In the days leading up to January 19, when the TikTok ban was set to take effect, over half a million US users flocked to the Chinese lifestyle app Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), sparking an unprecedented exchange between young netizens from both countries. They compared notes on everything from office spaces and street views to medical bills and maternity leave. Many Chinese influencers on the platform welcomed these self-proclaimed “TikTok refugees,” with some joking that users must pay a “cat tax” by offering a cute cat picture as tribute, making it the hottest meme of 2025 so far.

Launched in 2013, Xiaohongshu began as a social e-commerce platform and has gradually evolved into a lifestyle-sharing community, known for its active engagement and female-oriented online culture. TikTok has since resumed service after a 12-hour suspension, while President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pause the ban for another 75 days. While many foreign users remain active on Xiaohongshu, the future of this trend is uncertain. In this episode, we invited three industry insiders and observers to shed light on this unprecedented shift in the international social media landscape and cross-cultural communication during a live event on Xiaohongshu last week joined by over 2,000 listeners.

Guests:

Jim Fields is the founder of video production company Relay Video and a social media content creator based in Beijing (Xiaohongshu: Jim技术咨询).

Lucy Lv is a news reporter and social media content creator based in Beijing (Instagram & TikTok: nihaolucylv).

Wang Zichen is a former journalist and public policy researcher, currently enrolled at Princeton University (www.pekingnology.com).

Subscribe to the Middle Earth Podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music | Overcast | RSS Feed

The following are excerpts from the transcript of the episode (edited for clarity):

3: 50

Aladin: How did it happen? What’s the snowball effect that has led to this phenomenon?

Jim: One thing that shouldn’t be underestimated is the widespread dissatisfaction and disgust with existing social media platforms in the US, particularly regarding their leadership. In light of the TikTok ban, people wanted to demonstrate that they were unhappy with these platforms, not necessarily because they wanted to use Xiaohongshu specifically, but because they are deliberately shunning platforms like Meta’s Instagram. I think there are between 700,000 and a million new users from the US on RedNote. In my anecdotal experience, it’s been very weird for me to see people like my childhood friends, whom I haven’t talked to in 15 or 20 years from the United States, showing up on RedNote and engaging.

Zichen: I would encourage the platform to release the number of active users from America that have popped up in the past week or so. In any case, I think it’s a great phenomenon: We are witnessing American and Chinese mainland residents communicating on this app like never before, which is certainly something fascinating.

Lucy: It’s actually not the first time Xiaohongshu has gained fame overseas. Last year, an American Chinese content creator named Dr Candiselin, with over 2 million followers across Instagram and TikTok, made a viral video about the concept of tingquan (听劝, “listening to advice”), a trendy meme on Xiaohongshu at the time. People would hold a piece of paper with these Chinese words, inviting fashion advice from netizens. After she posted the video on TikTok, a wave of young TikTok users began posting on Xiaohongshu under this meme. Many Chinese netizens gave direct, helpful, humorous, and sometimes brutally honest comments on how to improve their looks and gain more confidence. I think that was the first wave of Xiaohongshu’s popularity among young US netizens.

Zichen: It’s an organic occurrence that nobody planned for. But there is one technical aspect: The threshold for foreigners to join this particular Chinese platform is comparatively low. You don’t need a Chinese mainland mobile phone number to register, which is often not the case with other Chinese social media platforms.

14: 56

Aladin: Lucy, you’re an influencer who recently posted a viral video on the subject, which has garnered over 1 million views. Could you tell us more about the video?

Lucy: When I first noticed the “TikTok refugees” fleeing to Xiaohongshu, I quickly made a video—only 13 seconds—highlighting how witnessing the warm and wholesome interactions on Xiaohongshu made me realize this is what the world should be like. I shared a simple post from a father in the US holding his baby, which prompted many Chinese parents to share their photos with their babies in response. There was also an American firefighter posting himself at work, followed by a Chinese firefighter posting his own photo as a reply. Though they don’t speak each other’s language and the exchange was just a simple photo, the top comment, with more than 10k likes, reads, “The average American people have more in common with the average Chinese people than with Trump and Musk.”

Jim: These individual interactions between normal people in China and the States are absolutely wonderful to see. It mirrors my own experience when I brought my family or friends from the United States to China. The experience they had is usually much more positive than what they might have expected.

What’s happening on RedNote now is that a lot of Americans have seen a certain depiction of China in mainstream media, but then they get to see how ordinary folks actually live—sharing cute pictures of their dogs, cats, and hamsters, the foods they’re making, and the lives they’re living. I think these glimpses can be quite eye-opening. There are also specific things, like a Chinese dish called jidangeng (鸡蛋羹), or steamed eggs. It’s become one of my favorites to watch because it’s a dish I’ve always enjoyed. Many people in the US have started making jidangeng, cooking it, and talking about it. These are the kinds of personal connections I really appreciate.

But one caveat I’ll mention is that we’re currently in a honeymoon phase. There’s a lot of initial positivity and euphoria when people first join the platform, which pushes these new users to the top of the feed. If you’re an American who’s only gotten 5 to 10 likes or comments on your posts in the past, and now, on RedNote, you have 500 people telling you your dog is cute, of course, you’re going to say, ‘I love this platform.’ But I don’t think that level of enthusiasm will last long term.

