DXY's Pandemic Map Surpasses 2.8 Billion Views in One Month: The C-End Strategy Behind the Success

2.8 Billion+。

This is the DXY Epidemic MapTotal page views since its launch on January 21. Initially, the primary function of the Epidemic Map was information dissemination. After multiple updates and iterations, it has integrated features such as data and trend analysis, rumor debunking, online medical consultations, and public education on protective measures. As the epidemic stabilized in China while spreading globally, the platform was upgraded to the Global Epidemic Map.

DXY onIn 2019, the vision was upgraded to “More Health, Better Life,” formally establishing a consumer-centric strategic direction centered on “health.” The primary approach to implementing this strategy is to “pool professional expertise and deliver reliable products.”

Looking at the development trajectory of DXY’s epidemic map and related services, one can actually see that DXYThe Logic of the C-End Strategy. Chu Yang, Vice President of DXY and Founder of the DXY Doctor and DXY Mom Brands, stated that during this pandemichas received unprecedented attention, but the magnitude of the numbers holds little particular significance for DXY,“We remain more focused on whether our products and business can truly provide help to users.”

Dingxiangyuan, which began as a platform for academic exchanges among physicians, started paying attention to COVID-19 as early as its initial emergence.Started tracking developments in Wuhan from late December.

On January 20, confirmed cases had already been reported in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, with suspected cases identified in multiple other provinces and municipalities. Just hours before Academician Zhong Nanshan publicly confirmed that the novel coronavirus was capable of “human-to-human transmission,” DXY rapidly established a cross-departmental epidemic emergency command center and response team based on its assessment of available information. The initiative involved teams from content, product, technology, marketing, operations, and big data divisions.

The command center immediately convened a meeting to discuss subsequent response measures, and half an hour later, designated the creation of a clear and intuitive epidemic map as the most urgent priority.

After overnight development by the product technology and data teams,In the early hours of January 21, within less than a day, Version 1.0 of the Epidemic Map was launched. This version includes a nationwide epidemic map and real-time updates, offering an intuitive spatial-temporal visualization to meet users’ urgent information needs during the initial phase of the outbreak.

Shortly thereafter, the People’s Daily, which already had a deep partnership with DXY, joined forces to provide DXY with frontline news materials. At noon on January 22, the jointly launched epidemic situation map by the People’s Daily and DXY was officially unveiled. The authority and timeliness of the People’s Daily, combined with DXY’s medical expertise, created a powerful synergy that made the epidemic map a widely cited source for many media outlets and platforms in the subsequent period.

Key Milestones in the Upgrades and Iterations of DXY’s Epidemic Map, Chart by VCBeat

Since then, the epidemic map has undergone multiple updates and iterations, ultimately evolving into four major sections: Epidemic Map, Rumor Debunking & Prevention, Real-Time Updates, and Disease Knowledge.

The Epidemic Map not only added subscription products such as daily epidemic reports and data by province and city, but also integrated DXY Doctor’s online consultation services and content from new media matrices including DXY, DXY Doctor, and DXY Mom, becoming a platform that consolidates nearly all of DXY’sCore Products for Consumer-Facing Services.

Comparison between Version 1.0 of the Epidemic Map (left) and the Current Version (right)

“For the general public, our strategy emphasizes a focus on out-of-hospital scenarios, serving as a guide for healthy lifestyles,” said Chu Yang. He stated that when public health emergencies occur, it is DXY’s responsibility to promptly provide the public with comprehensive, scientific, and rigorous information, helping them understand the event itself as well as the underlying scientific and health-related knowledge.

We found that the underlying design and iterative upgrades of the epidemic map were all conducted in accordance with user needs and centered on the aforementioned points.

Head of DXY Data Research Institute“Yi Jie,” a graduate specializing in epidemiology and statistics, spearheaded the provision of data support for the epidemic map.

Yi Jie introduced that the epidemic map only includes those that meetOnly by adhering to the three principles of “accuracy, speed, and quality” can the public be truly helped to stay informed in a timely manner. Therefore, all data must be collected from authoritative sources and undergo three procedures—verification, analysis, and review—before being uploaded.

Even in the relatively straightforward phase of data collection, data professionals encounter numerous obstacles. The formats of data released by local health commissions and centers for disease control and prevention vary across regions, with significant discrepancies in detail. For instance, while some provinces and municipalities provide comprehensive daily epidemic updates—including confirmed cases, suspected cases, recovered cases, and deaths—other areas lack certain data dimensions, necessitating verification and supplementation through other public channels.

