Li Shubin, senior vice president of Meituan: The Dianping App will become increasingly different from the Meituan App.

Text | Ren Cairu

Editor | Qiao Qian

Dianping may be the most direct observation window for offline consumption. The "Must-Eat List" it releases every year is a recognized benchmark in the catering industry.

On June 25, the 2025 Dianping "Must-Eat List" was officially announced in Nanjing. A total of 3,091 restaurants in 144 cities and regions made the list. In the past year, the number of food orders on Dianping reached 900 million person - times.

This is the ninth year of the "Must-Eat List" and the first time the list has been released since the Dianping Division was incorporated into Meituan's core local commerce. In April 2025, Meituan sent an internal email stating that the Dianping Division would be integrated into the core local commerce, with Li Shubin, the head of the Meituan platform and a member of the S - team, concurrently serving as the head. Since joining Meituan, Li Shubin has led business teams in areas such as bike - sharing and power banks and was promoted to senior vice - president of Meituan in September 2023.

In the past two years, the theme around Meituan's entire in - store business has been "competition." Now, the competition with rivals has become "normalized," and the unique characteristics of each platform are increasingly becoming its own barriers. "Users are more likely to be passively influenced by content on content platforms. When they have a need, they will actively open Meituan or Dianping," said Li Shubin.

"The year - on - year (YoY) growth rate of our in - store consumption in the past two years has been much higher than when Meituan was the only player in the local - life service market." Similar to the recent battles in the food delivery and instant retail sectors, the result of the competition at this stage is that the overall market has expanded.

Despite the rise of content - based platforms behind the competition in the in - store business, "information density" remains the value point that Dianping hopes to uphold. Li Shubin believes that the core of Dianping is to solve users' problems, which requires sufficient information density. If the platform presents too much irrelevant content and makes users feel lost, even if it seems to bring some incremental growth, it is not the direction Dianping should take.

In addition, the business synergy after the incorporation into the core local commerce, as well as the position and value of Dianping in the Meituan ecosystem, have become the "new topics" that attract attention.

The advantage of being incorporated into the core local commerce is that Meituan's large - scale and high - quality infrastructure capabilities and the BD capabilities to reach offline merchants have made up for Dianping's original "weaknesses." For example, Meituan has a 700 - person map team, which can better ensure "the accuracy of a merchant's address and know its opening and closing hours."

However, the synergy and integration are not as radical as the outside world expects. Li Shubin often emphasizes internally that each app has its boundaries. Dianping is still an independent business and should first have its own stance. Different from Meituan's strong consumption - oriented nature, Dianping focuses more on the user experience. "Dianping catalogs POIs (Points of Interest), and a 'Point of Interest' does not necessarily refer to a commercial company."

Li Shubin, Senior Vice - President of Meituan

The following is a dialogue between Li Shubin, senior vice - president of Meituan, and media including 36Kr:

On competition: Authenticity, purposefulness, and information density are the characteristics to be maintained

Q: Dianping has a lot of authentic reviews and is integrated with Meituan. So, compared with content promotion on other platforms, what are Dianping's advantages?

A: First of all, everyone comes to Dianping because of its "authenticity." Second, our information structuring is definitely the best among content platforms, which is difficult and resource - consuming.

Actually, we have a very large infrastructure team. For example, a professional map team of hundreds of people ensures the accuracy of a merchant's address and knows its opening and closing hours. There are tens of millions of merchants across the country, and few platforms have the ability to build a real and professional information infrastructure.

Q: In the past two years, Dianping has made many new attempts in content creation. To what extent do you think it has achieved its goals?

A: There are often discussions within Dianping about whether it is a tool or a content platform. During today's speech, the original draft said "make Dianping a tool used by more and more people," but I specifically changed it to "platform." I think we don't need to define its role as either a tool or a content platform. If you use it for searching, it is a tool; if you browse it out of boredom, it is a content platform.

Q: What is still lacking for Dianping's content to reach the ideal presentation form?

A: Can Dianping cover all types of content? Some people say that Dianping can also become a video platform, but I don't think so. Dianping should maintain its information density. If a lot of irrelevant content appears while I'm browsing, such information can be found anywhere. If it makes users feel lost, even if it seems to bring some incremental growth, I don't think it is the direction Dianping should take, and it doesn't conform to the concept of "helping users discover the beauty of the real world."

