Why I Built an AI Fortune-Telling App With Zero Domain Knowledge
Part 1 of 3: A big-tech engineer's journey into building PanPanMao -- an AI-powered Chinese metaphysics platform with 9 verticals, 1,134 commits in 29 days, and zero domain knowledge.
PanPanMao
11 parts · Jan 21, 2026 – Feb 18, 2026
Day 1: Why I'm Building a Fortune-Telling App (And I Know Nothing About Fortune-Telling)
PanPanMao build diary Day 1: Starting a Chinese metaphysics AI platform with zero domain knowledge. 21 commits, monorepo setup, and the hypothesis that AI can bridge any knowledge gap.
PanPanMao: Democratizing Ancient Wisdom with AI
For thousands of years, deep fortune readings were a privilege — masters, temples, high prices. AI is changing everything. One person, 29 days, 10 apps, zero domain knowledge. This is why I built PanPanMao, and why it matters.
From 5 Standalone Apps to a Unified Platform in 29 Days
Part 2 of 3: The technical build of PanPanMao across 4 phases -- monorepo consolidation, testing and branding, monetization, and the milestone rush. 1,134 commits, 85 endpoints, 9 verticals.
Days 2-4: The Monorepo Migration Sprint (111 Commits in 3 Days)
PanPanMao build diary Days 2-4: CSS restoration hell, extracting shared packages, adding MBTI app, WeChat browser detection, and the unified API layer with 52 migrated routes.
What I Learned Shipping a Real Product as a Solo AI-Augmented Developer
Part 3 of 3: Honest lessons from building PanPanMao. AI bridging domain knowledge (with caveats), product vs engineering, the agentic coding workflow, and the era of the solo AI-augmented builder.
Days 5-10: From Code to Product (Testing, Landing Page, and the Cat Theme)
PanPanMao build diary Days 5-10: Vitest testing sprint, the birth of the PanPanMao cat brand, landing page design, Stripe integration, and credit economy with dried fish treats.
Days 12-19: Credit Economy, New Features, and the Feature Explosion
PanPanMao build diary Days 12-19: Referral system, palm reading with MediaPipe, landing page dark luxury redesign, and the realization that engineering is the easy part now.
Days 20-23: Shipping M1, M2, M3 in Four Days
PanPanMao build diary Days 20-23: 166 commits, 3 formal milestones, 17 PRs. Credit economy foundation, Daily Hub with pre-generated content, and PostHog analytics.
Day 27: 98 Commits and Three New Products
PanPanMao build diary Day 27: The most productive single day. 98 commits. Three new products (child naming, compatibility analysis, annual forecast) from zero to production.
Day 29: What I Learned Building a Product I Know Nothing About
PanPanMao build diary final entry: 29 days, 1,134 commits, 9 product verticals. Reflections on AI-augmented development, zero-knowledge domains, and the product vs engineering divide.