manyapan.bsky.social
China social trends, online media & digital culture | Sinologist | Japanologist | Hotpot Ambassador 🔥
Bloglator & Founder @whatsonweibo
94 posts
1,178 followers
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Also check out the free version of the latest Weibo Watch for an overview of the latest 🔥
➡️ mailchi.mp/whatsonweibo...
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Check out my latest about the success of #NeZha2, why it's in the "2.0 golden age" of Chinese animation, how netizens discuss class struggles & China’s global identity in its context, and that it goes beyond box office numbers, while being all about them: www.whatsonweibo.com/whats-behind...
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Even if Ne Zha's box office status is driven by the domestic market, it still holds the title of a global no 1 hit. On Weibo, CCTV suggested that Hollywood has lost its monopoly over the film industry and can no longer rely on China (world’s 2nd market) for box office dominance.
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There's much more behind this movie than box office numbers alone. Online discussions go from the geopolitical implications of Ne Zha 2's success to hidden messages in the film to what the characters say about Chinese society. People see China in the movie, or even themselves.
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High time for an old-school 'China’s Top 10 Social Media Platforms' guide, where I break down China's top social apps, their core features, and taglines - from "Relax and Be Yourself" to "It's a Way of Life." Subscribe & read here 🔽: whatsonweibo.com/from-weibo-t...
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Xiaohongshu is no Insta. It also wasn’t a shopping site that added reviews—it was a review site that added shopping. One of China’s top livestreaming apps, Kuaishou, actually started as a GIF-making tool. These ‘chameleon’ apps evolve by adapting their functions to user needs.
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January's 'TikTok refugee' hype, with U.S. users migrating to China's Xiaohongshu, revealed misunderstandings about Chinese apps in English-language media, often quick—yet inaccurate—in framing platforms as 'the Chinese Instagram' or 'the Chinese Facebook.'
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It's raining misconceptions. Get it right: for American users, this is their chance to get into the 'Great Firewall' and interact with 'real Chinese' in a heavily controlled space.
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It's not on foreign app stores😅
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We're learning so much 🫠
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Or not indeed🤣
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Scrolling together can lead to wonderful things
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For now, let's enjoy this beautiful spectacle. I haven't seen this much US-China camaraderie since Joe Biden praised Xi Jinping's Hongqi car in 2023! ❤️🤣
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In the end, I don’t believe the future for American TikTok creators lies in Xiaohongshu. If they need to migrate at all, Instagram seems like the most logical alternative, but first let's wait and see what will happen to US TikTok in the time to come.
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While the #TikTokRefugee trend is all the rage now, TikTok and Xiaohonghu are entirely different apps. Not only does Xiaohongshu function within the lines & limits of China's digital ecosystem, it is also far more image- and text-focused, unlike TikTok’s video-centric approach.
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What's funny about the mass protest migration from 'banned' TikTok to Xiaohongshu is people calling it 'the Chinese version of TikTok'. Tiktok already is a Chinese product, the mainland version is called Douyin, and Xiaohongshu is not really like Tiktok at all 😂
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It’s complicated to download Douyin in the US or Europe, as searching for it redirects you to TikTok. Xiaohongshu (REDnote), on the other hand, is directly available in US and EU app stores, making it a more accessible alternative.
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Unsurprisingly, Bao Nan concludes by suggesting that China is the superior power ("Who can organize the people, unite them, win their trust? Who buries their head in the sand, pretending not to hear, shrugging off responsibility? What demonstrates the superiority of a system? It's obvious."
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Bao writes: "Superheroes in American blockbusters may stir up some passion for a moment, but when facing actual disasters, we don't need solitary heroes, but the power of group solidarity."
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Arguing that the ability to fight disasters is a critical indicator of a nation's governance, Bao writes that differences in governance models between China and the U.S. are at the root of their contrasting disaster responses.
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In his op-ed, Bao Nan sees a difference in how Chinese society mobilized, organized, united in fighting the fires. At the time you had all these motorcycle riders, common volunteers, who drove on and off with supplies (see in video in tweet: x.com/manyapan/sta...).
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The Chongqing forest fires were contained by ‘fighting fire with fire’ (“以火灭火”). With the help of volunteers, firefighters used controlled fires-burning the fuel that could feed another fire. This sometimes risky firefighting tactic was reportedly decisive in containing the fire.
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Here's a link to a short article I wrote about the Chongqing fires, highlighting how the people who joined forces to battle the fire under extreme weather conditions were celebrated as the "heroes of the city": www.whatsonweibo.com/true-heroes-...
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Bao suggests that the way of handling wildfires is a reflection of priorities and, ultimately, power of a state. He raises the example of how China handled the mountain fires raging in Chongqing in '22 that spanned 3 km in width in an area lacking water & infrastructure at a time of extreme drought.
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In a Beijing Daily op-ed, Bao Nan (鲍南) argues that, despite well-known fire risks, the LA fires represent a "completely man-made disaster" ("彻头彻尾的 '人祸'") for which US government cannot escape accountability. Bao: "The fire chief seemed more focused on LGBT initiatives."
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Cheaper
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The coundown scenes from Nanchang are also quite spectacular. The Hangzhou celebration resulted in an estimated 6 tons of garbage, Nanchang's cleanup will likely be even more intense..
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Dozens of articles, twenty Weibo Watch newsletters (and one baby!)—it was a productive year for me at What’s on Weibo. If you enjoy this content and haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so—every subscription helps keep WoW going (➡️https://www.whatsonweibo.com/subscribe/⬅️). Happy New Year!🥳
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🔟🚴♂️ The term ‘yèqí‘ (夜骑), “night ride,” became a buzzword on social media in fall of 2024, as large groups of students from various schools and universities in Zhengzhou started cycling to the neighboring city of Kaifeng on shared bicycles in the middle of the night. whatsonweibo.com/the-cycling-...
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9️⃣📚 The 2024 crackdown on Chinese authors writing erotic webnovels sparked online discussions about the Haitang Literature ‘Flower Market’ subculture, the challenges faced by online smut writers, and the evolving regulations surrounding digital erotica in China. www.whatsonweibo.com/the-price-of...
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8️⃣🇺🇸 The assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign event in July 2024 became a major topic on Chinese social media. Trump’s swift reaction and defiant gesture after the shooting fueled the “Comrade Trump” meme machine. 👉 whatsonweibo.com/a-triumph-fo...
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7️⃣🧮 When 17-year-old vocational school student Jiang Ping made it to the top of Alibaba’s Global Math Competition, competing against top-notch contestants worldwide, she was called China’s version of Good Will Hunting. But her math story had a disappointing ending. 🔗 whatsonweibo.com/chinas-contr...
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6️⃣🚗 ‘Land Rover Woman’ (路虎女) became the latest addition to the Chinese Lexicon of Viral Incidents in 2024 after a female driver sparked outrage among Chinese netizens with her entitled & aggressive behavior 🔗 whatsonweibo.com/weibo-watch-...
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5️⃣🥇 The 2024 Paris Olympics were the talk of Chinese social media. Beyond the medal moments, there were plenty of happenings on the sidelines that went viral, from China’s cutest weightlifter to viral sensation Quan Hongchan. READ: whatsonweibo.com/team-chinas-...