Hong Kong CNN —
Tucked away in a residential area in western Hong Kong, the basketball court at Kennedy Town Playground is unremarkable. Most locals walk past them on their way somewhere else.
But for many tourists visiting the city from mainland China, the courthouse is a must-see destination.
They have no interest in attending pickup basketball games. That’s because the court, perched on the side of a hillside, offers spectacular views of Hong Kong’s skyline.
Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in Seoul, Mandarin speakers flock to Seongsu-dong, known for its trendy cafes. But instead of drinking lattes, they take pictures of photogenic walls painted with red squares.
These Chinese travelers aren’t just stumbling upon remote places. Many of them are followers of Xiaohongshu, China’s answer to Instagram, which has also become their travel bible.
“(Xiaohongshu) is comprehensive and offers a lot of things that other platforms can’t match,” Jiao Le, a tourist from Beijing, told CNN during a recent visit to a basketball court in Hong Kong.
With 1.4 billion people, China is a force to be reckoned with in the travel market. However, many existing travel apps and recommended tools do not support Chinese.
Therefore, Xiaohongshu was able to corner the market and change the way people travel in Asia and other regions. Users of the app have turned seemingly unassuming locations, rarely visited by Western tourists, into hotspots for Chinese travelers.
As witnessed in Hong Kong and Seoul, photo ops are a big part of the attraction. Images look great on social media and encourage others to visit. In Copenhagen, for example, instead of heading straight to the Little Mermaid statue or the Tivoli Gardens amusement park, Chinese tourists are flocking to Black Square, a public space in the Superkilen urban park in the quiet residential area of Notrebros. Field-like lines are drawn on the ground.
In some cases, the location may have a deep meaning. If you walk by a seemingly nondescript bench in the southeast corner of New York’s Central Park and wonder why people are taking pictures, it’s because Mandopop star Jay Chou was on vacation in 2019. Because we were sitting on the same bench.
In Japan, Chinese tourists flock to a train intersection in Kamakura, south of Tokyo, to see it featured in the basketball-themed anime “Slam Dunk,” which many Chinese fans adore.
The recent slowdown in the Chinese economy may be reducing people’s desire to travel. Still, the number accelerated this month as Chinese tourists headed overseas for the National Day holiday, commonly known as Golden Week, which began on October 1st.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, Chinese tourists made 7.6 million domestic and international trips during the holidays, an increase of 33.2% from a year ago. And it is very likely that many of them used Xiaohongshu as a resource for travel planning.
The rise of unexpected destinations almost exclusively for Chinese tourists has much, if not all, to do with platforms.
Most of the users are Chinese and primarily post in their native language, so what happens on Xiaohongshu usually stays on Xiaohongshu.
Tourists may discover new and exciting spots, but that information rarely reaches travelers outside of China.
The app’s name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a red-covered book filled with quotes from Mao Zedong, the founding father of communist China, but the similarities end there.
Headquartered in Shanghai, Xiaohongshu was founded in 2013 by friends Charlwin Mao and Miranda Ku as a way for Chinese netizens to share parts of their lives.
It has since become one of the most popular platforms in China with 300 million users, according to Chinese social media research firm Qian Gua. Half of its users are reportedly from urban areas and under the age of 35.
Content genres have also diversified to include everything from daily life shots to makeup tips, fashion guides, and, of course, travel recommendations.
“It’s more authentic because it’s recommended and reviewed by many real users,” Xia Jiare, a resident of the central Chinese city of Luoyang, told CNN Travel. During a recent trip to Hong Kong, the 26-year-old relied solely on Xiao Hongshu to get around the city with his wife.
Some European companies appear to be capitalizing on this trend, including Lobos, which operates two tapas restaurants in London.
“Lobos has officially arrived in Xiaohongshu!” It first posted in Chinese in August, promising “local Spanish cuisine for you.”
Joel Placeres, one of the restaurant’s directors, told CNN that amid various post-pandemic challenges, the app has helped “build a direct connection with the Chinese community, expand our reach, and increase the restaurant’s visibility.” “We can raise the bar,” he said.
Xiao Hongsho is full of user reviews about restaurants, some of which even post photos with the chefs. “We will continue as long as we are open,” one person declared.
The dishes that get the most likes on Xiao Hongshu are often also popular at restaurants, Prales said. To meet demand, the restaurant has added more of these popular dishes to its ordering system, making it easier for staff to take orders from Chinese tourists, he added.
During the 2024 Summer Olympics, several restaurants in Paris will also put up signs on their doorsteps advertising how much they are loved in “Xiaohongshu” (in Chinese) and encourage customers on social media platforms. encouraged to leave a good review.
But not everyone is excited about the increased attention Xiaohongshu is bringing. Back in Hong Kong, a crowd had gathered near a cafe just across from the now famous basketball court.
The cafe’s vintage decor makes it a magnet for tourists looking for photogenic spots, including the reef and summer. However, the sidewalks are very narrow, and the crowds are a hindrance for local elderly residents to pass. Some tourists spill out onto the busy roads to get photos from a better angle.
“Many housewives have complained about this and there are disputes,” said Hung, a 55-year-old resident who passes by the place three times a day. (He declined to give his last name, fearing retribution for opposing the Hong Kong government’s efforts to attract mainland tourists.)
“It is dangerous as it can cause accidents with passing vehicles,” he added.
Mr Hung, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 40 years, said the government should do more to reduce the impact on local communities if the influx of tourists becomes a nuisance.
He has one recommendation, not for Xiaohongshu, but for the neighborhood authorities. “At least put up a (traffic warning) sign.”
