Key Points
- Major platforms such as Google, YouTube, and Facebook remain inaccessible in China.
- A potential ban on TikTok in the US drove many Americans to a Chinese app, fostering cross-cultural connections.
- The app, RedNote, has become the most downloaded in the US.
The world beyond China's Great Firewall is relatively unknown to many of the country's internet users.
Platforms that dominate in Western society — Google, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram — are largely inaccessible to them due to Chinese regulations.
But now, a shift is unfolding, as tens of thousands of TikTok users in the West find their way to Chinese social media platform RedNote. It follows the United States Supreme Court upholding a ban on TikTok, a
"It's always been the case that only a small number of Chinese people could access Western social media because of the firewall," said Aya, a Shanghai-based influencer with over 1.7 million followers on RedNote, known as Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) in Mandarin.
"But now, that wall is being toppled from the outside, which is quite unexpected," she said.
The RedNote app has since become the most downloaded in the US, with over 700,000 new users joining within 48 hours, according to the Reuters news agency.
And the migration wave shows no signs of slowing down. New accounts from the US continue to be created, and fresh posts are appearing on RedNote.
The influx of international users has been met with a warm welcome from RedNote's Chinese community. Many users have posted tutorials to help newcomers navigate the app.
Aya's own video greeting the "TikTok refugees" garnered over 430,000 views and nearly 5,000 comments in just three days.
"There weren't just Americans," Aya told SBS Mandarin.
"Canadians and Brits were joining too. It suddenly felt like a global village, with people from all over the world coming together to communicate."
"Chinese and foreigners are all gathered on one app to interact — that's the way the world is supposed to be," one Chinese user commented.
'Cat tax and Chinese spy jokes'
As RedNote's user base expands, Chinese users have set a few unofficial ground rules to help newcomers blend in — and one of the most endearing is the "cat tax".
To earn acceptance on the platform, new users are encouraged to post pictures of their cats.
South Carolina resident Bex Elizabeth, one of the so-called "TikTok refugees," embraced the tradition with a photo of her cat, Hamilton, sitting on the floor.
Bex Elizabeth, a new user of RedNote, paid her cat tax. Credit: Supplied
"I posted a picture and I got 82 comments on it and I was just so overwhelmed with all the love that everyone was giving me," she said.
"Everyone was like, oh, you're so pretty. Welcome to RedNote."
Beyond the cat tax, Elizabeth has found joy in helping Chinese users with their English homework.
"They'll put it [homework] in the comments, and I'll do it on my iPad, then send it back to them. It's so fun. It's the most fun thing ever."
Beyond fortune cookies and honey chicken
The platform has also become a lively hub for cultural exchange, with users trading meme jokes and engaging in a lighthearted "Q&A" about their respective cultures.
Chinese users have introduced American users to popular local abbreviations, like YYDS (roughly translating to "You're great") and XSWL ("LOL" in English).
Meanwhile, memes and jokes have helped bridge cultural gaps with humour.
One user clarified: "We don't eat dogs." And another joked: "Hey, I'm your Chinese spy friend, looking for my next target."
Elizabeth said her experience with RedNote has opened her eyes to authentic Chinese culture — one that doesn't include fortune cookies or honey chicken.
"I've had a very Americanised version of what Chinese culture is," she said.
"Now that I'm seeing what the Chinese culture is about, how people are like, everyone's so nice and welcoming and they're actually helping me learn Mandarin."
Dr Lisa Harrison is a lecturer in media and communications at Flinders University in Adelaide, who specialises in the field of digital communication and culture.
She believes the positive interaction between Chinese and American netizens provides opportunities for diplomacy between the two countries.
"The government diplomats used to control the narrative, whereas now, we're seeing that diplomacy being spread amongst the people and almost decentralising from the central social media giants that are out there," she said.
"But it will be interesting to see how RedNote would manage this."
Short visit or longer stay?
Trump's raises the question: will users stick with RedNote if the ban is lifted?
Cameron McTernan, a communications lecturer at the University of South Australia who specialises in social media, said if the TikTok ban eventually goes into effect, RedNote could serve as a "temporary new home" for displaced American users.
However, he cautions that the platform's future in the US is uncertain.
"If there is a new buyer for TikTok and the culture fit is right, they could very well just hold their position and outside of China, RedNote might just continue to be a bit of a niche platform."
For Elizabeth, RedNote is already more than a temporary solution. Having only started using the app a few days ago, she describes it as an irresistible mix of Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok — and she's hooked.
"I'll never get rid of it," she said. "I actually plan on staying on RedNote until the app runs into the ground."
Elizabeth has also recommended the platform to friends and family, many of whom have embraced it.
"I'm trying to get my boss to love it too, but we will see."
— Additional reporting by Danqing Zhu
