Most China travel platforms push the same tourist checklist. Travel Buddy flips that — university students post their real plans (food crawls, hidden alleys, language swap over hotpot) and travelers join in. Hosts aren't tour guides. They're students who want to meet the world and show off their city. No booking fees, no fixed prices, no script. Two people figuring out a plan over DM. Built solo by a Shanghai accounting student. AI was the coding partner. No team, no funding.