Rest of World: ModelScope and MoArk compete as China's Hugging Face alternatives
A Rest of World report of Sept 29, 2026 describes China's domestic model hubs. Alibaba's ModelScope (launched 2022) has 170,000+ models and 250M users. OSChina's MoArk (launched 2023) has 20,000+ commonly used models. China blocked Hugging Face in 2023. Developers pick the local hubs for faster downloads and as a hedge against possible US restrictions, but many still prefer Hugging Face and GitHub.
Key facts
- ModelScope (Alibaba, 2022): 170,000+ models, 250M users
- MoArk (OSChina, 2023): 20,000+ commonly used models
- Hugging Face was blocked in China in 2023 without an official reason; many developers still reach it via VPN
- Main draw of the domestic hubs: download speed; also concern that access to US platforms 'could be disrupted at any point'
What happened
Viola Zhou of Rest of World reports on the platforms that distribute Chinese open-weight models at home.
Why it matters
Chinese labs release weights on both Hugging Face and ModelScope. A separate domestic distribution layer is part of the decoupling of AI ecosystems.
Changelog
- 2026-09-30: created (quick run on Techmeme Sept 30)
Sources (1)
id: 2026-09-29-china-modelscope-moark-hugging-face-alternatives · updated 2026-09-30 · open in the interactive timeline