese creator on TikTok, Emma Peng, opened one of the app's most unexpected hits of the year with a compliment her viewers did not expect: “You're doing really well at hydrating yourself. I'm proud of you.” The clip has over three million views. It thanks a growing group of Americans who have started drinking hot water with lemon, eating congee, and swapping cold salads for boiled apples. Peng is one of many Chinese and Chinese-American creators whose videos have this winter. Another creator the trend, TikToker Sherry Xiiruii, offers her own welcome: “Tomorrow, you're turning Chinese.”
The trend is called “becoming Chinese.” While the name might , the substance is fairly simple. Habits traditional Chinese medicine — warm drinks in winter, indoor slippers, congee rather than yogurt — are being shared as wellness advice. The comment sections are full of Americans taking notes on what to try next. Chinese commenters, meanwhile, joke about what took everyone so long.
Normally, when a trend involves adopting — or “becoming” — another culture, it is met with cries of . This time, the usual reaction has shifted. A few users feel uneasy: practices they were once are suddenly being sold back to them as lifestyle content. But the response from Chinese creators has been overwhelmingly positive. The joke is that the rest of the world has finally begun to .
The Chinese culture is not limited to wellness. A viral post on X, Fight Club's famous line, reads: “You met me at a very Chinese time in my life.” Posts about have also been since 2025. These videos show people smoking a cigarette , wearing , and copying other Chinese style choices. They do not feel like , because there is a and real admiration in the act. As the Substack writer Minh Tran put it, things have always been made in China, but now Westerners are increasingly making themselves the Chinese.
Business has followed the trend. The of 2025 helped Pop Mart, the Chinese toymaker behind the collectible, triple its profits and set off a that . Earlier in the year, as a possible US ban on TikTok loomed, many Western users moved over to Rednote, a Chinese-owned app. They joked about saying goodbye to their “personal spy” — a nickname for TikTok. The ban never actually arrived, and most of them stayed on TikTok anyway.
Given the current — a divided United States, and a competition with China that touches many industries — it is not hard to imagine that the “becoming Chinese” trend is about more than hot tea and house slippers. When people feel tired of their own country, the habits of a powerful competitor can start to look less like a threat and more like an option. Many are now looking beyond their own borders for new ways of living, and the algorithm is always ready to help.
A Chinese creator on TikTok, Emma Peng, opened one of the app's most unexpected hits of the year with a compliment her viewers did not expect: “You're doing really well at hydrating yourself. I'm proud of you.” The clip has over three million views. It thanks a growing group of Americans who have started drinking hot water with lemon, eating congee, and swapping cold salads for boiled apples. Peng is one of many Chinese and Chinese-American creators whose videos have this winter. Another creator the trend, TikToker Sherry Xiiruii, offers her own welcome: “Tomorrow, you're turning Chinese.”
The trend is called “becoming Chinese.” While the name might , the substance is fairly simple. Habits traditional Chinese medicine — warm drinks in winter, indoor slippers, congee rather than yogurt — are being shared as wellness advice. The comment sections are full of Americans taking notes on what to try next. Chinese commenters, meanwhile, joke about what took everyone so long.
Normally, when a trend involves adopting — or “becoming” — another culture, it is met with cries of . This time, the usual reaction has shifted. A few users feel uneasy: practices they were once are suddenly being sold back to them as lifestyle content. But the response from Chinese creators has been overwhelmingly positive. The joke is that the rest of the world has finally begun to .
The Chinese culture is not limited to wellness. A viral post on X, Fight Club's famous line, reads: “You met me at a very Chinese time in my life.” Posts about have also been since 2025. These videos show people smoking a cigarette , wearing , and copying other Chinese style choices. They do not feel like , because there is a and real admiration in the act. As the Substack writer Minh Tran put it, things have always been made in China, but now Westerners are increasingly making themselves the Chinese.
Business has followed the trend. The of 2025 helped Pop Mart, the Chinese toymaker behind the collectible, triple its profits and set off a that . Earlier in the year, as a possible US ban on TikTok loomed, many Western users moved over to Rednote, a Chinese-owned app. They joked about saying goodbye to their “personal spy” — a nickname for TikTok. The ban never actually arrived, and most of them stayed on TikTok anyway.
Given the current — a divided United States, and a competition with China that touches many industries — it is not hard to imagine that the “becoming Chinese” trend is about more than hot tea and house slippers. When people feel tired of their own country, the habits of a powerful competitor can start to look less like a threat and more like an option. Many are now looking beyond their own borders for new ways of living, and the algorithm is always ready to help.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, why has the 'becoming Chinese' trend not been widely called cultural appropriation?
- 02
Why does the author mention the Labubu toys and the Rednote migration?
- 03
In the last paragraph, the author writes that the trend 'is about more than hot tea and house slippers.' What does this mean?
- 04
Explain whether you think the 'becoming Chinese' trend is mostly about health and wellness, or mostly about something bigger. Use two pieces of evidence from the article.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
The author uses careful, uncertain phrases like 'may be' and 'it is not hard to imagine.' Why might a journalist choose this kind of language when writing about a social trend?
Suggested length: ~80 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, why has the 'becoming Chinese' trend not been widely called cultural appropriation?
- 02
Why does the author mention the Labubu toys and the Rednote migration?
- 03
In the last paragraph, the author writes that the trend 'is about more than hot tea and house slippers.' What does this mean?
- 04
Explain whether you think the 'becoming Chinese' trend is mostly about health and wellness, or mostly about something bigger. Use two pieces of evidence from the article.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
The author uses careful, uncertain phrases like 'may be' and 'it is not hard to imagine.' Why might a journalist choose this kind of language when writing about a social trend?
Suggested length: ~80 words