In the early morning in Yizhuang, Beijing, crowds gradually gathered in the lobby of the Xiaomi Auto Factory's main building. After verifying their identities, putting on audio guide headsets, and boarding tour buses, they entered the real-world environment of the car manufacturing frontline, as if passing through a "door" from the everyday to the industrial future.

This smart factory, covering an area of 718,000 square meters, has received over 250,000 visitors since opening for industrial tourism, with reservations often selling out in seconds, rivaling the popularity of tourist attractions. Initially, most people came only to check out the popular exhibition hall and test drive the SU7 Ultra; but when the sightseeing vehicle drove into the workshop and witnessed the precise movements of robotic arms and the instantaneous formation of parts under the 9,100-ton giant die-casting machine, everyone's understanding of "car manufacturing" was reshaped—the symphony of steel and code can be so awe-inspiring.

As the rhythm of machinery replaces the roar of the past, industrial tourism is transforming hidden production lines into tangible landscapes. This is not merely the opening of a factory to visitors; it also reflects the profound transformation of China's automotive industry from manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing, and from products to culture. A new era in which industrial tourism has gone from being an "icing on the cake" to an "essential question" is sweeping in, carrying the thunder of industrial transformation and the echoes of human warmth.

The "production line" has become a "scenic view".

My memories of car factories are mostly of roaring assembly lines and noisy welding sparks—a scene of bygone days filled with sweat and the smell of rust. However, as the tour bus smoothly entered the die-casting workshop, we were greeted by clean air and quiet order, as if stepping into a sophisticated technological palace.

The 9,100-ton integrated die-casting machine, hailed by tourists as a "steel behemoth," stands tall. In just over a hundred seconds, molten alloy is die-cast into a complete rear floor panel for automobiles. Components that traditionally require 72 parts and over 800 weld points to assemble are now formed in one piece. Next to the production line, an X-ray intelligent inspection system acts like a "chest X-ray" for the castings, automatically screening for minute internal defects with AI. The quality inspection accuracy rate exceeds 99.9%, leaving no hidden dangers undetected.

The body shop is even more astonishing. Over 700 industrial robots form the main production force, with robotic arms precisely completing welding, gluing, and assembly; AMR logistics vehicles can autonomously sense their environment, avoiding obstacles and parking with perfect precision. The entire production line has an automation rate of 91%. On the long assembly line, only a few engineers are watching the parameters on digital screens, their eyes sharp and focused. At full production, an average of one vehicle rolls off the assembly line every 76 seconds.

"I used to think that car manufacturing was a physically demanding job, but after coming here, I realized that it's all about algorithms, precision, and digitalization." A Peking University student said, his eyes filled with amazement and longing. He truly felt that car factories in the new energy era are completely different from manufacturing bases in the era of gasoline-powered cars.

The entire visitor flow is cleverly designed, with all passageways located in safe zones, ensuring that the tour completely avoids core work areas, prioritizing production over sightseeing. This "real scene rather than a staged set" design allows every frame to be imbued with the true pulse of industrial production.

Observe the production line in motion, appreciate the craftsmanship in stillness. In the exhibition hall, beneath the Möbius strip art installation, a suspended blue SU7 vehicle attracts many visitors. The dissected cage-like steel-aluminum hybrid body, the V8 super motor, and the CTB battery structure model reveal the core technologies hidden within the vehicle, like opening a three-dimensional engineering encyclopedia. Many visitors leave the workshop and return to the exhibition hall to touch these components, gradually understanding the logic behind the creation of a new energy vehicle from the cold metallic feel under their fingertips.

Reconstructing the connection between automakers and consumers

Industrial tourism is not a new concept; traditional automakers once opened their doors to visitors, but these were largely limited to enthusiasts and remained largely unpopular. With the rise of China's new energy vehicle industry, many automakers are committed to reshaping how they communicate with the general public, transforming the mystique of their operations into stories told in the open.

This restructuring of the relationship between automakers and the public reflects a profound shift in industry culture. In the era of gasoline-powered vehicles, automakers and consumers were separated by layers of dealerships, making it difficult for ordinary people to access the front lines. The manufacturing process was shrouded in mystery, like a black box. Brand communication relied on advertising and auto shows, and consumers only saw the finished product, having little knowledge of the technological inputs involved. Trust was built on marketing rhetoric.

