# Weibo Hot Search Scraper (`kjames2001/weibo-hot-search`) Actor
Scrape Weibo (微博) trending hot search topics in real-time. Get trending keywords, engagement counts, labels (新/热/沸), and rankings. No login required — uses public API.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/kjames2001/weibo-hot-search.md
- **Developed by:** [James Huang](https://apify.com/kjames2001) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, News
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 0 monthly users, 83.3% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
Pay per event
This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## How to integrate an Actor?
If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## 🔥 Weibo Hot Search Scraper | 微博热搜 & Chinese Trending Topics API
[](https://apify.com/store)
[](https://weibo.com)
[](https://nodejs.org)
[](https://apify.com/pricing)
> Scrape **Weibo (微博) trending hot search topics** in real-time. Get the top 50 **微博热搜榜** (Weibo hot search ranking) with trending keywords, engagement counts, labels (新/热/沸/爆), categories, and direct search URLs. The most reliable **weibo scraper** for **chinese social media trends** and **china market research** — no login required.
### Features
- 🔥 **Real-time trending topics** — fetch the current Weibo hot search list (微博热搜榜) on every run
- 📊 **Rich metadata per topic** — engagement counts (`num`), labels (新/热/沸/爆), categories (综艺/体育/财经…), ranking position, and topic flags
- 🔗 **Direct search URLs** — each topic includes a clickable `s.weibo.com` search URL
- 🏷️ **Promoted topics included** — government/promoted topics (`hotgovs`) are captured separately with `isPromoted: true`
- 🚫 **No login required** — uses the public `ajax/side/hotSearch` endpoint
- ⚡ **Fast & lightweight** — single API call, no browser, no pagination needed
- 🌐 **Proxy support** — optional Apify proxy configuration for access from outside China
- 📱 **Structured JSON output** — clean, ready for dashboards, ML pipelines, or databases
### Use Cases
- **Social media monitoring** — track what's trending on China's largest microblogging platform
- **Chinese market research** — understand real-time public discourse and trending topics in China
- **News aggregation** — supplement news feeds with Weibo trending stories
- **Sentiment analysis pipelines** — feed trending keywords into downstream sentiment analysis
- **Brand monitoring** — check if your brand or product appears in Weibo hot search
- **Content discovery** — find viral topics for content creation or curation
- **Academic research** — study Chinese social media trends and public opinion dynamics
- **Competitive intelligence** — monitor trending topics in your industry on Chinese social media
- **SEO & marketing** — discover trending keywords for Chinese market campaigns
- **Crisis detection** — catch negative trending topics about your brand early
### Input Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | No | `{ useApifyProxy: true }` | Apify proxy configuration. Use residential proxies if scraping from outside China. The public API works without proxy from most locations. |
### Output Fields
Each dataset item represents one hot search topic with the following fields:
| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `rank` | integer | Ranking position on the hot search list (0-based for realtime, appended for promoted) |
| `realpos` | integer\|null | Real position as reported by Weibo (may differ from rank for promoted topics) |
| `word` | string | Topic text / search keyword |
| `wordScheme` | string | Hashtag-formatted topic (e.g. `#话题#`) |
| `note` | string | Topic description or note text |
| `num` | integer | Engagement count (search/discussion volume) |
| `label` | string | Label tag (新=New, 热=Hot, 沸=Boiling, 爆=Explosive, etc.) |
| `iconDesc` | string | Icon description text |
| `iconDescColor` | string | Icon color (hex, e.g. `#ff3852`) |
| `category` | string | Topic category (综艺/体育/财经/社会/etc.) |
| `flag` | integer | Weibo internal flag (1=hot, 2=new, etc.) |
| `topicFlag` | integer | Weibo topic flag |
| `url` | string | Direct Weibo search URL for this topic |
| `isPromoted` | boolean | `true` if this is a promoted/government topic, `false` for organic hot search |
| `scrapedAt` | string | ISO timestamp of when the data was scraped |
### How It Works
1. **Single API call** — The actor calls Weibo's public `ajax/side/hotSearch` endpoint
2. **Parse response** — Extracts organic hot search (`data.realtime`) and promoted topics (`data.hotgovs`)
3. **Structure & enrich** — Each topic is enriched with rank position, category, label, and direct search URL
4. **JSON output** — Results saved to Apify dataset, ready for consumption
### Pricing
This Actor uses **Pay-Per-Event (PPE)** pricing:
