Italian expat Rachele Longhi and Luca, her Chinese husband, based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, have more than 140,000 subscribers on YouTube. Their videos feature tea gardens, smart sports parks, the West Lake scenery, street snacks and traditional festivals.

"We want the world to see the real China through our eyes," says Luca, adding that their personal experiences tell vivid stories.

Foreigners are also using Chinese platforms such as Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, a lifestyle-sharing platform, to learn about the daily lives of ordinary Chinese people. Built-in translation features facilitate cross-cultural interaction.

A short video showing the night view of the Bund in Shanghai on RedNote drew comments from users worldwide.

"It may seem like casual sharing," said Zhang Yuan, executive editor-in-chief of RedNote, at the 2025 China Internet Civilization Conference held in Hefei, Anhui, on June 10 and 11. "But this is actually how ordinary people build bridges of understanding and friendship with sincerity and curiosity at a time when globalization is facing challenges."