Updated October 24, 2026 at 10:19 AM CDT
TAIXING, China — In the eastern Chinese city of Taixing, a two-story village home doubles as a workshop manufacturing mahjong — a Chinese tile-based game that's having a moment in the United States.
Inside, three workers at Taixing Senju Cultural Entertainment Supplies arrange burnt-orange and pearl-white tiles on wooden boards, holding them against the light. They press their noses close to the tiles, inspecting every edge. When they spot an imperfection, the tile drops into a milk crate.
Every piece must be perfect because these tiles are headed to the U.S.
"Our clients are selling these mahjong sets for $300 to $400, sometimes more. We make it for them for about 200 yuan [$30] a set," said workshop co-owner Wang Hao.
At such high profit margins, Wang said their clients, who are mainly Amazon vendors, are not complaining about U.S. tariffs or surging shipping costs brought by conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.
Mahjong started in China in the late 1800s and spread to the U.S. in the 1920s. It has seen a revival recently thanks to social media. While working at e-commerce giant Alibaba.com, Wang noticed the search volume for mahjong surged over 1,000% late last year. He quit his job to start distributing mahjong to the U.S., where they play a different style than the one in China.
While geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions have squeezed profits across much of China's exporting sector, an unexpected craze for mahjong in the U.S. has delivered a boost to Taixing's tile makers.
Local producers say they can hardly keep up with the orders.
It is partly why Wang expanded beyond distribution into direct manufacturing. "When I started selling last year, the supply of mahjong was tight. Even if I paid the factory [way in advance], it wouldn't necessarily guarantee I'd get the shipment on time," he said.
Overhauling the craftsmanship
Meeting American demand, however, requires a complete overhaul of the craftsmanship. Traditional mahjong sets are usually made from melamine, which gives the tiles a heavy, stone-like feel and produces a smooth clack when shuffled.
American buyers, Wang noted, prefer smaller, more colorful tiles made from acrylic, a material that requires different production techniques and machinery.
One early adopter was Zhu Xingyao, a second-generation maker who runs Taixing City Jiale Melamine Products. From the 1970s until recently, Zhu's family business primarily served the domestic Chinese market.
Today, almost every set rolling off his line is bound for overseas: sparkly red and seafoam green acrylic tiles engraved with flowers and Christmas motifs like Santa Claus.
The booming overseas demand has made Zhu largely abandon the domestic market. Chinese mahjong sales peaked between 2020 and 2022, when millions were locked down at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Zhu.
Since then, Chinese consumers have been less willing to spend. In September, retail sales — a proxy for consumption — were barely up at 1.1%, the government reported.
"Involution," mahjong style
Yet, even as domestic demand cooled, the number of mahjong manufacturers grew. "The cake is only so big, and everyone wants a slice, so the [Chinese] market became cutthroat," Zhu said.
In China, the phenomenon is called neijuan, or "involution," a buzzword describing intense competition. It has hit nearly every sector of the Chinese economy, and in Taixing, Zhu said, the competition comes from former co-workers.
"People who used to work in our factory saw we could barely keep up with demand. So, they'd go back to their hometowns and set up their own factories with relatives in places such as Henan and Anhui," Zhu told NPR. "Wages are lower there."
The cheaper labor costs allow upstart competitors to undercut Zhu by a dollar or two per set. And scaled across orders of tens of thousands of units, that price gap matters to domestic buyers.
But American clients, according to Wang, care more about quality and reliability of manufacturers, rather than price.
Ju Jiaojuan, a prospective client visiting Wang's workshop, agreed. Coming from a family of traditional mahjong makers, she is sourcing original designs under Wang's Senjoy brand to export to the U.S.
"The opportunity lies in the next two to three years," she said. "After that more people will manufacture, competition increases and profits will shrink."
For now, the focus is on premium presentation, down to the packaging. "The mahjong tiles have to be wrapped just right. No air gaps, no loose seams," Wang said. "If it's too loose, it ruins the unboxing experience."
Such details are critical for product promotion on social media, Wang told NPR. On TikTok and Instagram, there are many videos of American buyers cracking open the tight shrink-wrap.
Midway through the interview, his phone buzzed: Another American buyer asking for an expedited order in time for the holiday season.
Jasmine Ling contributed to this reporting.
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