| Event | Price | Description |
|-------|-------|-------------|
| `actor-start` | $0.005 | Charged once when the Actor starts |
| `topic-scraped` | $0.002 | Charged per hot search topic scraped |
**Typical cost:** A single run with ~50 trending topics costs approximately **$0.005 + (50 × $0.002) = $0.105**.
### Technical Details
- **API endpoint:** `https://weibo.com/ajax/side/hotSearch` (Weibo's public AJAX hot search endpoint)
- **No authentication:** The API works without login cookies or tokens
- **Headers required:** `User-Agent` (Chrome desktop), `Referer: https://weibo.com/`, `Accept: application/json`
- **Response format:** JSON with `data.realtime` (organic hot search) and `data.hotgovs` (promoted topics)
- **Runtime:** Node.js 20 on Apify platform
- **SDK:** Apify SDK v3 + Crawlee v3
- **Execution time:** Typically < 5 seconds per run
### Why Use This vs Alternatives?
| Feature | This Actor | Weibo Scraper (posts) | Weibo Hot Search Tracker | Chinese Brand Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot search ranking (微博热搜) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| 50 trending topics per run | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Heat values & labels | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Category classification | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Promoted topic detection | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| No login required | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Post/comment scraping | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Cross-platform | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Single API call (fast) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
### FAQ
How often does the Weibo hot search update?
Weibo's hot search list updates in real-time, typically every few minutes. Run the actor periodically (e.g., every 15-30 minutes) for continuous monitoring.
What do the labels (新/热/沸/爆) mean?
新 = New (recently trending), 热 = Hot, 沸 = Boiling (very hot), 爆 = Explosive (highest engagement). These are Weibo's official heat-level indicators.
What are promoted topics?
Weibo's hot search includes both organic trending topics and promoted/government topics. This actor captures both, with `isPromoted: true` for promoted entries so you can filter them.
Do I need a proxy?
The public API works without proxy from most locations. If you experience access issues from outside China, use residential proxies via Apify's proxy configuration.
Can I use this for sentiment analysis?
Yes. Use the `word` (topic keyword) field as input to a sentiment analysis actor, or pair with the Weibo Scraper to fetch posts about each trending topic for deeper analysis.
### Keywords
`weibo hot search` · `微博热搜` · `weibo trending` · `微博热搜榜` · `sina weibo scraper` · `chinese social media trends` · `weibo api` · `weibo data extraction` · `weibo scraper` · `sina weibo hot search` · `weibo trends api` · `weibo trending topics` · `微博趋势` · `chinese trending topics` · `weibo hot search api` · `china market research` · `weibo monitoring` · `chinese social listening` · `weibo public opinion` · `微博舆情` · `weibo rank tracker` · `weibo heat value` · `china social media monitoring` · `weibo real-time trends` · `微博实时热搜`
# Actor input Schema
## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):
Apify proxy configuration. Use residential proxies if scraping from outside China.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": true
}
}
````
# API
You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.
## JavaScript example
```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": true
}
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("kjames2001/weibo-hot-search").call(input);
// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
console.dir(item);
});
// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs
```
## Python example
```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True } }
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("kjames2001/weibo-hot-search").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": true
}
}' |
apify call kjames2001/weibo-hot-search --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=kjames2001/weibo-hot-search",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "Weibo Hot Search Scraper",
"description": "Scrape Weibo (微博) trending hot search topics in real-time. Get trending keywords, engagement counts, labels (新/热/沸), and rankings. No login required — uses public API.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "evwhCtqBrchR5hHfB"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/kjames2001~weibo-hot-search/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-kjames2001-weibo-hot-search",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/kjames2001~weibo-hot-search/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-kjames2001-weibo-hot-search",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/kjames2001~weibo-hot-search/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-kjames2001-weibo-hot-search",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"proxyConfiguration": {
"title": "Proxy Configuration",
"type": "object",
"description": "Apify proxy configuration. Use residential proxies if scraping from outside China."
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```