Building a Chinese Product Hunt: Why the Market Needs It

As a software developer based in Shanghai, I’ve been thinking about what side project could generate meaningful cash flow while solving a real problem. After exploring various ideas, I’ve landed on something I’m genuinely excited about: a Chinese version of Product Hunt.

The Problem: Product Discovery in China is Broken

If you’re a Chinese developer or tech enthusiast looking to discover new tools and products, your options are limited:

Platform What It Does The Gap
Product Hunt Daily curated products with voting English-first, many products don’t work in China
36氪 Tech news and funding coverage Focus on news, not product discovery
少数派 App reviews and articles Long-form content, not daily discovery format
小众软件 Software recommendations Old-school forum format, not community-driven
V2EX Developer community Not product-focused

There’s no platform in China that combines:

  • Daily curated products (like Product Hunt’s daily launches)
  • Community voting and discussion (upvotes, comments)
  • Chinese localization (descriptions, context for Chinese users)
  • China-friendly alternatives (products that actually work behind the GFW)

Why This Matters Now

1. Growing Indie Developer Community

The 独立开发者 (indie developer) community in China is exploding. More Chinese developers are building their own products, but they lack a platform to launch and get discovered. WeChat groups and V2EX posts only get you so far.

2. Localization is Non-Trivial

Many products on Product Hunt:

  • Don’t support Chinese
  • Require payment methods Chinese users don’t have
  • Are blocked or slow in China
  • Solve problems that don’t exist in the Chinese context

A Chinese Product Hunt would curate products that actually work for Chinese users and highlight local alternatives.

3. The Format Works

Product Hunt’s daily discovery + voting format is proven. It creates:

  • FOMO: Users check daily to not miss new products
  • Network effects: Makers share their launches, bringing traffic
  • Community: Voters feel invested in helping good products win

The Product Vision

Core Features (MVP)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           产品猎人 / Today's Products        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  🥇 AI写作助手 - 基于GPT的中文写作工具         │
│     ▲ 234  💬 12  🏷️ AI工具                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  🥈 极简待办 - 没有多余功能的Todo应用           │
│     ▲ 189  💬 8   🏷️ 效率应用                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  🥉 代码截图 - 生成漂亮的代码分享图片           │
│     ▲ 156  💬 15  🏷️ 开发者工具              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  • Daily products: 5-10 curated products per day
  • Upvoting: Simple voting system
  • Product pages: Name, tagline, description, screenshots, link
  • Categories: AI工具, 效率应用, 开发者工具, 设计, 生活
  • Comments: Discussion threads

Content Strategy

Phase 1: Curated by me

  • Manually curate 5-10 products daily
  • Source from Product Hunt, Hacker News, 少数派, V2EX
  • Add Chinese descriptions and context
  • Highlight China-friendly alternatives

Phase 2: Community submissions

  • Open submissions from makers
  • Moderate and approve quality products
  • Featured spots for exceptional launches

Technical Stack

Keeping it simple and cheap:

Frontend:    Next.js + Tailwind CSS
Backend:     Supabase (auth + database + storage)
Hosting:     Vercel (free tier)
Auth:        WeChat OAuth + Email

Total monthly cost: ~$0 until significant scale

Database Schema

products:
  id, name, tagline, description, url, logo,
  screenshots, category, submitted_by, created_at

votes:
  id, product_id, user_id, created_at

comments:
  id, product_id, user_id, content, created_at

users:
  id, name, avatar, wechat_id, email

Growth Strategy

Channel Mix

Channel Tactic Expected Impact
SEO “XX的中国替代品” articles 5K-20K visits/month
V2EX/即刻 Daily product posts 500 early adopters
WeChat 公众号 Daily digest newsletter 2K followers/month
小红书 Tool recommendation videos Viral potential
Maker network Launch announcements 100K organic reach

The Maker Network Effect

This is the key growth lever. Every maker who launches on the platform will share their launch with their audience. If we get:

  • 100 makers launching
  • Each with 1,000 followers on average
  • = 100,000 potential organic reach

We’ll create a “Launch Kit” with social assets to make sharing easy.

SEO Content Machine

Writing articles like:

  • “Notion的最佳中国替代品”
  • “2026年最好用的AI工具”
  • “Figma中国版有哪些选择”

Each article links back to product pages, creating passive organic traffic.

Monetization Model

Starting free, then adding revenue streams:

Revenue Stream When Price
Featured product spots Month 4+ ¥199-499/day
Sponsored collections Month 5+ ¥999/collection
Job board for makers Month 6+ ¥299/posting
Premium analytics Month 6+ ¥99/month

Revenue Projection

Month Users Paid Features Revenue
Month 3 2,000 - ¥0
Month 4 5,000 Featured spots ¥500
Month 5 8,000 + Sponsored ¥1,500
Month 6 10,000+ Full suite ¥3,000+

Competitive Moat

Why would this win?

