This post comes courtesy of our content partners at TechNode.

Have you ever walked into a store, saw the products on display and thought you entered the wrong place? That’s what happened when I visited Xiaomi’s store at The Place in Beijing … until it dawned on me: I was exactly where I meant to go.

Sports shoes, toothbrushes, and mattresses are not the kind of products you would expect to find in a store selling high-tech consumer electronics. But during the past year, Xiaomi has been churning out all kinds of goods, from smart appliances to pillowcases.

The smartphone maker seems intent on breaking the rules on what a tech company should look like. Although the company was once dubbed the Apple of China, visiting one of 300-plus Mi Home stores across the country is now more akin to a walk through Japanese retail store MUJI than an Apple Store.

There is the already ubiquitous low-cost air filter, water purifiers, and Roomba-style robot vacuum cleaners. There are smartphones, VR headsets, smart TVs, and drones. There are electric bikes and self-balancing scooters made with Ninebot, the Chinese company that bought Segway. And then there are other things.

Xiaomi’s Mi Store at The Place shopping mall in Beijing

Xiaomi’s product line now covers three areas – smartphones, smart devices connected to Xiaomi’s IoT platform, and non-smart products. It’s the “dumb” products that captured our attention – how does a company that sells smartphones turn to selling sofas? More importantly, how does it break the RMB 100 billion in annual sales threshold within just seven years of existence and become the most anticipated tech IPO of the year?

“Xiaomi had huge success with their phones but then they lost a lot of market share in 2016,” Peking University professor and Chinese consumer specialist Jeffrey Towson told TechNode. During 2016, Xiaomi saw stiff competition from low-cost phone makers Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo and decided to change its strategy. It opened its Mi Stores.

“They made the decision to no longer be just a smartphone company, they became a smart devices ecosystem company and now they are making another advance into a more lifestyle company,” Towson said.

Xiaomi has so far invested in 89 companies that make items in the Mi Ecosystem beyond their core products such as smartphones, smart TVs, and routers. According to the company, many of those have been incubated by Xiaomi from their founding. This means that Mi Stores, which suspiciously resemble Apple Stores, have been steadily filling up with products and attracting curious shoppers.

Xiaomi’s Mi Store at The Place, Beijing

“Every time you go into a Xiaomi store there’s something new to discover,” said Towson.

Xiaomi reminds Towson of the old days of Apple when he used to go see what were the new products on display. But the similarities with Apple don’t stop at that or even at the design of Mi Stores and Xiaomi products (described as “simple, peaceful and humble” by senior director of industrial design of Mi Ecosystem Li Ningning).

According to Towson, Apple’s success was based on the relationship with its fans. This is how Apple turned itself from a consumer electronics brand into a luxury brand whose financials are not so different from Gucci and Prada. As Warren Buffet would put it, brands such as Apple own a piece of the consumer’s mind – they get into our heads and make us think positively about them. Xiaomi is halfway there, Towson believes.

Xiaomi fans or Mi Fans (米粉 which translates literally to “rice noodles” in Chinese) have indeed played an important part in Xiaomi’s growth. Mi Fans in China contribute to the design of Xiaomi’s products and participate in tweaking MIUI, Xiaomi’s smartphone operating system. They also participate in regular nationwide and city-level events.

But what drew fans to Xiaomi is not just good quality for an affordable price. As Xiaomi fan and TechNode’s Creative Director Liu Teng put it, Xiaomi is China’s “shanzhai (山寨) terminator”, the one company that is stopping counterfeit consumer goods.

“That is its biggest contribution to China’s manufacturing industry,” said Liu. “In the past, if you wanted to buy a new category of products, like a TV box or a Bluetooth audio converter, you would sometimes only have shanzhai goods.”

Liu does not see Xiaomi as China’s Apple but China’s Belkin – a US consumer electronics manufacturer that specializes in connected devices. He also sees differences in how Xiaomi approaches its consumers.

Some of Xiaomi partner products are designed with smart features. The running shoes have a chip that helps track runners’ activity and the suitcase can be located and opened via Bluetooth

“I think Xiaomi is aiming for two types of consumers,” said Liu. “One is young people that want a higher quality of life. They buy products which are relatively inexpensive but have better design and manufacturing or have intelligent functions added to traditional products. It’s like China’s Belkin or China’s MUJI. Products such as rice cookers and projectors, these are for students or workers that have a lower budget. Xiaomi provides better quality for products such as smartphones and earphones but offers the same price as shanzhai.”

