RedNote Anna KURTH / AFP Xiaohongshu, China's most popular lifestyle app, is preparing to go public later this year. Known as "Chinese Instagram", it allows users to post photos, videos and live broadcasts. The service is called RedNote in the West, has a look similar to that of the American social network Pinterest and drew attention after receiving TikTok users in the USA, amid expectations of the application being blocked in the country. ?? Do you have any reporting suggestions? Send to g1 Now, Xiaohongshu is also showing its impact on tourism in China, where domestic journeys are reaching record levels. Travelers use the app to discover new destinations and plan itineraries in photogenic locations. A lake in the historic district of Shichahai, in Beijing, is one of several "daka" spots, that is, which are considered a mandatory stop in the city, and which attract more and more people due to Xiaohongshu. JN in China: live from the Great Wall in Beijing, a special series tells the story of the country's political system There, there is fierce competition between photographers who take portraits of women dressed in traditional costumes. The images have a destination: Xiaohongshu. On a recent Monday, 18-year-old photographer Li Geng offered her services to tourists passing by. She charged 10 yuan (about R$7.60) per portrait. A few meters away, other photographers gave instructions to young people in elegant clothes, who made the victory sign with their fingers and arched their backs in front of the cameras. Li told AFP that the competition for customers is intense, as many competitors have a strong presence on social media. One of them has 45 thousand followers on Xiaohongshu and charges lower prices. Travel inspiration China recorded a record 6.5 billion domestic trips in 2025, according to Xinhua. The result represented an increase of 16% compared to 2024. During the period, Xiaohongshu's user base also grew, going from 300 million in 2024 to 350 million monthly active users in 2025, according to the data analysis platform Qiangua. The social network has boosted little-known businesses and brought crowds to off-the-beaten-path destinations like Zibo, a quiet industrial town in Shandong province, after its cheap, marinated barbecue kebabs went viral. Recommended videos and RedNote online store Reproduction Tourist Mina Chen, who was visiting Shichahai with her sister, planned her entire trip to Beijing based on recommendations from other users. "Today, he is indispensable to me," the 20-year-old student told AFP. Xiaohongshu is now the first place "a lot of young travelers" look for inspiration, said Ming Yii Lai, senior strategy consultant at Daxue Consulting. But the tourism stimulated by Xiaohongshu also brought problems, such as the excess of visitors to places that went viral and the excessive dependence of companies on the traffic generated by the platform, explained Lai. Posts sponsored by restaurants and tourist destinations also generated criticism when recommendations did not meet visitors' expectations. TikTok 'Refugees' The app gained international attention in 2025 when the US government's plan to ban TikTok prompted US users, dubbed "refugees", to migrate to RedNote, the Western version of Xiaohongshu. In recent weeks, "Chinese Instagram" has made headlines again for its preparation to confidentially present an initial public offering of shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to outlets such as the Wall Street Journal. AFP contacted the company to comment on the information. Young women from wealthy cities in China are Xiaohongshu's main user base, according to Qiangua. But the social network is also attracting Chinese speakers in countries like Malaysia and Singapore. Singaporean retiree Ernest Phua used the app to plan trips to Guangzhou and Yunnan, searching in Mandarin for "travel strategies" and recommendations. "If we want to know what life is really like in China" and find out what residents like to do, eat and visit, "Xiaohongshu has a lot of content," he said. Meng Jiaxuan, 20, dressed in a traditional costume in Shichahai, said that even the poses for her photo shoot were searched on the app. “No matter what it is, I just look for it on Xiaohongshu,” he said. JN in China: special series shows Guangzhou, a city that has become a hub for the production of electric cars