On 2 January, the first working day of 2025, lifestyle social platform Xiaohongshu (RED) launched a campaign in Chengdu, Sichuan with The Cover magazine, which they call the Chengdu “Cover Exhibition”. The exhibition covers online and offline, with a giant installation, “check-in” (打卡) spots and social engagement on Xiaohongshu.
The campaign is partly to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the West China City Daily (WCCD) newspaper, the first city newspaper in China. The Cover was launched 9 years ago by WCCD, the same year Xiaohongshu launched. Huge hoarding boards were erected in East Shuncheng South Street to serve as billboards that display 30 large-scale “cover shot” photos of the city of Chengdu, demonstrating that the city newspaper, which differentiated itself from party newspapers by showing the lifestyle and society of the city they are based in, set a precedent or “physical editions” of lifestyle social media such as Xiaohongshu.
Check-in opportunities were also established in East Shuncheng South Street. Transparent glasses decorated as a Xiaohongshu post and a The Cover magazine cover are available for photos right across from the hoarding boards. Street lamps are also hosting holding signs saying: “I want to be on the cover.” The street is part of the old town and is known for its cultural sites like the Sichuan Opera theatre and cafés, as well as the relaxed lifestyle that is typical of Chengdu. People are, of course, invited to snap photos of the street and post them on Xiaohongshu.
With the tagline “You are the cover of Chengdu”, the three-way collaboration between the social platform, a newspaper and its magazine honoured the history of the WCCD while showing the relaxed Chengdu lifestyle to people outside the city, urging people to also chill out (松弛). With the stress of work and life, caring for oneself by slowing down and smelling the roses might be great advice from Xiaohongshu.