Will the sofas sell, however? Liu believes that some of China’s Mi Fans are not inclined to buy things like towels from a tech company. Other Mi Fans have raised eyebrows over Xiaomi’s increasingly colorful product palette. During Chinese New Year holiday, Xiaomi presented the latest products from its partners: a traditional Chinese lucky gourd made of copper. Xiaomi’s big thing might not be cloning MUJI or Belkin but selling fengshui, as Mi Fans have joked.

A lucky gourd made by Xiaomi’s partner Tong Shifu

For now, Xiaomi does not offer all of its partner products in every country. In its biggest market outside of China is India. Xiaomi has opened its 25th store in the country called Mi Home Experience to test which of products besides phones might take off. The company also opened its first store in western Europe in Spain in November last year, and, according to media reports, the US might be next.

Looking at Xiaomi’s Indian success (in 2017 the company saw a 696% sales surge to $1.3 billion), there is reason to be optimistic about the international spread of Mi fandom: In China, companies such as Xiaomi have already driven prices of high tech products down so much that the term “cabbagification” (白菜化) has entered the Chinese vocabulary. A recent viral video of a farmer in rural China driving to her field on a Ninebot self-balancing scooter showed that technology products that were once expensive and advanced have become as widespread as cabbage. International shoppers may not say “shut up and take my money” for the copper gourds but they won’t mind the cabbagification of high tech.

Xiaomi Store
Daily 10am-10pm. 1/F, 9 Guanghua Lu, The Place, Chaoyang District (5206 1012)
小米之家：朝阳区光华路9号世贸天阶北街1层

Photos: TechNode, mi.com, Xiaomi Forum
This post first appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger.

This post comes courtesy of our content partners at TechNode.

Say goodbye to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and welcome your new favorite apps. Here is everything you will need to navigate your China life.

1. Communication: WeChat (微信)

The app to rule them all, WeChat is the very definition of indispensable in China. This is where you will connect with your friends, communicate with your boss (forget emails), make business deals, flirt, and much more. Just don’t expect too much privacy!

WeChat also makes shopping easier. Its wallet function, WeChat Pay, is so widespread that many are already speculating that China could go completely cashless. You can even use it to pay your bus fare or while traveling abroad.

Unfortunately, the mini apps WeChat are well-known for not working so well in the English version, but the app has other great features, including a myriad of subscription accounts to keep you updated on events and news. Go forth into the world and scan those QR codes!

Available in English
On Apple
On Android

2. Takeout delivery: Ele.me (饿了么) / Baidu Waimai (百度外卖)

We’ve got your communication needs settled, now it’s time for some food. Food delivery in China is an impressively dynamic and tech-driven industry which means that users have a variety of choices. Both Baidu Waimai and Ele.me also offer supermarket delivery (京东到家 is great for that, too) – you will never have to leave your home again!

English-friendly alternative: Jinshisong (锦食送) app, also known as JSS.
On Apple: Ele.me, Baidu Waimai
On Android: Ele.me, Baidu Waimai

3. Calling a car: DiDi (滴滴出行)

Your plan for staying home forever failed? Worry not, DiDi has your back. The ride-hailing app that swallowed Uber China offers regular taxis, a private car service called Premier, and the Express option for carpooling.

Available in English
On Apple
On Android

4. Renting a bike: ofo (小黄车) / Mobike (摩拜单车)

So you tried to get a taxi and got stuck in one of those traffic jams of epic proportions for which Chinese cities are known? Enter bike rental apps. Mobike and Ofo are the biggest players on the market but there are many other options such as Bluegogo and these dazzling golden bikes equipped with phone charging.

Ofo’s partnership with DiDi means that users can also search for bikes using DiDi’s app. Mobike has a similar deal with a ride-hailing company called Shouqi (首汽租车) but the cities covered by the partnership is still limited. The company also has a mini app integrated with WeChat’s wallet.

Available in English
On Apple: Ofo, Mobike
On Android: Ofo, Mobike

5. Paying for stuff: Alipay (支付宝)

To use all of most of these great apps, you will need to set up your Alipay wallet. The difference between Alipay and its arch-nemesis WeChat Pay is that the former one is a standalone app. Among other features, Alipay offers bill payments, hospital registration, and even international money transfers. Unfortunately, the last option is available only to Chinese nationals or foreigners with a Chinese green card.

Alipay also comes with integrated services like Taobao, Airbnb, and Uber and right now it is testing its own mini-apps.

