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“It is the coolest thing,” says Huang Ziyan, a longtime user of Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, describing the experience as a “21st-century Tower of Babel”.
Huang is referring to the influx of US “TikTok refugees” fleeing the impending ban and the resulting cross-cultural exchange that has seen Americans warmly welcomed – and sometimes given a few helpful tips.
“I was wearing this green hat in one of my videos and some Chinese netizens informed me that in China … it’s effectively a symbol to broadcast you are a cuckold,” says James Harr, who is among those to take their first Chinese language lessons soon after switching from TikTok to Xiaohongshu.
Harr says using Xiaohongshu was a form of protest against the US government but that the “cultural exchange has been incredible to watch”.
Users have also been helping each other out with homework, with Chinese users posting pages of English homework pleading for help from their new English-speaking users of the app. Others have urged US users to add Chinese subtitles to their videos. The app doesn’t have a simple auto-translation function in either direction.
Then there’s the entry fee demanded of newcomers by resident users – pictures of cats.
New user ItsNate offered George Jr, an elongated dangling feline, as a tribute, garnering 100,000 likes for his efforts. “Paying my cat tax,” said another, offering a photo of his pet, plus a tongue-in-cheek reference to Washington’s security concerns about TikTok. “My Chinese spy hasn’t contacted me yet so I post my cat because he must know about him.”
TikTok is expected to be shut off in the US on Sunday, after the Chinese-owned company ByteDance was ordered to sell the hugely popular app or be banned on national security grounds. In response, many of its 170 million US users are panicking, and seeking freer pastures.
Ironically, many believe to have found them on Xiaohongshu, an app made, owned and primarily used in China, where it is subject to the country’s tight and censorious restrictions. Its Chinese name translates as “little red book”, which brings to mind Chairman Mao’s famous book of quotations, but TikTokkers have dubbed it RedNote. In an interview in 2019, Xiaohongshu’s founder and CEO, Mao Wenchao, said the app’s name was inspired by the red colour of his alma mater, Stanford Business School.
Unlike TikTok, which forces western users to use the international version of its app and keeps its Chinese sister app, Douyin, separate, Xiaohongshu has one platform for everyone to use, making it easier for users from different countries to meet online.
Celebrities have also been flocking to Xiaohongshu, with British Olympic diver Tom Daley and Canadian rapper bbno$ already spotted posting there. Elon Musk’s mother, Maye Musk – hugely popular in China – was already a user with more than 600,000 followers with her lifestyle and fashion content.
The app’s retail functions have also drawn content creators like Marcus Robinson, who says the looming ban worried him because it took a long time to build a following on TikTok for his fashion and clothing brand. But he says he’s “growing way faster” on Xiaohongshu.
‘They haven’t figured out a way to censor English’
Some Chinese users warned the new arrivals to expect things to change. China’s internet authorities maintain tight controls over what can be posted online. Posting links, nudity, profanity or discussing politically sensitive topics often sees the content automatically removed or the user banned.
“Everything is a matter of time, depending on the severity of things,” warned Xue Zhao from China’s Zhejiang province. “I feel they haven’t figured out a way to censor English material yet, but soon they will catch up.”
There are many topics which inhabit a grey area. For now there are still posts discussing fake news, memes about international espionage and comparing healthcare systems between China and America. In China more broadly, government crackdowns have targeted dedicated queer spaces online and in the community. Content related to LGBTQ+ is visible on Xiaohongshu but there have been multiple reports of some posts being banned, or users warning new arrivals not to post overtly queer content. Feminists in China have complained that their content has been scrubbed from the platform.
“Platforms are concerned about exposing minors to such content too early but outright banning it would not be fair or welcoming to sexual minorities,” says Huang.
A different kind of takeover
While many Chinese users of Xiaohongshu welcome the influx of non-Chinese users – Huang says their arrival “has undoubtedly injected much vitality and freshness” into the community – some are worried about the app losing its identity.
Until now Xiaohongshu’s user base had been predominantly young and female, but the wave of TikTok refugees may change that.
Manjiang, a Chinese content creator, says she’s found “99% of people are super friendly” but she’s worried about the 1% who come into the space who are not respectful, who “spread stereotypes and sexualise us”.
“We are welcoming friendly people but there is also a sense that the English content is taking over,” she says.
Cantonese tutor and content creator Dr Candise Lin says Xiaohongshu and its community shouldn’t have to change themselves to accommodate the new users and that many – especially expats – go to the platform to reconnect with home.
“I hope XHS remains a Chinese app – no need to speak English just to make Americans feel comfortable. We welcome anyone who’s willing to speak our language.”
