Xiaohongshu - what about you?
Jan 19, 2025 8:11 am
We’re back at it for another week!
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Twas an exciting week in social media news as TikTok (the ex-China version of Bytedance’s Douyin) is nearing the date for its ban from APP stores. As a result, a HUGE number of TikTokers have flooded XiaoHongShu, or Little Red Book, another popular social media site here in China.
What is XiaoHongShu?
It’s been described as Pinterest meets Instagram in that it offers a grid-layout when you first open the APP, but allows people to mix videos, photos and text in one post. Unlike TikTok which only allows you to see one vertical video at a time, XHS allows you to see a grid of posts right from the get go.
What does this grid consist of? That is, what are people posting?
A lot of this depends on what you view, click on, hover over, or engage with. So, for me, it’s a lot of workout videos and life in China. But you can search English or Chinese (not sure about other languages) and surely find something.
The big question, however, isn’t so much if these new XHS-ers will stick around, it’s will they be able to monetize their presence on the platform as they could with TikTok AND, if they do, what ramifications would that have for a platform that allows direct access to the Chinese people instead of a split version of the APP which Douyin/TikTok did?
Interesting.
Anyway, still seems like a lot of anonymous accounts out there!
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This week's videos:
- LONG: To the Forbidden City
- LONG: 中文检查 - 1月16日2025年 - 中文网络短信
- SHORT: Watching the morning rush hour in Beijing
- LONG: At Starbucks in China
- EXTRA: Chinese Course by Email
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In an effort to “get out” more, I decided to take a trip down to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square early in the morning on Monday. I recorded the trip with my GoPro but, sadly, it died on the way back.
I did get most of the trip and I did get stopped, or caught behind the barricades, as they were raising the flag. This isn’t a bad thing, it just means you have to wait until the soldiers are back across the street and on the sidewalk leading into the Forbidden City. This is a routine occurrence and happens twice a day: once in the morning to raise the flag and once in the evening to take it down. Further, the times are published so it’s not a surprise when it happens and the timing shifts with the sun’s rise and setting.
Overall, Tiananmen Square is about a 40-minute bike ride away from my place in Shuangjing, so to get there and back would take about an hour and a half. Since it’s January, it is much colder in the morning but I was determined to make it before the flag raising. I don’t often go out this far since we’ve started working from home, but I thought it would be neat to revisit the commute I used to take across the city.
If you’re curious, the writing on the Forbidden City is as follows:
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And, as has become a monthly ritual, on January 16th I recorded a new Chinese Language Check.
Titled 中文检查 - 1月16日2025年 - 中文网络短信, this video was both a language check and a test of sorts. It was a check in that I tried to do the whole video in Mandarin, and it was a test because it focused on Chinese internet shorthand.
I figured with the newfound popularity of 小紅書 (XiaoHongShu), I could help people learn some of the abbreviations and test my own knowledge. This video was inspired by a test I saw circulating on XHS that tested people’s knowledge of Chinese shorthand, much of which uses English letters and numbers.
I posted this list to Threads afterwards and was informed that a few were incorrect, so here’s the updated list:
Chinese internet shorthand for those hitting up XiaoHongShu:
1. yyds - Forever the best (永远的神)
2. wsm - Why (为什么)
3. nbcs - Nobody cares
4. djl - Waiting for you (等久了 - not used)
5. awsl - Too cute, I’m dying (啊我死了)
6. jkjk - Just kidding (就磕就磕 - not used)
7. zqnr - Take responsibility (直球怒怼 - not used)
8. xswl - Laughing to death (笑死我了)
9. zqsg - Sincere feelings (真情实感)
10. pyq - Circle of friends (朋友圈 - from WeChat, but can refer to any social media “wall”)
11. skr - Cool or skilled (斯克热) (thanks to Kris Wu who introduced it to the Mainland, only to see not only his image taken down but Hip Hop music in general tampered down)
12. bdjw - So ridiculous I have no words (不懂就问)
13. nsdd - I strongly agree (你说得对 or 你是对的)
14. 666 - Amazing or cool (六六六 / 溜溜溜)
15. 88 - Bye-bye (拜拜)
16. 233 - Laughing (hilariously - said to be from Japan, not China)
17. 520 - I love you (我爱你)
18. 菜鸟 - Newbie
19. 拼 - Fight or struggle
20. 3q - Thank you (三Q)
21. nb - Awesome (牛逼)
22. srds - Honestly speaking (虽然但是 - literally “although but”, the meaning is “just like anyway”)
23. U1S1 - To be honest (有一说一)
24. WOC - Curse word (surprise or anger, 我操 / 卧槽)
25. DDDD - If you know you know (iykyk, 懂得都懂)
26. hhhh - Laughing (haha, 哈哈哈哈)
Want the list and a little test to go along with it? Click HERE.
There are, of course, other internet shorthands that you’ll no doubt come across, but I want to keep this family-friendly.
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Next up, our only short posted for the week, Watching the morning rush hour in Beijing.
Typically, in the morning I’ll get up and do my language studies right away, then head to the gym for a bit of a workout before starting work. However, I had the day free and, feeling a little bit pressured to continue on with my morning routine, I decided to change things up.
So, after my Russian reading was done, I went out to Baker & Spice, a local, Western-style cafe and bakery in the Viva mall. This video was taken upon the Shuangjing Bridge which offers a view of Beijing’s new CBD area, also known as GuoMao, and a look to the south towards DaXing district.
So, the only question this begs to ask is: when is it a good idea to change up your routine?
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And finally, the last long form video we published on the weekend as At Starbucks in China, which did a little bit of a walk around one of the Starbucks Reserves stores here in Beijing. This is a good video to watch if you’ve ever wondered what an international brand looks like on the other side of the world. I’ve also included a word list for those interested in learning a few non-textbook items of Chinese.
Access the word list here.
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And finally, don’t forget to sign up for our Chinese Course by Email, accessible through this link here. It’s meant as a basic introduction to usable Chinese for those intending or are on their way to China. The vocabulary is topical, concise, and useful.
We’re already working on the next iteration of the course AND a follow up series of emails that will allow people to practice what they’ve learned in the first series.
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We’ll leave it there for this week (and remember to write the ending paragraph!)
Thanks for reading and let us know if there's anything we can help you with!
-Steve