Tourists take the road less travelled in S'pore, thanks to Little Red Book

Popular Chinese app Xiaohongshu helps turn offbeat spots to must-see attractions

- Chin Soo Fang

A light noon drizzle did not dampen the enthusiasm of over 20 people, mostly tourists from China, who were queueing at the Fort Canning tree tunnel on Oct 17.

Among them was Jiangxi native Liu Mei Feng, a 25-year-old content creator better known as Wanzi on social media, waiting for her chance to pose for photos at the spiral staircase.

Here for the first time, she followed the recommendations on the popular Chinese app Xiaohongshu, or "Little Red Book", to the picture-perfect spot.

Xiaohongshu, which has more than 300 million monthly active users, has turned less-sought-after locations all over the world into must-visit attractions for Chinese tourists.

Such user-generated travel advice and itineraries are taking them off the beaten track to places such as Dusseldorf, Germany, for Chinese food; Ijen volcano in eastern Java, Indonesia, for crater rim pictures; and Kennedy Town in Hong Kong for romantic neighbourhood vibes.

Da ka, or "punching the card" tourism, a trend popularised by social media, involves planning an itinerary around photogenic attractions and showing off the pictures on the platforms.

The app's algorithm will then push the posts to other users with shared interests, who will repeat the process.

The Fort Canning tree tunnel is known to some nature shutterbugs, but otherwise not promoted as a tourist destination like Sentosa, Gardens by the Bay or Marina Bay Sands, which are also perennial favourites on Xiaohongshu.

Ms Liu said Xiaohongshu is her go-to travel resource as it features photogenic locales.

She went up to the best vantage spot at the staircase recommended by the app, and struck different poses in her floral dress for her photos.

Her travel companion, Miss Shi Jin Shan, a 20-year-old student, took multiple shots to share with others on social media.