Beijing, China: As the popular app TikTok faces a deadline of either selling or risking a ban by January 19 in the US, the Chinese app RedNote, co-founded by Miranda Qu and Charles Mao, has made its way with “TikTok refugees” flocking to the new app. Over more than half a million TikTok users have joined the platform in protest.
Known by its Chinese name “Xiaohongshu” in China, which translates to “Little Red Book” in English, the phrase typically refers to a collection of sayings by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong. The app, however, says that its name is not a reference to Zedong.
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RedNote And Mandarin
Since the app’s primary demographic is Chinese people, most of the content even now is in Mandarin, even though there is an option to change the app’s language. But with American TikTok refugees moving towards the Chinese app, the company is finding ways to moderate English-language content and incorporate Chinese-English translation tools.
Unlike Tencent, which has overseas and domestic versions of its WeChat app, RedNote maintains only one version of its app.
A Wholesome Cultural Exchange
As the American migration on RedNote increases every day, users from both China and the US are enjoying a wholesome and accidental cultural exchange. Chinese users made tutorial videos for American users on how to use RedNote. They are also offering advice to Americans on how to avoid getting banned since the policies are much stricter on RedNote.
And since language is an issue, users have incorporated subtitles – both in Chinese and English – for all to understand. One user observed, “One day in, and it’s already considered rude not to subtitle videos in the other language.”
(image-X/omooretweets)
After American users dubbed themselves as ‘TikTok refugees,’ the Chinese users called themselves ‘Chinese Spies,’ a play on the controversy regarding TikTok since the app has been criticised for potential user data collection and influence operations by the Chinese government.
Meanwhile, in the comment sections of several videos, when American users would ask how to write a certain sentence in Chinese, the native users would help them translate. While some American users began learning Mandarin. Even Duolingo observed the trend and cheekily said, “oh so NOW you’re learning mandarin.”
oh so NOW you’re learning mandarin
— Duolingo (@duolingo) January 14, 2025
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And as the American population interacts with the Chinese users, many expressed their joy of learning about Chinese fashion and diets; getting a glimpse of how life is in the country only to realise that there weren’t many differences between the Chinese and American youth.
Several netizens expressed the unexpected cultural shift happening.
What Does RedNote Offer?
Considered as a localised adaptation of Instagram in China, RedNote is a popular lifestyle app where users document their lives and post recommendations. Beauty, fashion, travel, and food are some of the popular topics on the app.
Since its interface is different from TikTok or even Instagram, users can access multiple posts—videos, photos, or long-form texts—simultaneously. They can engage in discussions, share posts, purchase products, and even call each other.
With a growing user base, the app is making a big push towards livestreaming. According to Chinese media reports, as of 2023, it had over 300 million monthly active users.
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Origins Of RedNote
Established by Qu, its current president, and Mao, the CEO, in 2013 in Shanghai, RedNote was first called “Hong Kong Shopping Guide,” which aimed at Chinese tourists who were in search of recommendations outside the mainland.
A potential IPO candidate, RedNote’s shareholders include Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, Singapore state investor Temasek, GSR Ventures, GGV Capital, and DST Global.
