The platform, which is reportedly preparing to file to go public as soon as this year, has shaken up the tourism industry in China, where domestic travel is booming to record levels.Known as RedNote in English, Xiaohongshu's interface is similar to the US social network Pinterest, but it is sometimes nicknamed "China's Instagram" as users can post photos, videos and even livestream.Travellers use the app to discover new destinations and plan their itineraries around photogenic locations, like the lake in the capital's historic Shichahai area -- one of many "daka" or "check-in" spots where Xiaohongshu is driving even more footfall.
Xiaohongshu has shaken up the tourism industry in China, where domestic travel is booming to record levels © ADEK BERRY / AFP
Metres away, other photographers yelled instructions to ornately dressed young women who held their fingers in victory signs and arched their backs for the camera.Li told AFP many of her competitors have a significant social media presence, including one who has 45,000 followers on Xiaohongshu and charges lower prices for photos.That has caused "more customers to flock to him while putting a massive amount of pressure on the rest of us", she said.In contrast Li, who has no big online following, can "only rely on calling out to people on the street to get customers".Travel inspirationDomestic travel in China hit record highs last year, Xinhua news agency reported in March, with trips by residents exceeding 6.5 billion, up more than 16 percent on-year.Meanwhile, Xiaohongshu's user base has grown to 350 million monthly active users, data analysis platform Qiangua said in May, from 300 million a year earlier.The app has boosted lesser-known businesses and sent tourists in droves to unconventional locations such as Zibo, a quiet industrial city in Shandong, after its cheap, marinated barbecue skewers went viral.Xiaohongshu is now the first place "a lot of younger travellers" seek inspiration, said Ming Yii Lai, senior strategy consultant at Daxue Consulting.
