The Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also referred to as RedNote in English, has sprung to supremacy as the top free app on iPhone as the ban on TikTok took effect Sunday, drawing the ire of U.

It holds the top position among the most downloaded social networks in the Apple stores in the United States. Shuang is hooked on an app that many of its followers believe ironically adopted the name of a popular red-covered book full of doctrinal quotes from the founding father of communist China.

A rare wave of U.S.-China camaraderie broke out online in recent days as “refugees” from the popular short video platform TikTok poured onto a Chinese social media platform to protest a now-delayed ban on the service.

Xiaohongshu, whose name literally means "little red book" but is also known in English as RedNote, is wildly popular in its home market -- one of the most censored countries in the world. This contradiction makes the app's sudden popularity among U.S. users both puzzling and potentially troubling for Xiaohongshu.

TikTok refugees flocked to Chinese platform Xiaohongshu on Monday, where users greeted them with offers of Mandarin lessons and jokes about spying.

The app that Americans are flocking to as a TikTok alternative is Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, which translates to “Little Red Book.” This name carries significant historical weight, as it alludes to Mao Zedong’s Little Red Book, a mandatory collection of his quotes and philosophies that symbolized the Cultural Revolution in China.

The social media app, Xiaohongshu, is lifestyle based and has features like live-streaming, shopping, and similarly to TikTok, users have the facility to upload short videos, images, and messages.

As the fate of TikTok hangs in the balance, U.S. TikTok users are flocking to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, also called RedNote – making it the top downloaded app in the U.S. Some of the “TikTok refugees,