Chinese Q&A platform Zhihu said Thursday its monthly active users (MAUs) had surpassed 100 million. Last month, the company reported 94.3 million MAUs in the second quarter of 2021, up 46.2% from the same period last year. The firm was also added to the FTSE China Index, a stock index by Britain’s FTSE Group. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Users from Tencent’s instant messaging app QQ can now open links to Alibaba’s e-commerce platform Taobao and ByteDance’s short-video app Douyin, TechNode found after testing Friday. The move comes after Chinese regulators reportedly told all internet platforms to stop blocking links to their rivals’ websites by Friday. But WeChat, Tencent’s other messaging app, was still blocking links to rival sites at press time. [The Paper, in Chinese]

ByteDance’s short video app Douyin is testing a new livestreaming portal for its upcoming food delivery service, signaling a different business model from its rivals, Chinese media Tech Planet reported Thursday. By clicking into the window, users will be able to place orders and find information about delivery times, nearby food vendors, and switching vendors. Douyin has completed two months of tests but hasn’t announced a launch date. [Tech Planet, in Chinese]

Alibaba rebranded its community group-buy unit to “Taocaicai” on Tuesday as some rivals losing momentum after rounds of market consolidation. The new brand will incorporate Freshippo Market and Taobao Maicai, Alibaba’s two existing community grocery services. Users in various cities can access the newly branded service through Taobao’s mobile app. [TMT Post, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Chinese online retailer JD launched a physical store brand called JD Mall to expand its offline presence. JD Mall plans to debut in the city of Xi’an with a five-story store on Sept. 30. The store will sell more than 200,000 items from 150 domestic and international brands. [JD press release]