China’s Top Silver KOLs Promote Polar Cruises

On 9 May 2025, a pair of older women turned heads as they arrived at Dragon Trail Studios in Beijing. Lin Wei (70) and Sun Yan (69), two of China’s most famous “silver influencers” and members of the Glamma Beijing group, were at Dragon Trail’s headquarters for a two-hour live streaming session with 66° Expeditions to promote polar cruises.

In the live streaming, the influencer pair discussed the appeal of polar travel with the host from 66° Expeditions, China’s first polar cruise operator. Topics included safety, travel itineraries and logistics, language, facilities, and cuisine on board, and Lin’s own recent Antarctic cruise experience. Lin spoke compellingly about the value of the travel experience, including unparalleled sights and feelings, and stressed that it was a trip-of-a-lifetime worth making. The two influencers gave a significant boost to both audience numbers and product sales during the live stream.

The following month, both Lin and Sun joined 66⁰ Expeditions once again, for a nine-day Arctic cruise, which they covered on their social media channels through videos and live streaming sessions, attracting many thousands of likes and views.

Silver KOLs Lin Wei and Sun Yan joined a live streaming session about polar travel with 66° Expeditions at Dragon Trail Studios in May 2025, before traveling in the Arctic with the cruise operator the following month

Lin and Sun are half of the four-women influencer group called Glamma Beijing, whose Chinese name (时尚奶奶) translates more directly as “Fashion Grandma”. They rose to fame in 2019 with a viral video that showed them walking through Beijing’s Sanlitun district wearing matching qipao dresses and quickly became fashion icons. They’ve walked catwalks, been featured in photo shoots for Elle in China, joined talk shows on national TV, and have even been profiled by the New York Times. They have 1.38 million followers on Xiaohongshu/RedNote and 2.3 million followers on Douyin, as well as popular accounts on WeChat and WeChat Channels.

The women of Glamma Beijing became famous for their fashions and elegance – the four met in a modelling class – but have become more all-rounded lifestyle influencers over the last six years. Online, they share makeup advice for older women, discuss how to have fulfilling social lives in retirement, and do paid promotions for cookware, cleaning products, and comfortable shoes. Since China reopened at the start of 2023, they’ve also become international travel KOLs, doing catwalks on the beach in the Maldives, taking their grandchildren around Europe on Viking Cruises, and kayaking in the Arctic with 66° Expeditions.

The Glamma Beijing influencer group has promoted outbound travel since 2023, with trips to the Maldives, Hong Kong, Europe, and the Arctic

Recent years have seen the rise of silver influencers in China, with these KOLs redefining old age and reaching younger audiences as well as their peers. More than one-fifth of China’s population – or around 300 million people – is already aged 60 or above, and this number is set to grow over the coming decades. The silver demographic is also extremely important to the outbound travel industry – Chinese travel agents in Dragon Trail’s December 2024 trade survey identified the segment as “a vast untapped market.”

Retired travelers have much more flexibility about travel dates, offering year-round market potential, and older luxury travelers stand out for low price sensitivity as well. But travel brands and operators catering to this market will also need to prioritize health, safety, and comfort. This includes considerations like shorter walking distances, more Chinese-language services and Chinese cuisine, wellness activities, and even accompanying medical staff.

Are you looking to reach China’s silver travelers? Talk to Dragon Trail about how we can support you through influencer campaigns, trade marketing, market research and more.