On September 21, the topic "Xianyu Involved in Vulgar Content" dominated the Weibo hot search list.

A report by Hebei Economic Channel exposed the use of transactional coded language with sexual undertones, such as "home visits" and "dateable Pokémon," shortly after Wang Chengyuan assumed leadership of the platform.

Xianyu responded promptly: 98,000 accounts have been terminated this year, 15 criminal syndicates have been dismantled, and efforts to combat vulgar content aimed at drawing traffic persist.

However, the most notable aspect this time is not how Xianyu will respond—but why a second-hand platform boasting 600 million users is constantly targeted by black and gray industries.

Xianyu in the Eye of the Storm: Not 'Out of Control,' but 'Under Siege'

Xianyu's appearance on the hot search list might seem like a platform governance issue, but a closer look at the event's context suggests otherwise.

The official response was unequivocal: vulgar information was intercepted in real-time. According to Xianyu's official statement, six out of ten products mentioned in the report were identified and removed by the system before the media published the story. Three others were redirects to external sites with no vulgar content on the platform. The remaining one was a manga adaptation image service, which was also blocked due to non-compliant descriptions like "special items."

As for the term "dateable Pokémon," it was not even present on the Xianyu platform but rather in the WeChat business introduction of those involved. This indicates that Xianyu's platform inspection mechanism is always active and not just hastily rectified after media exposure.

The cat-and-mouse game intensifies, with coded language like "daily disposables" becoming an AI blind spot. Black and gray industries now employ a "stepping stone tactic": placing coded advertisements on legitimate platforms to redirect users externally for transactions. Platform supervision is limited to internal activities and cannot manage private chats or WeChat groups, creating inherent gaps in oversight.

More concerning is the rapid evolution of coded language. AI auditing relies on a fixed keyword library, which takes weeks or even months to update, while black market operators can switch to a new set of coded terms in just a few minutes. In this guerrilla warfare, Xianyu, as the defender, is inherently at a disadvantage.

Vulgarity remains a persistent challenge across the entire content governance industry, not just Xianyu's problem.

Increased Governance Fails to Break the Deadlock; the Siege Remains Unsolved in the Short Term

Xianyu's involvement in vulgar content is not new to the public eye. Related undercover reports emerged as early as 2016, and People's Daily even published a commentary on it in 2019.

However, Xianyu has not adopted a passive stance. The platform has already banned 98,000 accounts for vulgar content this year, handed over 15 suspect groups to the police, and called on peers to join the counterattack. Therefore, blaming Xianyu as an accomplice to black industries misidentifies the target of criticism; it is itself a victim under siege.

The crux of the issue is that a platform with 600 million users is seen as a traffic goldmine by black market operators. As long as the traffic remains, the war will not end.

Xianyu's Twelve Years: From a 'Second-Hand Channel' to a Universal Marketplace for 200 Million Young People

Being worth attacking presupposes that the platform is large enough. Xianyu's current scale did not happen overnight.

Identity Transformation: From a Derivative Channel to an Independent Platform

Xianyu's development journey mirrors the evolution of China's second-hand e-commerce industry.

In 2014, Xianyu's independent app launched and quickly surpassed one million daily active users. By 2023, it was listed as one of Alibaba's "Four Little Dragons" in strategic innovation businesses. As of March this year, Xianyu's monthly active users reached 217 million, with over 600 million registered users.

According to a report by the China Second-Hand Goods Industry Association, as of the first quarter of this year, Xianyu's C2C transaction GMV exceeded 580 billion yuan, capturing a 39.8% market share. Today's Xianyu is no longer just a derivative channel under Taobao but the leading player in this sector.

Commercialization Breakthrough: The End of a Decade-Long Free Model

With a large user base, commercialization became inevitable. In 2023, Xianyu began charging fees for Yuxiaopu sellers. In 2024, it imposed a 0.6% basic software service fee on all sellers. In April this year, the Yuxiaopu fee rate increased to 1.6%.

The three-step approach was not rushed; it used differentiated rates to screen professional sellers rather than impacting individual sellers with a one-size-fits-all approach, gradually adjusting the ecosystem toward a healthy commercial closed loop with cautious management.

AI Growth Driver: Millions of Orders Are No Gimmick

Many still perceive Xianyu as a platform solely for selling second-hand goods, but it has already expanded into digital services, virtual goods, and other emerging fields.

