In the narrow, gray-tiled alleys of Beijing’s Nanluoguxiang, a new face has replaced traditional icons of luck and prosperity. Jensen Huang, the leather-clad CEO of Nvidia, has unintentionally become the most sought-after brand ambassador for everything from eight-yuan fruit tea to pungent fermented bean milk.
The "Jensen Huang effect" reached a fever pitch following his recent tour of the capital’s famous snack street. After he was spotted holding a "Peach Four Seasons Spring" tea from the budget chain Mixue Bingcheng, sales of the drink reportedly surged by 140% as consumers scrambled for the "Billionaire’s Choice."
Local vendors have wasted no time in capitalizing on this high-tech halo. At Yin San Douzhi, a shop specializing in the notoriously polarizing fermented mung bean milk, posters now feature Huang’s visibly distressed face under the slogan "Billionaire’s Choice." Even though the CEO was captured questioning "what is this?" while drinking it, the shop remains undeterred in its marketing.
Traditional pastry brands like Guang He Chuan and legacy bakeries like Dao Xiang Cun have followed suit, plastering photos of Huang peering into display cases or posing with staff across their storefronts. To these small business owners, Huang is less a semiconductor pioneer and more a modern-day "God of Wealth" whose mere presence promises financial windfall to those who follow his footsteps.
Even jewelry boutiques and local eateries like Zi Guang Yuan have joined the fray, framing the CEO's visit as a collision between "hard technology" and "oriental aesthetics." The street has been cheekily rebranded by netizens as "Huang Renxun Pain Street," a play on his visceral reactions to local delicacies and the sheer density of his image across the district.
This phenomenon highlights a unique intersection of global tech worship and Chinese grassroots commercialism. While Nvidia navigates complex geopolitical tensions and export controls, its leader has achieved a level of celebrity in China that transcends the silicon wafer, becoming a viral totem of the universal dream of extreme wealth.