Behind Xiaohongshu's creation of the "Pain Island" lies a community interest expansion initiative.

Looking up, one sees the industrial civilization, while underfoot lies an immersive world of games and anime. When the forest, warehouses, and shipyards blend seamlessly with anime scenes, and feathers flutter down with the singing, a young man at the event exclaimed that for gamers and anime fans, "it's like celebrating the Chinese New Year."

From August 8th to 10th, to offer gamers and anime fans an immersive theme park experience, Xiaohongshu went all out to create a "Dokidoki Island" in the real world.

Behind the creation of "Dokidoki Island" lies a subtle shift in the Xiaohongshu community. Currently, the posts related to anime and games have seen significant growth, ranking third and fourth among all content categories on the platform. This indicates that there is substantial room for growth in these interest-based communities on Xiaohongshu, and the platform itself continues to evolve.

Transforming Fuxing Island into a "Dokidoki Island"

This is a striking contrast.

The old and cold heavy machinery is surrounded by colorful giant dolls and plush toys. The massive cranes would never have imagined that one day, besides steel and iron, their structures would be adorned with words like "Welcome Home" and "You're Always the Star."

Looking up at the industrial landscape while being immersed in the world of games and anime underfoot, "Dokidoki Island" was born on Shanghai's Fuxing Island.

What is "Dokidoki culture"? Originating from Japanese, "Dokidoki culture" initially referred to the act of painting or pasting anime patterns on vehicles. It has since expanded to include "Dokidoki clothing," "Dokidoki bags," and even "Dokidoki cars," evolving into a rich and elaborate aesthetic. Behind the rise of "Dokidoki culture" is the strong need for spiritual expression and personal identity among gamers and anime fans.

This is where the concept of "Dokidoki Island" came from. From August 8th to 10th, Xiaohongshu hosted the world's first open-world adventure island event, "RED LAND," on Fuxing Island in Yangpu, Shanghai. This is also Xiaohongshu's first large-scale offline IP event tailored for gamers and anime fans.

Before conceiving this idea, the Xiaohongshu creative team pondered that if everything could be infused with the "Dokidoki" spirit, why not create an entire "Dokidoki Island" to provide a special space for gamers and anime fans?

Securing an entire island in today's context seems like a bold and risky decision. The audacity lies in the fact that the start of such a large-scale project even involved the process of finding the right "island."

The creative team screened all the islands in Shanghai, including Chongming, Changxing, and Hengsha, and finally settled on Fuxing Island. Compared to others, Fuxing Island is the only inland island in Shanghai's downtown area, close to the city center. "Otherwise, it might end up being a self - indulgent event." Additionally, Fuxing Island has a diverse landscape. It retains the remnants of its former shipyard and is Shanghai's last untouched natural area. The combination of forests, warehouses, and shipyards, where nature and modern civilization intersect, aligns well with many scenes in anime and games.

However, finding the "island" was just the first step. To create a "Dokidoki Island," the key was to ensure an immersive experience. The Xiaohongshu team realized that if they simply followed the conventional steps planned by game manufacturers, it would be too ordinary and fragmented, deviating from the original intention of an immersive island.

Another decision was made. The creative team decided that Fuxing Island should have its own overarching worldview, which doesn't conflict with the independent worldviews of offline game IPs. "It's like a Disney for the anime world," inclusive and ultimately merging into an immersive world. For each player, before boarding the island, they would have their own unique identity and an equipment bag. The island also features save - point trees, NPC guides, and each booth has interactive tasks similar to game endings. After completing the interactions, players can receive designated prizes.

For this event, RED LAND invited more than 50 well - known game and anime IPs, presenting a star - studded lineup. It includes popular domestic games like "Honor of Kings," "Peacekeeper Elite," and "Eggy Party," as well as popular anime IPs such as "One Piece," "Mythical Beast Inc.," "The King's Avatar," and "Bocchi the Rock!" Moreover, games like "Genshin Impact," "Honkai: Star Rail," and "Zone Zero," which were not all gathered at ChinaJoy and BW, and Pokémon, which rarely participates in domestic exhibitions, also made their appearance at the RED LAND exhibition area.