What I care about is solving users' problems. If the problems are solved well, it's okay if they leave the app in one minute. If not, even if users watch videos in the app for ten minutes, I think it won't work in the long run. So I repeatedly emphasize that the information density of Dianping should not decrease within the same period of time.

On the list: Completely based on authentic reviews, the Dianping Division has no so - called commercial goals

Q: In our daily dining, we often find that it is common for restaurants to offer something to customers in exchange for positive reviews. How do you screen and avoid such behaviors to ensure the objectivity of the Must - Eat List?

A: First of all, our platform firmly opposes such behaviors. Second, we conduct strong publicity campaigns for all merchants every year to help them understand that buying positive reviews is not a good way to run a business. Third, we have a powerful algorithm team with high credibility. Team members also conduct on - site spot checks, monitoring, and undercover investigations, as well as user interviews, to prevent people from taking improper actions due to excessive pursuit of results.

Q: At the just - concluded press conference, a trend in users' consumption decision - making was mentioned, which is "from efficiency - first to experience - first." Generally speaking, large - scale chains often need to win by efficiency, while single - store businesses are more likely to achieve the ultimate experience. According to your observations, is the proportion of chain restaurants on the Must - Eat List increasing or decreasing?

A: In the past two years, the Must - Eat List has covered more and more cities and regions along with our users. For example, in 2024, the Must - Eat List expanded to more than 50 new cities, and this year it has reached more overseas regions and more places in China. So more small local restaurants have been discovered, and some small regional chains with local characteristics have emerged.

In big cities, we can see chain brands with good experience and service, which is not a contradiction. As users write more high - quality reviews, more small restaurants in the streets and alleys of the real physical world are being discovered. So there is no structural change, but we have found more new highlights.

Q: From the platform's perspective, what kind of chain brands have been more recognized by consumers in the past two years?

A: Products that are delicious, affordable, and offer a good experience will stand out in the current market environment. Achieving a balance among these three aspects is very difficult and is also the original intention of the Must - Eat List.

I would like to emphasize that each restaurant on our list is clearly marked. We care more about a specific restaurant rather than whether it is part of a chain. Even if it is a chain, there may be differences between different stores.

Q: Some small restaurants on the Must - Eat List can also be found on many other lists, and they are also recommended by celebrities and internet influencers. How can you discover more niche and high - quality restaurants?

A: I think this is a product - related issue. There are several ways to compile a list. One way is through statistics, which requires a large number of people and sufficient data to identify and know. The "Must - Eat List," which is selected based on the real reviews of the public, is of this type.

If a restaurant is excellent but very few people have visited it, it cannot be discovered through statistics. It needs to rely on recommendation rules. This is similar to a radio DJ in the music field. A song may only be known to him, and only after he recommends it will others start to listen. Different types of restaurants need different methods to be discovered, and statistics alone cannot solve all problems.

Q: What is the relationship between Dianping's merchants and Meituan's merchants in the prosperity of the entire ecosystem? How are the restaurants on the Must - Eat List presented on the Meituan platform?

A: Most merchants are on both platforms. However, some restaurants may only be suitable for in - store dining, so we don't require merchants to operate both online and offline. That is, Dianping merchants are not required to offer food delivery services.

The Must - Eat List also adheres to very strict principles in terms of credibility. It will not be affected by any commercial relationships with merchants during the review process. Dianping is an independent division within Meituan, and other departments have no idea which restaurants will make the list before it is released.

Q: What are the focuses or considerations for Dianping's commercialization in the future?

A: First of all, it should be noted that Dianping's review data is completely based on users' real reviews, and the app itself does not have any so - called commercial goals.

However, from the perspective of our capabilities, the Must - Eat List can actually help the listed restaurants achieve better results in their commercial operations. We also hope to help users discover more fresh and delicious food and improve their quality of life.

After some restaurants made the Must - Eat List, their online package sales increased by nearly 50%. We will also soon launch marketing activities such as the "Must - Eat List Package" to help consumers experience the signature dishes of the listed restaurants and let more people know about their delicious food.

Q: So, in essence, it is to help merchants increase their revenue through some marketing means.

