Is there any platform like YouTube in China? Yes, there is one, very similar to YouTube. That is Xigua Video (西瓜视频). The video creators can earn money on Xigua Video. And the length of the video is longer than Douyin’s. Douyin is a short-video platform, but Xigua video is focusing on mid-length video (longer than 5 minutes ).
Douyin and Xigua video are both owned by Bitedance company. So you will often see the video linked from the Xigua video on Douyin. Especially when you try to search for something on Douyin.
What is Xigua video (西瓜视频)?
Xigua video or watermelon video (Chinese name: 西瓜视频) is owned by Dytedance company (which also owns TikTok).
Xigua video(former name: Toutiao video 头条视频 ) was founded in May 2016. It announced 1 billion RMB to help short-video content creators on 20 September 2016. And had One hundred million users and 10 million DUA (Daily Active Users) in June 2016.
Toutiao video(头条视频) used Xigua video(西瓜视频) as a new name on 8, June 2016. reached 200 million MAU (Monthly active users). Xigua video platform announced 2 billion RMB to help long-video in 2020.
You can compare the color of the YouTube logo and the Xigua video logo, it looks a little similar. Actually, Xigua video is aiming to become a Chinese YouTube platform.
Xigua Video contents
Xigua video’s content covers everything just like YouTube. The categories include: Movie, TV, Game, Music, Livestream, Foods, Kids, Cars, Pets, Cartoons, Entertainment, Technology, Military, NBA, Culture, Education and China Village, etc.
If you want to know more about China village life, you can find them on the Xigua video. And of course, Chinese foods tutorials. I think these may be your most interesting.
Xigua video is encouraging users to upload 5-30 minutes long videos. Unlike TikTok or Chinese TikTok ( Douyin) mainly for short videos.
Chinese social media like YouTube
Many people think Bilibili is more like a Chinese YouTube.
Well, that depends on what you need.
Bilibili has tons of content and is one of the most used video-sharing platforms. It’s known as comics and animation, games, technology, etc.
The young generation loves Bilibili so much. And it has more users than Xigua video.
However, the ways to earn money are so different from YouTube.
On YouTube, you can earn money through ads. You just need to enable ads on your Channel. You earn money when the ads are played or clicked.
Bilibili doesn’t support ads like YouTube. On Bilibili you can’t earn money like YouTube. You can earn money through users donation (a coin through the Bilibili platform) or from sponsors.
But Xigua video supports ads exactly like YouTube. You will earn money once you enable ads on your Channel and get viewed.
So, I think the Xigua video is more like YouTube.
Is Xigua video (西瓜视频) available for foreigners?
Yes. you can use the Xigua video platform outside of China. However, if you want to use Xigua video to earn money, then I’m afraid it won’t allow you to do so. Because Xigua video platform requires your Chinese ID verification and the payment has to be transferred to a China bank account.
That said, if you can provide verification like Chinese ID, phone number, and bank account as required. Then you can try to upload video content and earn money on the Xigua video platform. If you can’t, then you can’t earn money on that platform.
How to sign up the Xigua video
As for creating the Xigua video account, it won’t be difficult. What I do know is the foreign people who are interested in China. They must have some Chinese social media accounts, like WeChat, QQ, or Weibo account. You can use either one of those Chinese social media accounts to log in to the Xigua video platform directly without signing up.
And the Xigua video platform recommends you log in with your Douyin account. If you already have Douyin account, then you can use it to login to the Xigua platform.
If you have none of those Chinese social media accounts, then you can sign up for one. It will be super helpful for you to know China well.
Here are the tutorials you might need.
- How to sign up Douyin account.
- How to sign up WeChat account.
- How to sign up QQ account.
- How to sign up Weibo account.
or you can create Xigua video account by following the steps below.
- Download the Xigua video App on the Google play store or Apple store. (Type the keywords “西瓜视频”)
- Click on “同意” to agree to the terms and privacy policy.
- Tap “我的” on the bottom right corner.
- Confirm login with your phone by clicking on “一键登录”.
If the platform didn’t detect your phone number, then you can click on the “phone” icon at the bottom. And then select your region code and enter your phone number. After that, click on “登录” to log in.
As I said, you can login with other social media accounts without signing up. All you need to do is tap the social media icon and then confirm it.
Link WeChat, QQ, Weibo account to Xigua video
NOTE: Sometimes you can’t find the WeChat, QQ or Weibo icon on the login page, you need to authorize the Xigua video platform to access to it. To link other Chinese social media accounts to the Xigua video account, you need to make sure the account is logged. And then, go to “我的”> “设置”> “账号与安全”. Select the accounts you want to linked.
