Douban

Douban combines a rating and review database for books, films and music with interest-based discussion groups, and its rating system carries unusual credibility in Chinese-speaking audiences.

That credibility comes from a long history and a comparatively resistant approach to rating manipulation — a Douban score is often the reference point people cite when deciding whether a film is worth watching.

Its groups are a separate world: thousands of small communities on everything from housing and job complaints to niche hobbies, with candid discussion that makes them a useful source for understanding how people actually talk about a topic.