“Analyzing data tests not only mathematical ability but also reading comprehension and geographical knowledge,” said Yi Jie.

Data Statistics Principles of DXY's Epidemic Map

In addition to DXY, numerous other online platforms have also launched epidemic maps. At times, data discrepancies may arise between DXY and other platforms; furthermore, inconsistencies have been observed within DXY’s own data, where the sum of regional case counts does not match the national total. In response, Yijie has provided the following summary:

Common Data Issues in Epidemic Maps

Overall, DXY has consistently balanced the principles of authority and speed to ensure the provision of the most accurate information to its users.

However, data alone is insufficient. While the mere dissemination of data satisfies users’ information needs, it may also induce anxiety and panic. Users might see good news about patients being cured and discharged in the morning, only to scroll through updates at night revealing hundreds of thousands of close contacts. Their daily emotional state becomes akin to a roller coaster ride, with constant ups and downs.

What Do Daily Data Fluctuations Mean? This Is Not Necessarily Understandable to the General Public.

Thus, the epidemic map inOn January 30, the Daily Epidemic Report was launched. Its main contents include: a daily summary of national epidemic data, a daily summary of regional data, an analysis of epidemic data trends, and key news updates on the epidemic.

Topics in the Daily Epidemic Report Within One Month

We observe that the thematic focus of the daily epidemic reports varies across different stages.In early February, the epidemic spread rapidly, with confirmed and suspected cases surging. Medical teams were continuously dispatched from across the country to aid Wuhan, while local authorities accelerated the construction of Leishenshan Hospital, Huoshenshan Hospital, and makeshift cabin hospitals to enhance patient reception capacity. Amidst widespread anxiety and panic among the public, daily epidemic reports focused on calmly interpreting the implications behind the data to prevent further public alarm caused by rising numbers, while also highlighting positive signals to convey reassurance.

After mid-February, the epidemic trended toward stabilization. The Epidemic Daily Report not only followed up on these positive developments but also reminded the public to remain vigilant. In late February, as the outbreak spread globally, the report continued to track domestic hotspots while also beginning to monitor global developments.

Now that the epidemic situation in China is stable and users’ anxiety has eased, it means that the daily epidemic report has fulfilled its mission, fromUpdates suspended starting February 29; thereafter, the format will change to a weekly epidemic report.

Therefore, epidemic reports help users look beyond the surface of the data to understand the underlying scientific principles, thereby fostering a more rational perspective on the stage of development. 

During the pandemic, particularly in its early stages, rumors proliferated. Lacking the ability to discern truth from falsehood, users either engaged in excessive protective measures or rushed to hoard medications and supplies, even queuing in crowded lines at brick-and-mortar pharmacies, thereby increasing the risk of cross-infection.

“In the medical field, we emphasize ‘evidence-based medicine,’ which also serves as DXY’s foundational methodology and logical framework,” said Chu Yang. This approach applies equally when confronting a vast amount of uncertain information. “We do not directly judge whether information constitutes a rumor, nor do we target specific individuals, institutions, or statements,”but rather focus on whether there is sufficient evidence to support this information.”

Rumor Ranking of the Epidemic Map

Chu Yang stated that in the era of information overload, DXY and Dingxiang Doctor leverage their professional expertise to filter and triage content, with the ultimate output being rumor debunking. This mechanism helps maintain clarity and restraint when confronted with a deluge of information.

As of now, in the epidemic map“Rumor Ranking” features 137 debunking entries, each revealing the truth through concise text and visuals, with one-click poster generation for easy sharing.

From the early stages of the pandemic“Taking vitamin C can prevent infection,” “Drinking high-proof baijiu can prevent the novel coronavirus,” and later rumors such as “COVID-19 home test kits can be used for self-testing” and “lung damage in COVID-19 patients is irreversible”—Dingxiang Yuan has debunked all these myths with authoritative information.

Therefore, the launch of the rumor-refutation section is essentially designed to help the public understand evidence-based health knowledge, thereby preventing misinformation from leading them to engage in health-damaging behaviors.

The reason why it can timely capture public demand and meet it through professional means is that DXY has leveraged its years of accumulated experience to“Infused with a strong medical foundation.”

