From K-pop-inspired set designs to personal idol transformations, this unique venue offers fans a chance to live out their celebrity dreams.
Signing sessions, variety show studios, concert backstages — these are the spaces where pop idols create countless photos, videos, and iconic moments that shape our imaginations of star life.
Now, ordinary people can recreate those same scenes with identical set designs.
In April last year, the world's first idol experience center opened in Shanghai. Spanning less than 200 square meters, it features six sets inspired by K-pop idol culture. Here, visitors can dress like their favorite idols, apply sparkling girl group makeup, strike signature K-pop poses, and record dance videos — essentially experiencing their own one-day debut.
Chen Rong, 30, from Guiyang, Guizhou province, is the owner of this center and the creator of the "idol experience store" concept. After spending eight years working as a model in Shanghai, she became familiar with studios and backstage areas. That was when she realized that while many people are curious about these spaces, they rarely get the chance to step inside.
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"I wanted to bring the idol lifestyle to the public so that everyone can experience it," she said. "Here, girls can wear outfits they wouldn't normally choose and enjoy capturing glamorous, star-like moments."
Chen herself dreamed of becoming a star from a young age, aspiring to be a singer. She even applied to join the Chinese idol group SNH48 GROUP and was offered an interview. However, feeling unsure of herself at the time, she ultimately backed out, thinking the dream was out of reach.
Despite her deep passion for idol culture, Chen encourages a more balanced and rational approach to fandom.
"Supporting idols shouldn't be taken to extremes — it should bring positive influence and energy," she said.
Immersive experience
Hu Xinyue, a 16-year-old from Shanghai, has loved K-pop dance since childhood. She has been practicing for over seven years and runs a dance blog alongside her schoolwork.
When she discovered the idol experience center, she was thrilled and has since visited five times to film dance challenge videos, recreating the moves and songs of popular South Korean groups like Aespa, Blackpink, and Twice.
"I've been dancing since I was little, and I've always dreamed of performing on stage," she said. "Seeing myself in the same setting, shining like my favorite idols, fills me with pride."
Hu chose to film her videos against a backdrop inspired by the red wall of a K-pop music center, a place where idols often take selfies and create behind-the-scenes moments. This setting holds special meaning for her, as it reflects the life of idols offstage.
"Although idols shine on stage, most of their hard work happens behind the scenes. Recording videos here is my way of showcasing the true spirit of idol culture," she said.
Liu Wanyi, a 19-year-old university student from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, traveled to Shanghai last June to visit the idol center. There, she participated in a signing event to interact with her idol — Yuma from Japan's&TEAM — through a "reverse signing" format.
In this unique event, idols ask fans a question about themselves, and only those who answer correctly or meet certain criteria receive a signature.
Dressed in a glamorous performance outfit and sitting in front of the display, Liu felt as if she were the idol at the signing event, making the experience even more exciting.
Liu believes that her love for idols is her "motivation to explore the world", and she sees the idol center as an important part of that journey.
The allure of the center has even spread overseas. News about it garnered tens of thousands of likes on South Korean social media, with netizens expressing surprise that such a venue — which doesn't even exist in South Korea, the birthplace of idol culture — has been created in Shanghai.
So far, Chen's store has welcomed nearly 20 South Korean customers, who use translation devices to communicate with staff. Despite the language barrier, their eagerness to experience idol culture was undeterred. Visitors have also come from the United States, Russia, Japan, Thailand, and other countries and regions.
Lila, also known as Xingyue in China, is a US influencer with millions of followers on Chinese social media. She visited the idol experience center out of curiosity and observed a unique aspect of East Asian culture: many people adore idols in very detailed ways — watching all their variety shows and livestreams, buying merchandise, and even changing their phone wallpapers to images of their idols.
However, Lila found that visiting the center serves a different purpose than idol worship — while idol worship is focused on supporting idols, the center is more about enjoying the broader idol culture and aesthetics, offering individuals the opportunity to indulge in a personal dream.
"Girl group members are often seen as perfect beings, almost unattainable," she said. "Realistically, I can't debut as an idol in South Korea, but here, the makeup artists do their best to transform me into an idol look, allowing me to imagine myself in that position. It's a fascinating fantasy."
Stars in motion
This fantasy-creating economy is thriving.
Shortly after Chen's idol experience center opened last year, many people, unaware of the concept, often mistook photos of customers for those of real idols.
Chen recalls that at first, there weren't many visitors, but once customer photos started circulating on social media, people began to comment, "It really looks the part", "It's very interesting", and "I was successfully fooled", which led to a surge in foot traffic.
Since the beginning of this year, influencers with millions of followers have been visiting the center almost daily. To provide a high-quality experience for guests, Chen introduced an appointment system through a WeChat mini-program, limiting the number of visitors to eight per hour.
After the success of Chen's center in Shanghai, similar venues have appeared in cities like Beijing, Chongqing, and Wuhan in recent months.
Netizens have jokingly said that Chen has single-handedly created a new business niche. "Initially, I was frustrated seeing so many imitation stores popping up," Chen said. "But later, I realized that if this sparks entrepreneurial ideas for others, I'm happy about it."
To raise the bar for imitators and further explore the concept of "experiencing idol life", Chen plans to upgrade the photo-focused venue into a comprehensive idol culture experience community.
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She has rented nearly 700 square meters of space next to the original venue, intending to add more entertainment elements, including a stage for formal performances. This will allow guests to film performance videos or rent the space for underground idol performances. The venue will also feature interactive areas at the entrance, and Chen plans to invite vloggers and influencers to serve as "one-day managers", engaging directly with customers.
Her ultimate goal is to attract the attention of South Korean idol entertainment companies, hoping they will see this emerging Chinese business model as a potential channel for selecting idol trainees.
"Many of our customers have the talent to become idols, with impressive singing and dancing skills. This could really help them," Chen said.
