One of the latest products to go viral in China isn’t an ugly-cute doll or a controversial video game — it’s a can of mostly nothing at all.

Priced at 59.9 yuan ($8), cans of “Wanlü Lake Good Air” were briefly available online before selling out on July 16. Reportedly sourced from Wanlü Lake, a 370-square-kilometer scenic area in the southern Guangdong province, the product is marketed as containing “negative oxygen ions” from the lake’s pristine natural surroundings — a feature that has earned it the title of China’s “natural oxygen bar.”

According to domestic media, “Wanlü Lake Good Air” uses vacuum freshness-locking technology to seal air collected from deep in the adjacent mountains. Each cubic centimeter is said to contain 12,000 negative oxygen ions — eight times the concentration typically found in urban parks. The ingredient list simply states: air and oxygen.

“The air isn’t great in some places,” said an employee working for Heyuan Green Source Trading Co., Ltd., producer of the cans. “People can breathe a little fresher air from here.”

Recently designated as a national 5A-level tourist destination, the man-made lake serves as a vital drinking water source for the region, with consistent Class I surface water standards throughout the year.

But while the product claims to allow urban dwellers to enjoy a “forest bath” anytime, anywhere via its portable, valve design, it has also reignited discussions about whether such items should be viewed as novelties or scams.

The first case of air being captured and commercialized in China launched as early as 2012, when famed philanthropist Chen Guangbiao sold empty cans for around 5 yuan. The goal, he said, was to raise public awareness about environmental protection.

Then, in 2017, a business nicknamed “Air Brother” made headlines after reportedly earning 4 million yuan in a single year by selling canned air. Collected from mountain regions in the eastern Zhejiang province, the air was packaged in 6- to 14-liter canisters and sold for between 18 and 38 yuan each. At its peak, the company sold 470,000 bottles, primarily to consumers in pollution-stricken cities. The product even found markets overseas, including Japan, South Korea, Spain, and the United States.

A search for “canned air” on leading e-commerce platform Taobao currently turns up three similar products, including “Hulunbuir Air,” “Mount Fuji Air,” and “Altay Air,” with prices ranging from 20 to 369 yuan. Among them, “Hulunbuir Air” has the highest sales, with one online store recording over 700 transactions.

However, in light of Wanlü Lake Good Air’s success, the company behind “Hulunbuir Air” admitted on July 16 that their product was merely a marketing gimmick. While it initially sold well, sales had since plummeted and production was discontinued. The “air cans” still for sale today are essentially souvenirs with no compressed air inside — only a pinch of dried grass powder to simulate the scent of the Inner Mongolian steppe.

There are currently no specific regulations governing the selling of “air” as a commercial product in China. A representative from China’s national quality supervision department previously told reporters that under Chinese law, if a product is not explicitly prohibited, it can be produced and sold and enterprises can formulate their own corporate standards, creating a legal gray area.

However, they added that if product sampling reveals a discrepancy between actual quality and the company’s stated standards, it may constitute commercial fraud, and regulatory authorities can intervene with penalties.

In the same article, an environmental science expert was quoted as saying that untreated canned air may be harmful to health due to the growth of microorganisms or long-term deterioration during storage. The production and transportation of packaging materials, such as plastics and metals, is also likely to contribute to increased carbon emissions, which is contrary to the concept of environmental protection.

On Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, some users have dismissed the Wanlü Lake air’s 59.9-yuan price tag as an “IQ tax,” questioning the product’s practical value as well as the intelligence of those who buy into such stunts. Others joked about their experience of similar offerings, saying, “All I could smell was the scent of the can.”

With the Wanlü Lake air remaining sold out, it may be that those late to the trend will need to visit the area themselves to get a taste of the real thing — which may have been the point all along.

“The launch of the air product was more about showcasing the high-quality environment and air of Wanlü Lake,” a customer service representative told domestic media, adding that there were no plans for mass production. “If you’re interested, we welcome you to visit and experience it in person.”

Editor: Tom Arnstein.

(Header image: A view of Wanlü Lake in Heyuan, Guangdong province, 2022. VCG)