Are you Chinamaxxing? That’s the question that people are asking right now on social media. In recent weeks, becoming Chinese has somehow become the latest viral trend.

People are posting videos of themselves enjoying activities that wouldn’t look out of place at my 73-year-old mum’s house – using a rice cooker, doing qigong exercises and drinking warm water in the morning (it’s better for your health, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine principles).

“You met me at a very Chinese time of my life”, their captions read. Even R&B star Ciara has gotten in on the trend, posting a video of herself drinking hot water while throwing peace fingers up. “I don’t even call it Chinese food anymore, I just call it food,” one meme declares. “Just a glimpse of how Chinese my mind is becoming…”

As someone with Singaporean-Chinese heritage, I initially found these posts endearing, if not slightly baffling. It’s a welcome change from the anti-Asian racism that swept the UK and the US during the pandemic – and seeing lesser-known cultural practices adopted and celebrated across TikTok reminded me of home, or at least of how my aunties would always insist on warm water even in the fanciest of European restaurants.

Call it part of the........

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