US Mahjong Boom Gives Chinese Manufacturers an Unexpected Lift

A surge in mahjong’s popularity in the United States is creating an unexpected export boom for manufacturers in China, with factories in the eastern city of Taixing racing to redesign traditional tiles for a younger and increasingly affluent American market.

Mahjong has seen a sharp revival in the US in recent years. The Wall Street Journal, citing Yelp data, reported that searches for mahjong clubs jumped 4,467 percent between September 2024 and August 2025 compared with the previous 12 months. Eventbrite said the number of US mahjong events rose nearly 200 percent from 2023 to 2024.

The trend has spread beyond traditional Chinese and Jewish communities into social clubs, restaurants, private lessons and events aimed at younger players. Premium mahjong sets have also become part of the trend, with some American brands selling colorful designer sets for US$350 to US$475.

That demand is increasingly being felt thousands of miles away in Taixing, Jiangsu Province, one of China’s traditional mahjong manufacturing centers.

NPR reported that a Taixing workshop can make an American-style mahjong set for about 200 yuan (US$30), while its US clients sell the finished products for US$300 to US$400 or more. One manufacturer said mahjong-related searches on Alibaba.com surged more than 1,000 percent late last year, prompting him to leave the company and enter the export business himself.

The products American buyers want are also changing how Chinese factories operate. Traditional Chinese tiles are generally heavier, simpler and made from melamine, while US buyers favor smaller acrylic tiles in brighter colors, often with customized seasonal or lifestyle designs.

Sixth Tone reported that one Chinese exporter went from testing the market with a few dozen sets to shipping more than 5,000 sets a month, generating about US$400,000 in monthly sales. Another Taixing factory owner said his output of American-style sets had risen from about 20 sets a year to 200 a day. Nearly 30 new factories had entered the local market over the past year, according to one manufacturer.

The boom has prompted established factories to buy laser engravers and UV printers, add workers and adjust production lines for acrylic tiles and customized designs.

Chinese customs-based data also point to strong US demand. According to GTrade Data, China exported about US$77.8 million worth of goods under HS code 95049040 — a category covering mahjong and similar tabletop games — in August 2026, with shipments to the US totaling about US$35.5 million, or 45.6 percent of the total, making it the largest destination market.

For Taixing’s manufacturers, the American mahjong craze has provided a new source of growth. But producers also expect competition to intensify as more factories enter the business.

For now, a social trend that began around US game tables is working its way back through the supply chain, bringing new orders to one of China’s oldest mahjong manufacturing hub.