A little while ago, the second-hand trading platform Xianyu caused quite a stir after it allegedly “auto-listed” photos from a user’s phone for sale. A netizen in Jiangsu found that her Xianyu account had automatically put up a picture of the Shaanxi History Museum’s prized artifact — a Tang Dynasty silver gilded saddle flask with the design of a dancing horse holding a cup in its mouth — priced at 6,000 yuan.
On June 1, according to a report from Xinhuanghe Big Fish Finance & Economics, a Xianyu spokesperson responded to the situation, saying that after an investigation, the item in question was identified by AI as an ordinary cultural replica, and the system generated suggested titles and descriptions. At this point, the listing has already been removed by the user.
Xianyu stated that the platform will always strictly abide by the law, firmly oppose any illegal trading of cultural relics, and actively cooperate with authorities in cracking down on such activities. Currently, Xianyu has integrated with the National Cultural Heritage Administration’s “China Stolen (Lost) Cultural Relics Information Release Platform,” which can intelligently compare data for 820 nationally stolen relics. At the same time, the platform has raised the listing threshold for 72 highly sensitive categories in the collectibles field, requiring sellers to clearly indicate whether they have proof of source.
Xianyu sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused by this product experience issue. Moving forward, the platform will strengthen prompts and user confirmation during listings to prevent similar misunderstandings from happening again.
According to a previous report from Shangyou News, on May 30, a netizen named Ms. Gu from Jiangsu found that her Xianyu account had a listing for the Shaanxi History Museum’s crown jewel — the Tang Dynasty silver gilded saddle flask with a dancing horse design — priced at 6,000 yuan. What shocked Ms. Gu even more was that the entire listing was automatically generated by the platform’s AI, including the description and price, without her having any idea about it.
Ms. Gu initially suspected that Xianyu had secretly accessed her phone’s photo album and “stolen” the images to list them. After asking customer service, she was told that the photo might have been uploaded to “Xianyu Space” at some point, which triggered the auto-listing feature.
Ms. Gu wasn’t buying that explanation. She said she didn’t remember ever sending that museum artifact photo to “Xianyu Space.” And even if she had accidentally uploaded it there, she argued, the platform shouldn’t just turn any random photo into a product for sale without any confirmation, add a price tag, and even use AI to generate descriptions like “natural patina overall” and “suitable for collection or decorative display.”
This wasn’t an isolated case. From posts shared by netizens on social media, the kinds of items mysteriously “auto-listed” were all over the place — some people saw things they’d saved as favorites, others saw pictures of their own pets. It was both hilarious and frustrating.
On June 1, the press reached out to Xianyu customer service for comment on this incident. A representative said: “Xianyu Space is your personal area where you can store photos and product information posted through Xianyu’s camera. You can find the ‘Space’ tab in your Xianyu ID. When you upload items in Space, they’re set as publicly visible by default, so photos might show up on the homepage or in search results for others to browse, and buyers can purchase directly.”
That person also noted that photos need to be manually uploaded by the user — they won’t be uploaded automatically. Later, users can manage everything on the “My Listings” page. “When other users like or comment on your public photos, you’ll get a notification. You can check and reply in the ‘Messages’ tab under ‘Interaction Messages’.”
It’s worth noting that back in March this year, Xianyu rolled out a major update introducing a new feature called Xianyu AI Camera. With just a simple photo, users could list an item for sale in five seconds. The new feature also used AI to suggest pricing, helping users make deals more efficiently and reasonably.
According to publicly available information, Xianyu was officially launched in 2014 as a C2C (consumer-to-consumer) second-hand trading community. Based on QuestMobile’s “2025–2026 Core Trend Report,” as of January 2026, Xianyu’s overall monthly active users (MAU) had reached 217 million, a year-over-year increase of 19.64%, making it the fastest-growing e-commerce app in terms of MAU. Previously, official data showed that Xianyu’s registered users had surpassed 600 million, and in March 2025 its MAU broke through the 200 million mark to hit 209 million.
In terms of user demographics, Xianyu skews heavily toward younger people. Data indicates that Xianyu’s monthly active users born after 2000 have reached 43.61 million, with a growth rate of 47.1%. Together, users born after 1995 and after 2000 make up over 60% of the platform. Additionally, as of the end of 2025, the total number of users engaged in ACGN (anime, comics, games, and novels), celebrity fandom, and gaming on Xianyu had exceeded 160 million, with the yearly number of ACGN consumers rising 47% year over year.
