Xiaohongshu (RedNote)

Why You Need It

Xiaohongshu (小红书, also called RedNote) is where 350 million Chinese users share travel recommendations, restaurant picks, and local tips through photos and short videos. It's the most trusted source for discovering what locals actually eat, visit, and recommend — far more useful than traditional tourist guides for finding hidden gems, trendy cafes, and authentic experiences. Since early 2025, an AI translation feature makes it accessible to non-Chinese readers.

Installation

1. 1. Download Xiaohongshu

   Search '小红书' or 'RedNote' or 'Xiaohongshu' in the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). Download before arriving in China.

2. 2. Create an account

   Open the app and choose to sign up with your international phone number, WeChat account, Apple ID, or Google account. All options work for foreign users.

3. 3. Select interests during onboarding

   When prompted to pick interest categories, choose Travel, Food, and anything else relevant. This trains the algorithm to show you China travel content.

4. 4. Enable AI translation

   On any post, tap the three-dot menu (···) at the top right and select Translate. The entire post — captions, comments, and hashtags — translates into English via the built-in AI.

Finding Travel Tips and Restaurants

1. 1. Search in English

   Tap the search icon and type a city name, neighbourhood, or food type in English — 'Shanghai hidden cafe', 'Beijing hutong food', 'Xi'an night market'. The search engine handles English terms.

2. 2. Tap the Nearby tab

   Switch to the Nearby tab to see location-based posts from users currently around you. Excellent for finding what locals are eating and doing right now.

3. 3. Save posts you like

   Tap the bookmark icon on any post to save it to a collection. Build a collection for each city you'll visit before your trip.

4. 4. Follow local accounts

   If a user consistently posts good food or travel content for a city you're visiting, tap Follow to see their future posts in your feed.

Usage Tips

• Use it as a search engine: Many Chinese users now search Xiaohongshu instead of Google or Baidu. Searching a restaurant name often shows more honest reviews than on any Western platform.
• Photo-first content: Even without translation, the photos tell most of the story. A post with 10 photos of a restaurant's dishes tells you exactly what to order.
• Trending hashtags: Search #上海美食 (Shanghai food), #北京打卡 (Beijing check-in), or the English equivalent for city-specific recommendations.
• Avoid sensitive topics: The platform moderates political content strictly. Stick to food, travel, and lifestyle — that's where the value is for tourists anyway.
• Don't share external links: The platform blocks links to outside apps or websites. Save places by screenshot rather than trying to share links.

Troubleshooting

Content is all in Chinese? Tap the three-dot menu (···) on any post → Translate to get an AI English translation of the full post. For browsing, the photos carry most of the useful information even without reading the text.

Search returns irrelevant results? Try adding a city name to your search term, e.g. "成都 hot pot" instead of just "hot pot". More specific searches return more useful posts.

Account registration SMS not arriving? Switch to signing up with Apple ID or Google account — both work reliably for foreign users and bypass the phone verification entirely.