  1. First-mover in format: No one does daily discovery + voting in Chinese
  2. Bilingual curation: I can bridge Western and Chinese content
  3. Maker community: Network effects compound over time
  4. SEO content: Articles become long-term traffic assets

Why wouldn’t a big player copy this?

  • 36氪: Too focused on news and funding, different DNA
  • 少数派: Editorial model, not community-driven
  • Tencent: Too big to care about this niche
  • Product Hunt: No China expertise, blocked in China

Overseas Remote Work Opportunities for Chinese Developers

One thing I’ve noticed while exploring this space: there’s a growing trend of overseas remote work opportunities for people in China. This could be a natural extension of the platform—or at least a content vertical worth exploring.

The Current Landscape

Platform Description Limitations
Upwork/Fiverr Global freelance marketplaces Payment issues (PayPal restrictions), high competition
Toptal Elite freelance network Very selective, requires strong English
Remote OK Remote job board Few China-friendly postings
We Work Remotely Remote job listings English-only, timezone challenges
电鸭社区 Chinese remote work community Limited overseas opportunities

Why This Matters for Chinese Developers

The opportunity is real:

  • Many overseas companies are open to remote talent from China
  • Timezone overlap with Asia-Pacific, US West Coast
  • Cost arbitrage: competitive rates for high-quality work
  • Growing acceptance of async communication

The challenges:

  • Payment: Most platforms use PayPal, which has restrictions in China. Alternatives include Wise, Payoneer, or direct bank transfers
  • Communication: English proficiency is essential, especially for async written communication
  • Legal/Tax: Navigating contractor vs. employee status, tax obligations in both countries
  • VPN dependency: Many tools (GitHub, Slack, Notion) require stable VPN access

Types of Remote Opportunities

Type Examples Best For
Freelance Projects Web development, mobile apps, design Flexible schedule seekers
Part-time Contracts 10-20 hrs/week ongoing work Those with full-time jobs
Full-time Remote Distributed companies hiring globally Career changers
Open Source Bounties Gitcoin, GitHub Sponsors Portfolio builders
Technical Writing Documentation, tutorials Strong English writers

Resources for Getting Started

Job Boards:

Payment Solutions:

  • Wise (formerly TransferWise) - Multi-currency accounts, good rates
  • Payoneer - Popular for freelancers, supports CNY withdrawal
  • 香港银行账户 - Many developers open HK accounts for easier international transfers

Skill Building:

  • Technical English: Grammarly, writing practice
  • Portfolio: GitHub, personal website, case studies
  • Communication: Over-communicate, document everything

Potential Platform Feature

This could become a feature of 今日发现:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           远程机会 / Remote Opportunities     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  🌍 Senior React Developer - US Startup      │
│     💰 $60-80/hr  ⏰ Async  🌐 Remote         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  🌍 Backend Engineer - Singapore Company     │
│     💰 $5,000/mo  ⏰ PT overlap  🌐 Remote   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  🌍 Technical Writer - Open Source Project   │
│     💰 $40/hr  ⏰ Flexible  🌐 Anywhere       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

This would:

  • Attract a broader audience of Chinese developers
  • Create another monetization avenue (job posting fees)
  • Build community trust by connecting people with real opportunities
  • Differentiate from competitors who don’t offer this

Timeline

Month Milestone Hours/Week
Jan 2026 Build MVP 10
Feb 2026 Launch, 500 users 8
Mar 2026 2,000 users, add features 6
Apr 2026 Open submissions, 5,000 users 6
May 2026 First revenue 5
Jun 2026 10,000+ users, ¥3,000+/month 5

Name Ideas

Still deciding on the name:

  • 产品猎人 - Direct translation, recognizable
  • 今日发现 - “Today’s Discoveries”
  • 新品日报 - “New Products Daily”
  • 发现产品 - “Discover Products”
  • 猎产品 - “Hunt Products”

Leaning towards 今日发现 because it’s descriptive and doesn’t require explaining what “Product Hunt” means.

What’s Next

I’m starting to build the MVP this week. My plan:

  1. Set up Next.js + Supabase project
  2. Build product listing page with upvote functionality
  3. Create product detail pages
  4. Seed with first 20-30 curated products
  5. Deploy to Vercel and share for feedback

If you’re interested in following along or have suggestions, feel free to reach out. And if you’re a maker who wants to launch a product on the platform when it’s ready, let me know!