At night, the Echo Project Music Festival took the immersive experience to new heights. When the Inu Yashiki Band played the iconic EVA song "Cruel Angel's Thesis," drones in the sky formed the shape of Unit - 01 and interacted with the audience. The scene was instantly filled with deafening screams. On that day, the topic "EVA Unit - 01 Appears over REDLAND" quickly climbed to the top of the hot - topic list on Xiaohongshu.

A young man at the event exclaimed that for gamers and anime fans, "it's truly like celebrating the Chinese New Year." On Fuxing Island, the wall between the real and virtual worlds was finally broken.

All the emotions reached their peak when Japanese singer Lia sang "Tori no Uta." "Tori no Uta" is the theme song of the game and the TV series "AIR." Since its release in the 2000s, it has remained popular and is even regarded as the "national anthem" of the ACGN world.

As Lia sang on stage, two huge white wings on both sides unfolded in the night sky. When the singer reached the climax of the song, feathers fluttered down from the sky, creating a dreamy atmosphere. The entire island was filled with a sense of "Dokidoki."

When Anime and Games Become a Lifestyle

The courage to create an immersive "Dokidoki Island" stems from the changing trends within the Xiaohongshu community.

Surprisingly, from 2023 to 2025, anime - related content on Xiaohongshu grew from scratch and quickly became the third - largest content category, second only to fashion and food. Previously, at a private event during ChinaJoy, Xiaohongshu announced that the monthly active users (MAU) of game - related content on the platform had exceeded 110 million, with daily game - related post exposures reaching over 2 billion and daily reads approaching 1 billion.

Moreover, in the past year, the number of posts related to anime and games ranked third and fourth among all content categories on Xiaohongshu, with year - on - year growth rates of 175% and 168% respectively.

More and more game and anime content is being created, discovered, and shared on Xiaohongshu, giving rise to a unique "2.5 - Dimensional" style on the platform.

The so - called "2.5 - Dimensional" refers to a concept that extends a little further into real life compared to traditional anime. On the basis of Xiaohongshu's user - generated content (UGC) environment, it has successfully found an experiential middle - ground between the virtual and the real. In other words, on Xiaohongshu, game and anime content can be integrated with real life, which means more real - world connections, more inclusive communities, and broader imagination.

Take the "RED LAND" event as an example. In the "Peacekeeper Elite" exhibition area, instead of the common sniper rifles, Xiaohongshu placed a huge pink frying pan in the center.

This frying pan is based on real observations from the Xiaohongshu community. On Xiaohongshu, the "pan" has become a meme and a perspective. People like to reinterpret the game through the frying pan. If we start from the frying pan, how should we play "Peacekeeper Elite"? Different from the conventional gameplay, players will find that the pan can be a bulletproof shield, a life - saving tool, a weapon, or even a liability. In the sunlight, the pan you carry might expose your position due to reflection.

"With a pan in hand, the world is mine." In the game, the frying pan is just an ordinary weapon, but on Xiaohongshu, it gains real - world creativity and a unique "human touch."

This is the true essence of game and anime content on Xiaohongshu. It is a tangible manifestation of personal interests, real, interactive, and inclusive of all forms of secondary creation.

Digging deeper, the root cause lies in the generational gap. The anime culture that emerged among the post - 80s and post - 90s generations was often labeled as "bizarre clothing" and "non - mainstream" due to the cognitive differences with their elders.

However, today, as abstract culture has swept across social media and niche cultures have come into the spotlight, people are beginning to accept generalized and daily - life - integrated sub - cultural content. Games are no longer just a form of simple entertainment but have started to integrate into real life through game - related fashion, game photography, etc., laying the foundation for the formation of the "2.5 - Dimensional" culture.

