Chinese tourists (especially young people) have opened a new, huge and effective window to look at the world: Xiaohongshu, a practice that can be translated as “little red book”, but in reality it is often referred to as a kind of book. of Instagram made in China. Some have even called it the “Chinese Instagram on steroids.” What is clear is that Xiaohonghsu has experienced relentless growth, allowing it to exceed 300 million users and generate ten-figure revenue in just a few years. This is becoming a reference guide for thousands of Chinese people planning their next holiday.

Conclusion? The “little red book” (RED) causes many young Chinese to visit hitherto unknown or little traveled places.

A success story. This isn’t the first time you and I have talked about him. Xiaohongshu has been carving out its own niche for a while now, especially among Gen Z. Its approach to shopping, with a clear commitment to products and lifestyle, has allowed it to differentiate itself from other networks and thrive.

Rather than being a platform for sharing article reviews, it has now become a network. influencers It includes various content touching on areas such as personal care, home, sports and travel. The result is a platform that appears to have convinced hundreds of millions of young people to join the Asian giant. And this is clearly seen in their numbers.

Screenshot of Xiaohongshu’s website.

What do the numbers say. few days ago Finance Times He devoted a history to this, in which he summarized some data showing this success: revenues of $1,000 million in the first quarter of the year and a net profit of $200 million, compared to last year’s net profit of $600 and $40 million, respectively. In terms of application, last year the monthly active user volume reached 312 million; This is almost 20% more than in 2022.

Where am I going on a trip? As Chinese tourism restarts after the pandemic break, more young people are asking themselves this question. And more and more people respond by turning to Xiahongshu, which has very quickly become an effective travel guide, a kind of “bible” for tourists. The most remarkable thing is that many Chinese people, after consulting him, go to not very touristic places, such as city parks, fields or police stations.

Why Xiaohongshu? For various reasons. First, it is a very large user base, with a user base of over 300 million and a particularly significant preponderance among Generation Z. Its profile is also quite specific. in 2022 Forbes It was stated that 80 percent of them were women and 90 percent of them were not yet 32 ​​years old. It seems that the audience is mostly urban. About 60% resided in so-called “tier 1” and “tier 2” cities, which encompass the country’s top metros.

Another important point is that the “Chinese Instagram” offers exactly that, content in Chinese. And this is a very important advantage. Despite the fact that the Asian giant is a huge market for tourism and the flow of travelers is increasing both within the country and abroad, movements at the border increased significantly during the recent “Golden Week” – CNN Note that many travel apps and resources have been updated. It is not fully available in your language.

On Xiahongshu you will find detailed tips and routes to organize your trips, reviews of hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions, transportation recommendations… All this is accompanied by images and content created by other users. There are even people who use it directly as a search engine.

Tourism is being redefined. Xiahongshu’s success is something clearly visible on the street; here he is changing habits and turning places unknown until recently, and often still unknown to Westerners, into tourist icons. Its logic is simple and is closely related to tourism known as “daka tourism”, which basically consists of searching for photogenic places, taking photos there and sharing them on networks. “Travel to be seen,” Guanxi said ironically. Actually minutes It can be translated as “sign”.

Straits Times Yesterday, he published a report about how, on a rainy morning, a reporter encountered about twenty people, mainly Chinese tourists, lining up to take photos in the “Fort Canning tree tunnel” in Singapore. Many of them were there and not in other popular areas of the city like Sentosa or Marina Bay Sands because they had seen photos of that place in Xiaohongshu. Something similar happened at Clarke Quay, where the journalist came across Chinese tourists posing in front of the Old Hill Street police station, known as the “rainbow station” in the Xiaohongshu community.

Tourists in a field. Singapore isn’t the only example of how “Chinese Instagram” is changing young Chinese’s reference points when travelling. This is happening in Europe, Southeast Asia and their own countries as well. CNN explains that many tourists coming to Hong Kong from mainland China go to the Kennedy Town Playforund basketball courts. Not because their scars are anything special. In practice, they found that they could get beautiful views (and photos) of the cityscape from this point on.

In Copenhagen, there are Chinese tourists who go to the Black Square in the city park instead of looking for the Little Mermaid statue because the ground has striking white stripes painted on it, creating a photogenic area. There are seemingly ordinary places in New York or Tokyo that have also become popular among Chinese people due to their association with Mandopop or anime. They know this because they’ve seen it in practice. There’s another good example in Indonesia: Ijen volcano in eastern Java was a little-known destination among Chinese travelers before the health crisis, but has become a popular destination thanks to Xiaohongshu’s art.

“My work is becoming famous”. The logic is always the same. Xiaohongshu users have transformed places little known to Western tourists into trendy spots, photogenic spots where they take selfies, then share them, attracting the attention of new visitors. Of course, this phenomenon is very important for companies that make their living from tourism. Aang Koen, a 48-year-old Indonesian who organizes trips to Ijen, admitted to Rest of World a few days ago that his long-time customers are mainly Europeans. Now 60% are Chinese, and most of them get it (literally) through Xiaohongshu.

“My work is becoming famous,” he celebrates. This phenomenon has been felt with particular interest in Southeast Asia, a popular destination among the Chinese. And to show you a button: Laos is far from being the most visited country in Southeast Asia, but it has become trendy on Xiaohongshu, with more than 71,000 publications since 2023, compared to 37,000 in Cambodia. MyBanLao Hotel, one of the country’s accommodation facilities, explains that the number of Chinese guests has increased rapidly after opening an account on Xiaohongshu, representing almost 70% of all its customers.

Pictures | Captures of Xiaohongshu

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