Competition among professional photographers is intensifying at popular tourist sites across Beijing, driven in large part by the influence of Xiaohongshu, a widely used Chinese lifestyle app that has reshaped domestic travel patterns. The app, known as RedNote in English, is poised to file for an initial public offering this year and has become a significant force in directing tourist activity to both well-known and lesser-known destinations within China.
At the historic Shichahai area, a scenic lake in Beijing, photographers like 18-year-old Li Geng offer services capturing visitors in traditional costumes favored for social media posts. Li charges approximately $1.47 per photo but struggles to compete with some of her rivals, who leverage substantial followings on Xiaohongshu—one competitor reportedly has 45,000 followers and offers lower prices. This disparity in social media presence influences customer flow and has placed considerable pressure on photographers without large online platforms, Li said.
Xiaohongshu operates with a model somewhat akin to Pinterest, allowing users to share photos, videos, and livestreams, and has earned the nickname “China’s Instagram” due to its visual content focus. Travellers increasingly rely on the app to research destinations and plan itineraries around highly photogenic “daka” or “check-in” spots, such as Shichahai. The platform’s rising prominence is reflected in its expanding user base, which reached 350 million monthly active users as of May, up from 300 million the previous year, according to data analysis firm Qiangua.
China’s domestic tourism market itself is experiencing a surge, with trips by residents exceeding 6.5 billion in the previous year, representing a growth of more than 16 percent compared to the year before. This surge is partly attributed to Xiaohongshu’s role in promoting travel to unconventional sites like Zibo, a quiet industrial city in Shandong province that has recently gained popularity for its affordable, marinated barbecue skewers after content about the city went viral on the platform.
Industry experts point to Xiaohongshu as a primary source of travel inspiration for younger Chinese tourists. Ming Yii Lai, a senior strategy consultant at Daxue Consulting, noted that many younger travelers begin their planning journeys on the app. Visitors such as Mina Chen use Xiaohongshu extensively to organize trips, searching keywords like “citywalk” to find curated itineraries that include dining recommendations and optimized routes between attractions.
As Xiaohongshu continues to grow, it plays an increasingly pivotal role in shaping domestic tourism trends in China, influencing where visitors go, what experiences they seek, and how local businesses capitalize on this digital-driven travel surge.