Xiaohongshu (小红书) hackathon crowns pocket-sized guitar as AI-savvy youth take centre stage

Young creators steal the show

Xiaohongshu (小红书) wrapped up its first “Hackathon Summit” in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang AI Innovation Town (张江人工智能创新小镇), spotlighting a new generation of AI creators. Short sprints. Big ideas. Who will be China’s next wave of hardware-software startups? The answer, for now, looks decidedly young and audacious.

Winners and standout projects

After 48 hours of intense development and pitching, ten finalist teams won top prizes across hardware and software tracks. The overall grand prize went to Pocket Guitar (口袋吉他), a pocket-sized smart guitar developed by 22-year-old Ye Bowen (叶博文) and teammates; it reportedly earned a 200,000 yuan cash award. Hardware first prize went to a brain‑controlled wheelchair (脑控轮椅), while AI hairstyle design app “Chic Chic” took the software crown. Other notable winners included “薯医NoteRx” (AI native special award) and Page One — a four‑member middle‑school team with an average age of 13.5 — which built a viral pen‑diagnosis AI agent in under 24 hours. It has been reported that more than 60% of the 200 finalists were born after 2000, and the youngest contestant was just 12.

Bigger picture and source note

The event signals Beijing’s emphasis on applied AI and maker culture: rapid prototyping, low-cost hardware and youthful teams are becoming core to China’s innovation pipeline. It has been reported that such grassroots competitions serve both talent development and industry scouting, even as Chinese AI hardware ambitions face external pressure from Western export controls on advanced chips and software. Organizers’ coverage included user‑generated videos and images uploaded to the Phoenix New Media platform; the host has noted that those materials were provided by individual contributors and the platform served only as a storage and distribution channel.