XI'AN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Titanium, long known as the "space metal" for its critical role in aerospace and deep-sea exploration, is increasingly making its way into the daily lives of ordinary Chinese consumers.
From eyeglass frames and cookware to bicycle frames, titanium products are gaining popularity for their lightweight and corrosion-resistant properties.
The shift is being driven by China's expanding industrial capacity and technological breakthroughs that are transforming high-end materials and technologies into affordable consumer goods.
"Titanium used to be perceived as a high-end, low-volume and expensive material with little presence in everyday life," said Zhang Yu, deputy head of sheet & plate plant at Baoji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd., noting that with technological advances, titanium production has surged and prices have dropped, opening the door for more consumers to enjoy these products.
In Baoji, a city in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, which produces one-third of the world's titanium materials, Baoti Group, which owns Baoji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd., has been at the forefront of the industry's evolution.
Zhang added that the company has built a complete titanium production chain and attracted over 600 upstream and downstream enterprises.
China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of titanium. On the e-commerce platform JD.com, transaction volume for titanium cookware grew at a compound annual rate of 109 percent between 2023 and 2025.
The transition from high-end to mass-market is not limited to titanium. It is also evident in other fields, including infrared thermal imaging, a technology once confined to high-end industrial applications. Consumer-grade thermal imagers are now available for around 1,000 yuan (about 146.7 U.S. dollars), with applications in outdoor exploration, health monitoring and pet care.
Liu Wei, chairman of Xi'an Zhongke Lead IR-Tech Co., Ltd., said that imported infrared detectors used to cost over 10,000 yuan apiece, with uncooled thermal imagers priced at more than 400,000 yuan.
Liu attributed the dramatic price drop to systemic progress in hardware, optics, and manufacturing. Specifically, by integrating functions including target recognition and temperature analysis into an AI-embedded chip, the company has reduced power consumption and costs while upgrading device capabilities.
The company, which currently holds over 120 proprietary intellectual property rights, is also collaborating with the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop technologies that enable smaller, lighter, and more affordable optical systems.
Liu is looking to push boundaries even further. He envisions a future -- just three to five years from now -- in which infrared technology may become a prominent feature in smartphones. This would allow phones to perform functions such as temperature measurement, night vision, and even real-time checks on fruit freshness.
This transition from high-tech to consumer-friendly products is part of a broader trend in China. Over 4,000 aerospace technologies have been adapted into everyday products, ranging from thermal clothing to freeze-dried vegetables.
Experts said the underlying driver of this trend is the people-centered philosophy of Chinese modernization, which prioritizes meeting public demand for a better life. Meanwhile, ongoing domestic consumption upgrades have created strong market demand for technology commercialization.
Beyond the domestic market, Chinese manufacturing is increasingly benefiting the global market. Baoji's titanium products are exported to over 70 countries and regions. AI-embedded image processing boards from Xi'an Zhongke Lead IR-Tech Co., Ltd. have also entered international markets. Enditem
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