In the first half of this year, Xianyu's AI service orders reached 9.816 million, up 157% year-on-year. Nearly five million people placed orders, a 98% increase from the previous year. AI programming and website-building orders surged by 1732%, while AI manga drama orders rose by 1425%.

Behind these numbers lies the same factor—Xianyu's core strength has never been price competition but inclusivity.

Whether it's niche bicycle parts or full-house idle furniture, you can always find a buyer here. Such a highly free market experience is unattainable on pure shelf-based e-commerce platforms.

From 'Veteran Player' to 'Leader': No One Understands Xianyu Better Than Him

Just three months before this public opinion storm, Xianyu completed its leadership transition.

Resume as an Advantage: Always Focused on Transactions and Community

The new leader, Wang Chengyuan, previously served as a senior product manager at Alibaba, the product manager for Taobao rules, the product manager for the Taobao mobile app, and the product manager for the shared business platform.

From Taobao to Xianyu, from rule design to product architecture, his career trajectory has never strayed from the keywords of transactions and community.

Why is he the "most suitable person"? Because he didn't just come to take over Xianyu; he came to claim it. Wang Chengyuan is not only one of Xianyu's core designers but also an early explorer of China's C2C trading community. No one understands this platform better than he does.

Deep Product Understanding: More Than Just Fixes—Reconstruction Needed

Xianyu currently needs to evolve from "capable of transactions" to "good at transactions," from "having something to buy" to "buying well," and from "information chaos" to "efficient matching." These goals cannot be achieved through superficial fixes but require reconstruction from the ground up—a task well-suited to Wang Chengyuan's background.

He understands the logic of transaction platform efficiency and the principles of user experience design, enabling him to rebuild transaction processes and matching mechanisms from the bottom up. He needs to elevate the platform experience to a new level rather than continue applying patches.

User-Centric Approach: Community Ecology Is the Soul

Wang Chengyuan previously served as the project leader for "Xianyu Players," overseeing community ecology construction and operations.

He knows better than anyone that Xianyu's soul is not "transactions" but its seller community, the interest-based connections between people, and the warmth brought by idle item circulation—transactions are merely the result; the community is the cause.

This is the true source of Xianyu's user stickiness and its biggest difference from other e-commerce platforms.

Governance from the Ground Up: Timely for Rule-Based Governance

His experience as the product manager for Taobao rules has given Wang Chengyuan a profound understanding of platform governance and rule design—something Xianyu currently lacks.

Because content governance is not just about banning accounts; it's about designing a rule system that makes black and gray industries more costly while improving the experience for normal users.

Where Will Xianyu Go in the Wang Chengyuan Era?

Wang Chengyuan inherits a massive platform, but the challenges are equally enormous. The next step depends on which direction he takes.

Governance Philosophy Upgrade: From Reactive Disposal to Proactive Interception

Wang's experience in rule design could enable Xianyu to shift from "reactive processing" to "proactive interception" and from acting alone to cross-platform collaboration. The issue of "daily disposable" coded language cannot be solved by simply piling up keyword libraries; it requires reconstructing governance logic from the rules.

Strengthening Community Attributes: The Core Moat Is the Universal Marketplace

In the first half of this year, Xianyu achieved significant results in the AI sector. However, AI is not just a money-making tool for Xianyu; it's also the technological foundation for governance upgrades—it must do two things simultaneously: help the platform earn money and help it fight battles.

Xianyu should continue strengthening its community attributes to make the "universal trading ground" positioning more deeply ingrained. A platform that "mainly enables buying anything" cannot rely on crude methods like subsidies to build user stickiness; it must evolve naturally through community ecology.

Commercialization Trade-offs: Balancing Professional and Individual Sellers

Ensuring better services for professional sellers while maintaining a hassle-free experience for individual sellers—this is the dilemma Wang Chengyuan must solve.

The real key issue is that individual sellers are Xianyu's most scarce resource. If this is lost, what distinguishes Xianyu from other second-hand platforms?

Conclusion

In its twelve years, Xianyu's greatest value lies not in GMV or user scale.

It endorses a lifestyle: being frugal is not shameful; saving money can also bring satisfaction. When an old item is taken over by another stranger, it not only achieves resource reuse but also represents a relay of life attitudes.

Today's Xianyu has indeed changed—individual sellers are gradually diluted by professional sellers, fees are rising, and commercialization is extending its reach. However, the early internet value of "willingness to share" remains its spiritual core, truly differentiating it from other platforms.

Wang Chengyuan's most crucial task is not just to block black and gray industries but also to prevent Xianyu from becoming the next Taobao.