With TikTok Ban Imminent, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’

In fact, the app doesn’t even have a good English translation of its own name: Xiaohongshu is the phonetic translation of its Chinese name. 小红书. While the literal translation “little red book” may remind English-speaking users of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s collection of speeches and propaganda slogans of the same name, it has a different connotation in China, where users l ‘interpret as a source of reliable users. -recommendations generated for mundane things, such as which restaurant to go to or which cosmetic product to buy.

The recent influx of American users has certainly caught the attention of Xiaohongshu’s existing user base. David Yang, a recent master’s program graduate from China who currently lives in Paris, immediately found his Xiaohongshu feed full of American users on Sunday. I had previously seen some non-Chinese creators intentionally come to the platform to attract Chinese followers, but nothing on this scale.

Now, when you scroll through his Xiaohongshu page, about a quarter of the content is from so-called TikTok refugees, according to a screen recording he shared. “Some of them ask what the Chinese think about certain issues, such as the USA, LGBT, or other social issues. And some invite Chinese users to ask them questions. And some just use the app as and they use TikTok and post whatever they find interesting,” Yang tells WIRED. The focus on genuine personal content shared by normal people rather than polished influencers was refreshing, he added.

Xiaohongshu Chinese users are fascinated by the influx of new voices. Most of them, especially those who speak English, extend a welcoming hand, liking the videos posted by the refugees on TikTok and following their accounts. Some take the time to try to explain how the app works to people who find it difficult to navigate due to the language barrier.

Sarah Fotheringhama TikTok user since 2021 from Utah, tells WIRED that she’s having a surprisingly good time on Xiaohongshu despite relying on Google Translate to use the platform. For his first two days on the app, he spent a few hours each day and posted four videos, the last one explaining US school lunch to Chinese users. “People have reached out to offer help in every way, from navigating the app, adding subtitles to videos and translations,” says Fotheringham. “One comment on my video was from a Chinese user. She said: ‘wow it’s like looking over the Chinese wall’. And for me, it was my first time seeing it.”

“Most of the (new Xiaohongshu users) are probably in the curiosity phase. I think that moments of cultural shock or controversy could emerge over time, but that would be part of the process for them to get to know each other at a deeper level,” says Yang.