Our story
Why Lowe exists
Lowe began with one student who couldn't read the notices on their own campus. Today it is a registered service for WeChat, the web, Windows and Android, built by an international student, for international students.
- Started on 22 September 2026
- Built at Hunan Institute of Technology
- Made for every international student in China
I'm Lowe (江树臣), an international student from Cameroon studying software engineering at Hunan Institute of Technology (湖南工学院). I speak English and French, and when I arrived in China almost everything around me was in Chinese: notices from the international office, messages to teachers, the bank, the hospital, and even the lessons themselves.
Translation apps translate words, but they don't know how to write politely to a teacher, where the school published the resit dates, or what to bring for a residence permit. So I built the assistant I needed, and shared it with the students around me.
"No student should miss an exam, a deadline or a lesson because it was written in a language they are still learning."
How Lowe grew
- 22 Sep 2026The first Lowe web app goes online, and it is still running today: lowe-app-nine.vercel.app
- 28 SepThe WeChat mini program passes WeChat's review.
- 29 SepICP filing approved; live class translation goes live.
- 1 OctLeave requests on the school's form, with a hand signature and proof.
- OctThe Windows app on the Microsoft Store; the Android app.
- 4–5 OctLowe Classroom redesigned, Lowe Premium, and the LOWE Engine that now runs every Lowe app.
Built on open data
Open data used by Lowe: CC-CEDICT, HSK word lists (complete-hsk-vocabulary), Make Me a Hanzi, Tatoeba.