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Xiaohongshu

Xiǎohóngshū(Little Red Book) (小红书), also known as XHS or RedNote, is a Chinese1) social networking and e-commerce platform which launched in 2013.2) Before the 2025 migration, the platform was largely consumerist with a predominately female userbase.3)4)

History

Around October 2013, entrepreneurs Wénchāo(Charlwin) Máo5) and Fāng(Miranda) Qú6) published a PDF document called the “Xiǎohóngshū Chūjìng Gòuwù Gōnglüè” (小红书出境购物攻略, lit. “Little Red Book: 'Outbound' Shopping Guide”) which acted as a shopping guide for tourist destinations. This experiment turned out to be a massive success, amassing 500,000 downloads, so they quickly began working on a mobile app.

The app was released, targeting Hong Kong tourists, then slowly expanded as users that were more likely to travel during Chinese New Year would report back on their findings. At one point, people joked about opening Xiaohongshu before Taobao, an e-commerce platform, so Xiaohongshu began experimenting with e-commerce in August 2014,7) selling a viral Apivita product.8)

In the following years, Xiaohongshu drew in investors from Alibaba and Tencent in 2018,9)10) then they began considering a potential foreign IPO but halted these plans in 2021.11)12) Despite this, the IPO rumors continued as the company grew.13)14) Then in 2025, the Statesian attempts to ban TikTok led to Xiaohongshu seeing a massive influx of “TikTok refugees” in protest of the government's actions.15)16)17)

Notes

  • In order to log into the desktop website, you have to scan the QR code. From there, the app asks to verify that you actually want to sign in, then agree to the terms and conditions if you haven't.
  • Personally, I discovered Xiaohongshu back in 2023 since I was looking at local Asian grocery stores with a Chinese and English name, but I didn't think it was worth the hassle of signing up back then. That said, I think the recent international surge is 'funny as hell' because it's basic civil disobedience, anti-Meta, and how it's making people realize that the United States kinda sucks.18)
1)
The company's offices are in Shanghai, a special economic zone (open coastal city).
2)
The company opened its offices in June 2013 and the PDF document came out in October 2013, but the launch date of the app or platform is disputed, at least before Christmas.
3)
"Xiaohongshu is teaching young Chinese women how to buy the perfect life" (March 22, 2023). Rest of World.
4)
"Is Xiaohongshu fueling Gen Z’s fast fashion obsession?" (April 19, 2024). Jing Daily.
5)
“Máo Wénchāo” (毛文超) is the Chinese name. “Charlwin Mao” is the English name, which is presumably his Chinese name in reverse order, “Chāowén Máo” (超文毛), and not a Mao Zedong reference.
6)
“Qú Fāng” (瞿芳) is the Chinese name. “Miranda Qu” is the English name.
7)
"“出轨”与“全裸男模”背后：创始人毛文超眼里，小红书爆红的商业逻辑" [Archive 2] (June 26, 2015). Forbes China.
8)
"Can Xiaohongshu be Instagram’s Chinese version？" (December 20, 2021). PandaYoo.
9)
"Alibaba leads $300 million investment in Xiaohongshu " (June 1, 2018). TechNode.
10)
"Alibaba, Tencent, K11 Adrian Cheng Join $300M Investment Round For Xiaohongshu" (June 3, 2018). Forbes.
11)
"暂停赴美IPO背后，小红书怎么了？" (July 16, 2021). Sina.
12)
"Social commerce company Xiaohongshu reportedly aborts plans for US IPO" (July 16, 2021). KrASIA.
13)
"China’s Instagram-Style Xiaohongshu Crosses $1 Billion in Profit" (December 12, 2024). Bloomberg.
14)
"Chinese social media Xiaohongshu moves closer to IPO as profits surge in 2024, sources say" (December 13, 2024). South China Morning Post.
15)
"Xiaohongshu, China’s answer to Instagram, hits no. 1 on the App Store as TikTok faces US shutdown" (January 13, 2025). TechCrunch.
16)
"With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’" (January 13, 2025). Wired.
17)
"US TikTok users flock to Chinese app Xiaohongshu in protest with TikTok ban looming" (January 14, 2025). AP.
18)
This is funny because Xiaohongshu is an app that glorifies travel, then you introduce foreigners who tell you that living there sucks and it's not state propaganda, like, this is not a sitcom! You can barely afford shit, there's food insecurity, homelessness, medical debt, package theft, etc.
xiaohongshu.txt · Last modified: 2025-02-03 22:27:09 by namelessrumia