A significant number of colleagues within the DXY team hold professional backgrounds in medicine, pharmacy, public health, and related fields.

“Faced with intricate medical terminology, medical concepts, and the task of unraveling the connections among these clues,”We can be fast and professional.“Chu Yang introduced that, as far as the epidemic map is concerned, even the product manager has a medical background.

In addition to the internal team’s professional acumen in promptly tracking hot topics and anticipating trends, content produced by DXY’s extensive new media matrix is governed by rigorous quality control processes and standards for content production and publication.

These processes and standards mainly include the expert commissioning process guidelines, content style guide specifications, and scientific review procedures.(Science-review protocol), Peer-review protocol, Working Specifications for the Editorial Review Committee, Reference Verification Guidelines, and Procedures for Expert First/Second/Third Reviews, while balancing readability and rigor.

Even peer review, commonly used in academia, has been incorporated into DXY’s content creation process.

We found that DXY was often able to obtain timely information from the front lines of the epidemic response. For example, the statement from Dr. Li Wenliang’s family regarding whether to accept donations after his death; Wuhan Fangcang HospitalDeputy Director of Cabin 2, Yang Yongfeng, discussed frontline operations and hand-drew schematic diagrams of the makeshift hospital.

Behind this is DXY20 Years of Accumulated Physician Resources. DXY Has 2.1 Million Physician Users, Accounting for Over 70% of Physicians in China.

Dingxiangyuan Forum is categorized by clinical departments into Respiratory, Infectious Diseases, and Imaging.WaitWith more than 20 sections, each accompanied by its own official WeChat account, the platform has become a commonly used communication channel for physicians.

To date, DXY Forum has featured posts related to COVID-19.14,000 posts. The Respiratory and Infection forums are undoubtedly the most active sections for discussion, serving as one of the sources for DXY’s content team to gather information and accumulate materials. “We also have numerous physician groups that provide us with first-hand information from epidemic areas,” added Chu Yang.

Of course, while DXY leverages its physician resources to gather information, it also delivers value to physicians.

Dingxiang Open Courses, the physician education brand under Dingxiangyuan, has collaborated with frontline physicians to produceThe 29th course is offered free of charge. It covers seven major modules: analysis of imaging characteristics, diagnosis and treatment protocols for critically ill patients, diagnosis and treatment protocols for mildly symptomatic patients, interpretation of guidelines for COVID-19, diagnosis and treatment protocols for special infection populations, key points in clinical nursing, and self-protection and research advances. A total of 27 frontline physicians participated, promptly sharing the latest clinical diagnosis and treatment experiences. To date, the course has been studied by 70,000 learners.

“Frontline healthcare workers operate in high-risk environments, making personal protective measures critically important, especially given that a large number of medical staff have already been infected with the virus,” said Chu Yang. DXY has been disseminating infection prevention and control knowledge to healthcare professionals through its forums and various channels. Additionally, Dingxiang Boka, DXY’s live interactive streaming platform, has collaborated with China-Japan Friendship Hospital,Shanghai International Forum on Healthcare-Associated Infection ControlIn collaboration with partners, a series of free courses on COVID-19 were launched to enhance healthcare workers’ occupational protection capabilities and prevent nosocomial infections.

DXY“Strong Medical Foundation” Human Resource Guarantee.

Geneva, Switzerland TimeOn January 30 at 13:30, the WHO Director-General convened a meeting of the Emergency Committee to make a final determination on whether the outbreak in China constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).The meeting lasted5 hours.

By the end of the meeting, Beijing time had already enteredIn the early hours of January 31, as the final decision was expected to impact the domestic economy, it drew widespread attention from all sectors in China. Media outlets and the public stayed up late, monitoring online platforms for the World Health Organization’s announcement.

Beijing Time, Early MorningAt 3:30 a.m. on January 31, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a press conference to announce globally that the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak in China constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), but it did not recommend implementing any travel or trade restrictions.

Fei Fei, an editor on DXY’s content team, is also following the conference; however, she is at her home in Cleveland, United States. The World Health OrganizationThe announcement result is Cleveland.2:30 p.m. on January 30

At that time, she already had a first draft prepared by her partner colleague Liu Yu, who was based in Hangzhou, providing a detailed background of the incident.

Following the announcement of the results, Fei Fei promptly incorporated the content into the article and pushed it out via the DXY WeChat official account at the earliest opportunity.