Zichen: Jim and Lucy have shared many touching episodes through memes, which, I think, reflect a few important things. First, they show that both the Chinese and Americans are genuinely curious about each other’s lives. There’s this real interest in discovering what life looks like on the other side of the Pacific. Second, the interactions between them highlight how, unfortunately, mutual understanding has been quite limited. People are learning more about each other, breaking down past misunderstandings, and shedding stereotypes.

Third, the nature of their interactions—like discussing favorite foods or sharing “cat tax” photos—shows that small details of everyday life are incredibly appealing to ordinary people. You don’t need to talk about politics or big issues. The joy, struggles, and even the suffering of daily life are what truly connect us. This is where I’m more optimistic, or at least more hopeful, than Jim. I believe these small things have more power than people usually give them credit for. And I hope they can sustain the momentum and interest in strengthening such interactions.

21:50

Aladin: Regarding positivity and negativity, there’s one thing I’ve noticed that seems overly positive. Some American influencers have claimed that people in China are happier and stress-free. But what they fail to realize is that in China, people also have to overwork. When they compare the price of eggs in China versus the US, they overlook the difference in salary levels. They don’t have the full picture.

Zichen: I totally agree with that. The core demographic of Xiaohongshu users on the Chinese mainland consists of urbanites—highly educated, high-income Chinese—which is not representative of the average income and lifestyle of the 1.4 billion people in China. There’s also a significant amount of inequality and pressure, particularly among the poorer population, many of whom aren’t on this platform.

Lucy: I agree with Jim. I’m not sure how long this honeymoon period will last, because I can already see some conflicts lurking in the background. For example, some Chinese students abroad have expressed distaste over how foreigners are so warmly welcomed on Xiaohongshu, especially since they often have to deal with microaggressions and racism while living overseas.

Another story I came across was when an African American woman posted on Xiaohongshu about the meaning behind her hairstyle. She specifically said, “We don’t want others to copy our hairstyle.” From what I understand, this is a common issue in America. But Chinese users who commented on her post seemed very confused. They would say, “In China, we love for everyone to try our food and our clothes. You’re introducing your hairstyle here, but you don’t want others to copy it. Why is that?”

After this honeymoon period, we’ll have to tackle the real issues. I’m curious to see how it will unfold. Nevertheless, I want to share another heartwarming comment: “No matter how the world will be in the future, let’s just remember this moment of genuine connection for future reference.”

25: 50

Aladin: Jim, where do you see the business opportunity in this new trend?

Jim: There has been a big organic trend of folks signing up individually, as well as effort from the platform—not just Xiaohongshu, but other Chinese platforms as well—to onboard creators from the Western market. There is a big opportunity to work with the creators themselves if you’re in the social media space. You might consider what tools, consulting services, and support can be offered to Western individuals who want to set up and operate on Chinese platforms.

I’ll mention one other small thing that makes me laugh, and I don’t know if it’s relatable for our audiences: In Chinese, there’s a term often used to describe foreigners—laowai (老外). Lao means “old,” but it can also just be a placeholder, while wai means “external.” So laowai roughly translates to “the old external” or “the person from outside.” If you walk down the street as a person of obvious non-Chinese heritage, you’ll often hear this word. An interesting term that has emerged recently, especially for people like me, like you, Aladin, is laonei, which means “the old internal person.” People used it to describe a foreigner who has already been operating in the Chinese ecosystem for a long time.

It’s interesting because there are a lot of supposed laonei who already have been on Xiaohongshu for years or have lived in China long enough to speak Chinese. They made funny posts where they said things like: “Hey, I’ve been here in China all along. What’s up with you Chinese netizens being fans of all these new shiny foreigners? We’re the old foreigners. We know what it’s like here, and we know what’s going on.” They pretend to be emotionally hurt because they haven’t been properly acknowledged on Chinese social media.

29: 34

Aladin: How do you see the future?

Lucy: I am not sure about the longevity of American users on Xiaohongshu, especially because TikTok is temporarily back. As one commenter mentioned during our livestream, “Another 75 days, let’s wait and see what’s going to happen.” My take is that no matter what happens in the future, Xiaohongshu will be more international after this, because it’s not just the Americans flocking to the platform; We’ve seen a lot of users from the UK, Europe, and beyond. I believe they’ll stay because the platform is highly entertaining. For business opportunities, it’s very timely that China has just extended the 144-hour visa-free transit to 240 hours. This is a golden opportunity. I look forward to seeing more inbound tourists to China.

Zichen: You’ve probably seen Chinese media commentaries, even from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, praising the developments on Xiaohongshu. The general takeaway is that the interactions themselves have a unique energy, and this should be encouraged. I also heard that another popular Chinese video platform is allegedly lowering the registration threshold to make it easier for foreigners to join Chinese social media. If the lesson from Xiaohongshu’s success is to make it easier for foreigners to access Chinese platforms, it will benefit everyone: foreigners will gain a better understanding of China, the Chinese will have more opportunities to interact with foreigners, and, in official terms, this helps in “telling the Chinese story well(讲好中国故事).” Reducing barriers to communication and people-to-people exchanges is definitely the silver lining, even if some Americans are returning to other platforms.