Recognizing these trends, Xiaohongshu began to explore the idea that if anime is a lifestyle, it can be connected to real life and integrated with different communities.

Since the second half of 2023, Xiaohongshu has been committed to developing "2.5 - Dimensional" content. In terms of business, on the anime side, Xiaohongshu has been continuously exploring and promoting the integration of anime content with real life. Events such as the anime merchandise exhibitions and this year's Xiaohongshu fan - creation festival are real - world examples of bringing anime culture into the real world.

On Xiaohongshu today, it is not uncommon to see examples like celebrating the birthday of Kaito Kid at Haidilao or wearing "Dokidoki graduation gowns" at graduation ceremonies. The connection and identification among like - minded communities are being established in the process of anime becoming a lifestyle. 36Kr noticed that content trends with strong social attributes, such as cosplay group activities and anime merchandise exchanges, are emerging on Xiaohongshu.

On the game side, in addition to the unique communities behind each game, in the past two years, Xiaohongshu has acquired the rights to KPL and collaborated with super - IPs like Mihoyo and Papergames, continuously enriching the game content on the platform. Since 2024, Xiaohongshu has also started to focus on independent games. So far, it has introduced 1351 domestic and international game developers and nurtured 38 content creators with over 10,000 followers, playing a crucial role in the success of games like "Hundred Days of War" and "Sultan's Game."

Notably, within just two years, the game and anime content on Xiaohongshu has witnessed explosive growth. When the DAU of a content category grows rapidly and at a rate much higher than the overall platform, it indicates that there is a transformation of existing users, expansion, and penetration of communities, rather than just a self - indulgent event for a niche group.

Today, anyone interested in ACGN content can cross the previous barriers and engage in free and peaceful discussions on Xiaohongshu.

When the Community Expands with Interests

Today, as games and anime have successfully gained popularity on Xiaohongshu by integrating with real life and personal interests, it indicates that there is significant room for growth in interest - based communities on the platform, and the Xiaohongshu community itself continues to evolve.

In July, Xiaohongshu announced that its slogan had been updated from "Your Life Guide" to "Your Lifestyle and Interest Community," marking a shift in the platform's focus. Xiaohongshu is no longer just a platform that tells people "what to buy and how to live" but aims to become an all - encompassing universe of interests.

For example, in the past year, the fastest - growing user - generated content trends on Xiaohongshu are mostly related to personal interests, such as "Dokidoki gold" (combining gold with anime elements), "cosplay group activities," "pixel bead handicrafts," and "AI romance." The number of posts related to these topics has increased by hundreds or even thousands of percentage points year - on - year.

Source: DT Business Observation

Xiaohongshu's focus on interests stems from its awareness of the "human touch."

Discovering interests is not an easy task. A platform needs a diverse range of user - generated content to allow users to find their interest - based communities. Additionally, interests lead to a deeper level of user retention compared to just "usefulness." Currently, most users on social platforms only browse and like content but do not actively participate in discussions. The reason is that they think they may not be able to produce "useful" content for others, such as guiding strategies, insightful opinions, or even just something to make people laugh.

However, interests are different. Interests are all about personalized emotional expression. They may not be useful or have a clear direction, but they represent a user's most genuine feelings and experiences, and they involve a closer emotional connection. At the same time, interests are associated with deeper user stickiness, higher DAU, and longer consumption time, which are directly related to the vitality of the community.

Statistics show that there are currently more than 2,500 interest - based communities on Xiaohongshu.

Interests can thrive on Xiaohongshu because of its decentralized distribution mechanism. By allocating more than 50% of its daily traffic to users with less than 1,000 followers, Xiaohongshu can build a close - knit social network among ordinary users. If Xiaohongshu is a fertile soil with a suitable climate, interests are the flourishing trees.

For the Xiaohongshu platform, expanding the community through UGC and interest - based communities is also an extension of the "human touch." Interests transcend demographics, geography, and generations. It is a more refined way to understand the needs of users. On the