When tourists visit the workshop in person and witness firsthand the integrated die-casting and millimeter-level automated assembly, they can intuitively perceive the weight of vehicle safety and manufacturing precision. This hands-on experience far surpasses online lectures with pictures and text; it is a real-life realization of trust.

Industrial tourism also carries the mission of study tours, serving as a mobile industrial classroom.

Every weekend, primary and secondary school students and university study tour groups make up the majority of visitors. Children exclaim in amazement at the autonomous logistics robots, while guides explain the principles of materials, automation, and new energy in simple language. The dry manufacturing knowledge taught in the classroom is transformed into vivid, hands-on lessons in the smart factory, which is more conducive to the cultivation of industrial culture.

A sightseeing bus and a tour route—these seemingly simple cultural and tourism experiences reflect the three structural transformations of China's automotive industry: the manufacturing model has shifted from labor-intensive to digitally driven new productivity, much like leaping from a steam engine to a smart chip; the industry narrative has moved from "product competition" to "competition for trust across the entire supply chain," with each process becoming the cornerstone of brand reputation; and the value of industrial culture has been revitalized, giving warmth to cold steel.

Witness the upward power of "intelligent manufacturing"

Beyond Xiaomi, many leading new energy vehicle manufacturers and smart manufacturing companies, including smartphone manufacturers, are opening up their factories to showcase their self-developed processes and intelligent systems. This wave of openness is spreading from the automotive industry to a broader range of manufacturing sectors.

In May of this year, the "Notice on Promoting Industrial Culture, Protecting Industrial Heritage, and Developing Industrial Tourism" was issued, explicitly proposing to vigorously develop "factory tourism" and encouraging innovative projects such as production observation and simulated operation in fields such as equipment manufacturing and consumer goods. Local documents such as the "Guidelines for the Tourism-Friendly Transformation of Industrial Plants (Industrial Parks) in Beijing" have also been released successively, setting benchmarks for the high-quality development of industrial tourism from spatial optimization, circulation design, service facilities to supporting facilities improvement.

A consensus is gradually forming in the industry: industrial tourism is transforming from a "nice-to-have" for enterprises into a "must-do" question. It is no longer an optional embellishment, but a hard indicator for measuring an enterprise's openness, cultural strength, and brand warmth.

It is foreseeable that industrial tourism will be deployed to a broader range of manufacturing sectors in China.

On the one hand, industrial tourism acts as a catalyst for industrial upgrading and a showcase for new productive forces. It compels enterprises to transform intelligent manufacturing, green manufacturing, and lean management from internal documents into tangible on-site experiences, enabling factories to continuously optimize their production environment and improve automation levels to meet public scrutiny. This pressure to be "seen" becomes an external driving force for technological iteration and management innovation, providing a solid cognitive foundation for the premium pricing of domestic high-end brands.

On the other hand, industrial tourism is reshaping the spatial relationship between cities and industries. Beijing's industrial tourism scene includes not only the Xiaomi car factory, but also more historically significant sites like 798 Art Zone and Shougang Park. Many traditional factories are located in the suburbs or old industrial bases, leaving behind a large number of idle factory buildings and forgotten industrial memories as industries relocate. Emerging industrial tourism transforms these spaces into new scenarios for cultural and tourism consumption, revitalizing existing assets, boosting surrounding catering, accommodation, and cultural and creative industries, and allowing the younger generation to rediscover the charm of industrial aesthetics. When factory chimneys are no longer symbols of pollution but landmarks under nighttime lights; when the rhythm of assembly lines is no longer noise but white noise that relieves stress for urban dwellers, industry and the city achieve a new symbiosis.

A tourism expert told reporters that industrial tourism will move from being a "pilot experiment" by a few leading enterprises to a "widespread practice" across all industries, and will be upgraded from a simple "visiting passage" to a composite business model that integrates industry, culture and tourism.

The deeper significance lies in the fact that industrial tourism serves as a new vehicle for the inheritance of industrial culture and the dissemination of the spirit of craftsmanship. Many children know about astronauts and programmers, but few know about mold makers and debugging engineers. When industrial tourism becomes commonplace, primary and secondary school students can enter workshops, witness robots working collaboratively, and see engineers intently adjusting parameters; they can experience the efficiency of automation while also appreciating the indispensability of human intervention. This "hardcore romance" will plant the seeds of respect for technology and labor in the hearts of the younger generation, cultivating a rich social foundation for building a manufacturing powerhouse.

(Source: Securities Times)