A: Yes, it is to help merchants with promotion. In fact, no department within the Dianping organization is required to meet commercial indicators. The most important thing is to improve the user experience.

Q: Will Dianping have more integration or cooperation with the hotel and tourism business? Will factors related to culture and tourism be included in the evaluation criteria for the Must - Eat List?

A: This year, we also have the Must - Stay List and the Must - Play List. For example, there are many niche places worth visiting in Beijing, and there are also many small restaurants with delicious Beijing cuisine that even locals may not know about. I've lived in Beijing for nearly 30 years, and when I saw the preliminary list of the Must - Play List, there were many places I had never been to.

Actually, users have always been able to enjoy hotel and ticket - booking services on Dianping. On this basis, we will provide more list information to allow users to make more new discoveries and have better experiences.

On changes: Dianping is an independent business and should first have its own stance

Q: In the past, Dianping's users were more concentrated in first - and second - tier cities. How can it further penetrate into lower - tier markets at present? Is this something that requires proactive efforts or a natural process?

A: Some proactive measures are needed. Even in small cities, not all locals know where the good places are. In my opinion, normally, there is one "formal restaurant" for every 200 people. If a city has a population of 3 million, there may be more than 10,000 "formal restaurants," and many locals may be unaware of them. Dianping helps people discover these hidden gems in life.

Q: What specific actions are being taken for market penetration at present?

A: We are conducting localized operations in many cities. In addition, we will establish a dedicated overseas team. After the pandemic, the number of outbound tourists has approached 600 million. People need to eat when they go abroad, and Dianping is a platform that Chinese people are accustomed to using. So this year, we are also strengthening the construction of overseas city services.

Q: In April this year, the Dianping Division was incorporated into the core local commerce. It has been several months now. What specific impacts has it brought on business synergy?

A: Dianping's vision is to help users find, discover, and experience the beautiful real - world life, so it mainly encourages users to go offline. Internal business synergy mainly involves three aspects: in - store dining, service retail, and hotel and travel, all of which are also core local commerce businesses.

The first impact is that Meituan's infrastructure can be better utilized by Dianping. Second, the in - store businesses mentioned above have a large number of offline business development (BD) teams that can reach merchants, which also enables Dianping to better serve merchants.

Q: Can you share some data on the improvement of operational efficiency?

A: Actually, offline in - store consumption is not limited to dining. There are also many new business formats for users to experience. Let me give a specific example. There are so many indoor fishing spots in Beijing. I pass by at least seven or eight of them on my way home. Identifying such fishing spots requires new capabilities.

Previously, if Dianping wanted to do this on its own, it had to rely entirely on users' discoveries. However, there are many ways to explore, and Meituan's infrastructure can help Dianping conduct a large - scale exploration of POIs.

Q: Many of Dianping's functions are also available in the current Meituan main app, and Dianping itself has not had a major update for a long time. How do you view the values of the Meituan app and Dianping? What kind of product does Dianping want to become in the future?

A: Actually, we have had a lot of internal discussions about this issue. Meituan definitely wants to cover the entire chain from the initial idea to discovery, consumption, and sharing. However, each app has its boundaries. I don't think one app can cover all aspects. For example, if an app has function A, users with demand B may think they don't need A.

The reason why many users still open the Dianping app is that it is more convenient and professional for finding restaurants. Dianping's services are more related to the user experience, while the Meituan app is more efficiency - oriented. The ecosystem composed of Dianping and Meituan can achieve the entire chain.

Q: After being incorporated into the core local commerce, what new changes are there in Dianping's full - site traffic support for merchants? What new values will the more comprehensive integration with the core local commerce bring to merchants?

A: I always emphasize that Dianping is an independent business. I also emphasize internally that Dianping should first have its own stance. I think in the future, Dianping and Meituan will become more and more different. For example, for Meituan, there is no need to catalog many fishing spots or photo - taking spots because users' needs are very clear. But for Dianping, these are necessary as they are valuable to Dianping's users.

Q: So there won't be any radical and obvious changes in full - site traffic support.

A: Right. Dianping catalogs POIs (Points of Interest), and a "Point of Interest" does not necessarily refer to a commercial company. As long as a place has a specific location, cultural value, and attracts many people, even if there is nothing around it, it is worth being cataloged by Dianping. However, such places should not be included in the Meituan app because users' needs are different.