China app store weekly rankings, explained
How to read domestic Android store rankings — and what the weekly movement actually tells you.
There is no single “China app store.” There is a field of domestic Android stores — each with its own audience, review process, and ranking logic — plus the iOS App Store operating under mainland rules. Reading the weekly rankings well means knowing what each list is actually measuring.
What the rankings measure
Most domestic store charts blend recent download velocity with engagement, not just cumulative installs. A title can climb fast on a launch spike and fall just as fast, which is why week-over-week movement matters more than a single snapshot.
Why cross-store comparison is hard
Stores weight categories differently and refresh on different cadences. A top-10 position in one store is not equivalent to top-10 in another. Compare trends within a store, not absolute positions across stores.
How to use weekly movement
Treat the weekly delta as a signal about distribution health, not popularity alone: a steady climb across multiple stores suggests your listing, ratings, and update cadence are working; divergence between stores usually points to a store-specific listing or review issue.
Live ranking queries run at AppIntel on launchready.cn, alongside annual domestic store market reports.