Feifei, based in the United States, as early asHaving returned home on January 20, Fei Fei, a core member of DXY’s emergency response team for the epidemic, found her holiday turn into work as soon as she arrived.

Time Difference Between Cleveland and China“With a 13-hour time difference, my colleagues on duty follow a schedule of 24 hours on and 24 hours off, whereas my partner and I are able to work during the day and rest at night. However, when I am off duty, my colleagues in China are working. If anyone contacts me in the group chat for urgent matters, I need to get up and handle it,” Fei Fei explained.

“Internationalized” shift scheduling was one of the work scenarios adopted by DXY in response to the pandemic. When the emergency response team was established, members were located in countries such as Russia and Japan; all personnel required for their respective roles participated immediately.

Chu Yang himself was also far away in Singapore during the Spring Festival.“This was a vacation that had been planned all along, but in the end, I couldn’t take it. I stayed at the hotel every day, working online for 17 to 18 hours out of each 24-hour period.”

According to Chu Yang, during the Spring Festival, the entire company had approximatelyMore than 200 individuals have successively participated in pandemic-related work, spanning departments including content, product, technology, marketing, operations, and big data. “Among them, more than 10 people completely canceled their vacations, and some colleagues joined during the middle to later stages when the epidemic situation became more complex and the workload heavier. Nearly 80 people were fully dedicated to the work.”

FromFrom January 20 to February 18, the team worked almost entirely remotely, both domestically and internationally. Daily conference calls were held, with a focus on professionalism, accuracy, and efficiency to guide decision-making and execution.

The data, content, product development, and R&D for the epidemic map were all achieved through remote collaboration in the early stages, which also laid a solid foundation for its influence.

“Our WeChat group sees thousands of messages daily, with senior executives directly involved in decision-making. All information can reach the top management directly. Once a new trend emerges and product iteration is required, all decisions can be made within half an hour, with the fastest cases taking just a few minutes. The chain from decision-making to execution is extremely short.”Chu Yang said,“Over the past period, we have taken great pride in our team’s timely responsiveness and efficient collaboration.”

To enable more users to quickly access the latest epidemic information, DXY has licensed its epidemic map to over 60 commercial brands.

During the early and middle stages of the pandemic, the public, influenced by social management measures, urgently sought relatively certain information online to cope with uncertainty. This period marked the peak traffic for pandemic maps, with the single-day peak reachingOver 200 million. “This posed a challenge to the stability of our backend systems,” said Chu Yang. During the Spring Festival, the technical product team allocated additional resources and temporarily migrated product data to the cloud, thereby ensuring system stability.

ProcessOver the course of more than one month, as of March 5, the epidemic map has garnered over 2.8 billion views.

“Compared to this figure, I pay more attention to the medical workers who died in the line of duty during the epidemic. Because I used to be a surgeon, they were my colleagues, so my feelings are particularly complex,” Chu Yang admitted frankly.

How Can Internet Healthcare Companies Retain the Users Gained During the Pandemic After Its End? This has become a widely discussed topic within the industry recently. Chu Yang believes that developing pandemic maps and other services was not intended for user acquisition; the original intention was simply to provide users with the most urgently needed information at the time. As for user retention, it depends on whether the company can continue to deliver value to its users.

“Indeed, more people became aware of DXY Doctor during the pandemic, and we may see even more subscribers in the future,” said Chu Yang. He added that during this period, DXY needed to focus on delivering more scientific, professional, efficient, and timely information to users, thereby reinforcing public trust in DXY Doctor as a reliable source.

On January 8, 2020, DXY launched its first new product of the year, “Dingxiang Mama University,” under its Dingxiang Mama brand. The product offers targeted maternal and infant knowledge solutions through a systematic content design.A few days later, DXY once again released “2020 National Health Insights Report.

withThe launch of consumer-facing products at the beginning of the year underscores their importance in the overall strategic plan. Meanwhile, maternal and infant health knowledgeService is still DXYThe home health scenario serves as a critical entry point in the consumer-facing strategy, creating vast growth potential for DXY’s next wave of expansion.

Chu Yang believes that the user demands reflected recently, and DXYThe B2C strategy is a perfect fit. In the post-pandemic era, the public’s demand for more frequent healthcare services has increasingly shifted to out-of-hospital settings.Before the onset of disease."Therefore, we are more convinced than ever of the correctness of our strategy and will steadfastly continue on this path."