On Rednote, birdwatching and colour walking have emerged as two of the platform’s fastest-growing lifestyle trends. Again, it follows a theme we’ve been seeing a lot of lately: getting away from what you might call optimisation culture and seeking lower-pressure self-care. In this case, slowing down to photograph pigeons, identify herons, or spend an afternoon searching for a single colour.
Birdwatching, stereotyped as a hobby for telescope-armed retirees has pulled in big crowds of urban Gen Z consumers. Birdwatching-related content on Rednote has now surpassed 820 million views. Brands are beginning to take notice. Fashion and lifestyle players including children’s label Pomme de Terre have already started building campaigns around nature observation and ecological awareness.
Young consumers facing burnout, digital fatigue, and intense work cultures are turning toward hobbies that buck against those trends. The slow and observational are obvious choices. Sure, they could go to Hyrox classes or take up running, but fitness trends tend to build around performance metrics. Birdwatching is a step further away from that optimisation culture. Spotting a rare bird doesn’t require any kind of optimising. It’s pleasure for pleasure’s sake.
Colour walking works the same way. The trend is to pick a colour and hit the streets to photograph anything you see on the visual theme. The green of a 7-11 sign, fresh vegetables, a stranger’s clothes. You get the idea. Related Rednote hashtags have already picked up more than 700 million views. Again, it’s an emotionally light activity, and one that’s really leaning in the direction of something like a mindfulness trend.
The rise of both trends says something about Chinese social media culture in 2026. After years dominated by productivity discourse and aspirational consumption, many young users now appear more interested in micro-healing activities: low-cost rituals designed to calm overstimulated brains. The big part that’s worth noting is that neither of these hot new trends require total lifestyle reinvention.
