Chinese influencers can’t go to LA, so they’re posing at a Shanghai Costco

Coronavirus restrictions have kept Chinese travelers isolated from the outside world for nearly two years. To cope, the country’s influencers have found a new way to entertain themselves and their followers: taking photos in front of American big box store Costco’s Shanghai store, and pretending to be in Los Angeles.

China has adopted strict border controls since the coronavirus outbreak began early last year. So far, it remains difficult for Chinese people to travel outside the country, which has tightened the issuance and renewals of passports in order to curb the pandemic.

Many Chinese youngsters stuck at home have come up with ways to create a sense of being somewhere else. On Chinese social media, they have posted pictures of themselves in photogenic spots in China with captions such as “pretending to be in a foreign country.” The latest example of this trend is influencers posing in front of the Shanghai Costco, known as kai shi ke (开市客) in Chinese, on social shopping and lifestyle app Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).

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