Available in English
On Apple
On Android

6. Buying anything you could possibly want: Taobao (淘宝)

The king of shopping in China, its majesty Taobao, offers everything from fully functional airplanes to temporary boyfriends. One awesome feature Taobao offers is image search. Just take a photo of the product you want, upload it on the app and give a snarky laugh to the lady at the market who wanted to sell you the same item for triple the price.

While Taobao mostly connects resellers and customers, it’s sister site Tmall hosts brands’ official online stores which is why it is a better solution for searching for authentic products. For quality electronics, check out JD’s app.

English friendly alternative: Baopals website
On Apple
On Android

7. Travelling: Ctrip / Qunar (去哪儿)

China has so many great places to visit, your bucket list is likely to continually expand. To help you find the best prices for train and plane tickets both for China and abroad, check out Ctrip and Qunar. The apps are practically identical, which could be explained by the fact that the two companies are actually partners. Both of them work with Airbnb’s biggest rival in China, Tujia.

Thanks to its flight tracking feature Fliggy (飞猪), it’s a great app for frequent travelers which are far too familiar with China’s infamous plane delays.

Available in English: Yes for Qunar, Ctrip only the website
On Apple: Ctrip, Qunar
On Android: Ctrip, Qunar

8. Finding new restaurants: Dazhong Dianping (大众点评)

This hair salon in Shanghai run by post-90s generation went viral on Dazhong Dianping

Not a big fan of food poisoning? Neither are we, which is why Dazhong Dianping, the largest restaurant review app in China, comes in handy. This Chinese version of Yelp also offers user-generated reviews of beauty salons, gyms, VR arcades, and more. Many businesses offer online reservations and even coupons and vouchers for discounts. Some of them have even gone viral through the app.

Not available in English
On Apple
On Android

9. Finding events: Huodongxing (活动行)

With 800,000 events and around 4 million tickets sold last year, Huodongxing is the largest ticketing platform in China. The Eventbrite-like platform focuses on professional and networking events, including big conferences.

For live music, theatre, and entertainment, check out Showstart (秀动) and for movies, there is Gewara (格瓦拉) which for some reason found it appropriate to brand itself with a cutesy mascot of Che Guevarra.

English friendly alternative: WeChat subscription accounts such as Networking Matters.
On Apple
On Android

10. Finding a home: Ziroom (自如)

Apartment hunting in China’s crowded cities can be a somewhat traumatic experience. As PTSD prevention, Ziroom offers long-term serviced apartments that are becoming increasingly popular among young professionals. Unlike most agencies, Ziroom offers monthly rent payments and bill payment directly through the app. A Ziroom apartment could be the answer to your woes. Unless you find a dead body in it.

Another option is 58 Home (58同城) which is a classic apartment-listing app.

Not available in English
On Apple
On Android

11. Listening to music: Xiami (虾米)

A great thing about Chinese music apps is that streaming is free and even paid content is usually inexpensive. Xiami has a great selection of foreign and local artists. In recent years, the service has decided to add more niche content by featuring emerging musicians with original music.

Xiami is just one of the great apps available on the market and so far the only one which is partially translated into English. Check out other great Chinese music apps.

Available in English
On Apple
On Android

12. Watching TV: iQiyi (爱奇艺)

The Netflix of China, iQiyi is the main stop for streaming movies, TV shows, and other video content. Much like music streaming services, video streaming in China comes with great prices and a wealth of content. Much like its American peers, iQiyi is also turning to original content production.

For those of you who are missing YouTube too much, Youku Tudou (优酷土豆) is an option to try.

Not available in English
On Apple
On Android

13. Finding your way: Amap (高德地图)

To help you find your date or anything else for that matter, you’re going to need a good map. Amap works as a great replacement to Google Maps and it will be a crucial addition to many apps on this list that rely on location-based services.

Not available in English
On Apple
On Android

14. Being understood: Pleco / Baidu Translate (百度翻译)

Finally, one more truly indispensable app every visitor to China needs is a good dictionary. Pleco is not only one of the best Chinese-English dictionaries available, it also has a free feature called Screen Reader which conveniently enables you to translate Chinese characters in any app on your phone. Pleco also offers useful add-ons such as the Optical Character Reader that lets you scan Chinese texts.

Ever wonder what are all those strange SMS messages you keep receiving from unknown numbers? Baidu Translate will finally reveal the mystery (spoiler: it’s train ticket and “fapiao” scalpers, sometimes pimps).

Available in English
On Apple: Pleco, Baidu Translate
On Android: Pleco, Baidu Translate

Images: Yukawanet, TechNode, Zirom, The Rap of China, courtesy of the apps