China Digital

Introduction to WeChat – Short Guide to China’s Super App

What’s WeChat? A Short Guide to China’s Super App. WeChat currently is China’s most popular smartphone application, and it is winning over consumers within the mobile market in other parts of the world too. The power of the app lies its in multifunctionality- making it irresistible to social media fans, mobile users and companies.

Published

12 years ago

May 29, 2014

Manya Koetse

This article is more than 5 years old. The information in this article may not be up-to-date.

“Weixin is not just an application; Weixin is a lifestyle, a symbol of this era,” experts say. If 2009-2012 was the golden era of Sina’s Weibo, 2012-2015 is sure to be the prime time for Tencent’s Weixin, better known as WeChat.

WeChat currently is China’s most popular smartphone application, and it is winning over consumers within…

Up Next

Tiananmen Without the Tanks – The 1980s China Wants to Remember

Don't Miss

The Dark World of Dongguan’s Beggar Gangs

Manya Koetse

Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Click to comment

China AI

AI Actress Ad Pulled, Baihaitun Disrupts Shanghai and Cicada Meme Bugs Huawei

Published

2 days ago

August 12, 2026

Manya

Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 32–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. I’m Manya Koetse, a sinologist specializing in Chinese digital culture.

🗞️ QUICK SCROLLS

📈 Is China’s AI price war over?After a period of offering as much as possible to users at relatively low prices, Chinese AI (LLM) companies are now raising their prices. Last week,…

China Digital

How Chinese AI Videos Turned Foreigners into Villains

How viral AI videos turn racialized outsiders into threats and violent Chinese heroes into defenders of social order, China’s first nationally broadcast AI drama, and why a newspaper is being sold for 50 times its original price.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 3, 2026

Manya Koetse

Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 30–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. Subscribe here to receive future editions.

Over the past few weeks, a noteworthy amount of AI-related news has been trending on Chinese social media, which is reflected in this week’s edition.

Now that AI has entered every corner of media consumption and online life, related discussions seem…