{"id":15124,"date":"2024-12-23T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=15124"},"modified":"2025-04-23T08:52:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T08:52:57","slug":"what-is-zhihu-aka-the-chinese-quora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/what-is-zhihu-aka-the-chinese-quora\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Zhihu aka “the Chinese Quora”?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Q&A platform Zhihu is often referred to as the \u201cChinese Quora,\u201d and while it may not be that well-known in the West, it is one of China\u2019s top social media platforms and has been backed by Tencent, Innovation Works and JD.com, writes Robynne Tindall.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to social media marketing in China, the first platforms that spring to mind will almost certainly be WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin. While Zhihu may not be as well known on the international stage, its reputation as one of China\u2019s most trustworthy, expert-led social media platforms means that it is well worth exploring in more depth.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Founded by Zhou Yuan in 2011, Zhihu, which means \u201cdo you know?\u201d in classical Chinese, is a Q&A forum. The platform\u2019s core offering is simple: users ask and answer questions on topics covering everything from software development to post-natal care. Users can like, save, share, and comment on answers, and even invite specific users to answer their questions. In 2016, Zhihu introduced enterprise accounts, and international brands that are active on the platform include Audi, Siemens, and SK-II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhihu is one of the \u201ctop five comprehensive online content communities in China\u201d (according to the platform\u2019s SEC registration statement). As of Q2 2024, Zhihu had 81 million monthly active users, of which around 15 million were paying users. In March 2021, Zhihu raised USD 523 million in its NYSE IPO, plus private placements from investors including Alibaba and JD.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparisons to Quora, which was founded two years earlier in 2009, are apt, but Zhihu differs in a number of key ways. Zhihu has vastly grown in scope since its early days, adding new business and content blocks, including paid knowledge services such as audiobooks and online courses; live streaming<\/a>\u00a0sessions with an emphasis on real-time knowledge sharing; paid consultancy services, in which people pay to consult with specific users with professional knowledge in their field; and premium branded content. In 2024, the platform launched a generative AI tool to respond to user queries, as well as a series of back-end AI functions such as AI-powered search. <\/p>\n\n\n\n