China’s internet companies invest billions in virtual red packets for Lunar New Year as they vie for more traffic

  • Last year’s CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala attracted more than 1.1 billion viewers

Tracy Quin Shanghai
A WeChat user scans a QR code to retrieve a digital red envelope on the WeChat app on a mobile phone during the Chinese New Year period in Beijing in 2017. Photo: EPA/STR

Chinese tech companies are planning to spend billions of yuan in virtual red packets for the upcoming Lunar New Year as they seek to grab a bigger share of internet traffic over the national holiday.

Short video app Douyin, owned by Beijing-based Bytedance, kicked off its red packet campaign on Tuesday with users able to share in 2 billion yuan (US$290 million) worth of cash handouts, while search engine giant Baidu launched its campaign on Wednesday with 500 million yuan of handouts for the holiday.

Print option is available for subscribers only.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.