Life in Mainland China
WeChat: a Chinese conversation with pinyin and English
Weixin is the app for chats, group notices, Moments, Official Accounts, Mini Programs, red packets and payment, and Tencent counted 1,439 million monthly users at 30 June 2026.
Play: WeChatThe conversation
Speakers: Haoran and Yating.
- Haoran
你手机又嗡嗡响个不停，一眨眼四十多条未读了。
Your phone's buzzing nonstop again. That's over forty unread messages in the blink of an eye.
- Yating
小区业主群！三号楼有户人家的猫越狱了，全群正帮忙找呢。
It's the building residents' group! A cat in Building 3 staged a jailbreak and the whole complex is on the lookout.
- Haoran
光我妈住那套房，我就被拉进了六个群：相亲相爱一家人、物业群、老同学聚会群……
I'm in six different groups just for my mom's flat alone—'Loving Family', building management, high school reunion...
- Yating
可不是嘛，家里、班级、小区、公司，只要有人的地方就有微信群。
Tell me about it—families, classes, neighborhoods, work. If a group of people exists, there's a Weixin group for it.
- Haoran
腾讯把微信和海外版 WeChat 合并统计，到2026年6月底，月活账户都冲到14.39亿了。
Tencent reports Weixin and WeChat combined—1,439 million monthly active accounts as of June 2026.
- Yating
我就知道你张嘴就是财报数据。
Leave it to you to have the exact earnings-report figure memorized.
- Yating
那平时认识新朋友，谁还报手机号啊？大家都怎么加人？
So when people meet someone new these days, nobody reads out a phone number. How do you add them?
- 亮出二维码，“扫一扫”互加好友 Pull up your personal QR codes and scan each other
- 双手递上纸质名片 Hand over a printed paper business card
- 回去发一封电子邮件 Send them an email when you get home
Answer
亮出二维码，“扫一扫”互加好友 Pull up your personal QR codes and scan each other
- Haoran
“我扫你还是你扫我？”滴一下，五秒钟搞定。
'Do I scan you or do you scan me?' One beep and you're connected in five seconds.
- Yating
加上就能逛对方的朋友圈了——只对微信好友可见的生活动态。
And right after that, you can browse their Moments—the private feed only your contacts get to see.
- Haoran
小雨的朋友圈我熟，点进去清一色全是吃的。
I know Xiaoyu's Moments by heart—every single post is food.
- Yating
人家那叫艺术采风！而且微信里直接点开小程序就能办事，连 App 都不用装。
She calls that culinary field research! Plus, Mini Programs open right inside Weixin with zero installs needed.
- Haoran
买火车票、扫共享单车、借充电宝全在里头。逢年过节在群里发个拼手气红包，金额还是随机分的。
Train tickets, shared bikes, power banks—it's all inside. And when someone drops a lucky red packet in a group chat, the amounts split at random.
- Yating
别提了，上次阿姨在群里发红包，我手快抢了个三毛钱，小雨才抢到三分钱。
Don't remind me—last time your mom sent a group packet, I tapped fast and got thirty cents, and Xiaoyu got 0.03 yuan.
- Haoran
我妈说了，重在参与，雨露均沾。
As my mom says, it's the thought that counts—everyone gets a drop of rain.
Words in the conversation
Notes
Weixin and WeChat
In mainland China the app is called Weixin, which means "micro message". Outside China the same app is called WeChat, and Tencent reports the two together.
Monthly users
Tencent counted 1,439 million combined monthly active users of Weixin and WeChat at 30 June 2026, up 2% on 1,411 million a year earlier. Its older messenger, mobile QQ, had 520 million in the same quarter.
Chats, groups and Moments
Chats carry text, voice messages, photos, video and voice calls. Families, classes, building residents and workplaces each have a group chat where notices and plans go. Moments (pengyouquan, "circle of friends") is a photo and text feed that only your contacts see.
Official Accounts
An Official Account (gongzhonghao, "public account") is a page run by a media outlet, brand, shop or public body. It publishes articles and offers a menu. Tencent runs one itself, with the Weixin ID TencentGlobal.
Mini Programs
A Mini Program (xiaochengxu, "small program") opens inside the app with no install, usually after you scan a QR code. At a restaurant you scan the code on the table, pick dishes, pay, and the kitchen gets the order. Mini Programs also book rides, sell train and plane tickets, unlock bikes, rent power banks and run city services.
Red packets
A hongbao ("red envelope") is a gift of money sent to one person or into a group. Tencent launched the feature in January 2014. In a group, a "lucky" packet splits a total into random shares, and members tap to grab one, so no two shares are alike.
Adding a friend
Every account has a personal QR code. Meeting someone, you scan each other's code to become contacts, instead of typing a phone number.
Xiaowei
Tencent's Q2 2026 results mention a small-scale prototype test of Xiaowei, an agentic AI inside Weixin. It runs on a customised model called WeLM.
Weixin is the app for chats, group notices, Moments, Official Accounts, Mini Programs, red packets and payment, and Tencent counted 1,439 million monthly users at 30 June 2026.
What is WeChat called in mainland China?
Answer
Weixin. Weixin means "micro message"; WeChat is the name used outside China.
Tencent's combined Weixin and WeChat monthly users at 30 June 2026 were about:
Answer
1.44 billion. Tencent reported 1,439 million in its Q2 2026 results.
What do you call an app that opens inside WeChat with no install?
Answer
A Mini Program. Mini Programs usually open from a scanned QR code or a search in the app.
Which feature shows your photos only to your contacts?
Answer
Moments. Moments (pengyouquan) is the friends-only feed.
In a group "lucky" red packet, the money is split:
Answer
Randomly. Members tap to grab a random share of the total.
When did WeChat red packets launch?
Answer
January 2014. China Daily reported the launch in January 2014.
How do two people usually add each other on WeChat when they meet?
Answer
Scan a personal QR code. Each account has a QR code that adds it as a contact.