Online Odyssey
2023-12-14 14:56
汉语世界(The World of Chinese) 2023年4期
Three decades of the internet in China
1987
Chinas first email： “Across the Great Wall we can reach every corner of the world”
Web 1.0 Era （Late 1990s to 2000s）
1995
Chinas first widely accessible online forum （or Bulletin Board System） launches at Tsinghua University
2000
QQ， Chinas earliest instant messaging software， gains over 20 million users in four months after launching
Baidu， Chinas largest search engine， is established
2001
“The Legend of Mir （Chuanqi）” gains 40 million players in a year， marking the start of online gaming in China
2002
A fire at an illegal internet cafe in Beijing leads to new regulations on venues
2003
Taobao launches. It is now Chinas biggest e-commerce platform.
2010
Microblogging takes off. Sina Weibo hits 50 million users.
2011
WeChat launches
2012
E-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall break 1 trillion yuan in transactions in less than a year
2013
Authorities release an official legal interpretation of “online rumors.” Slander， personal attacks， or spreading rumors online are listed as crimes.
Internet of Things， Short Videos， Livestreaming... （2010s to Now）
2016
Douyin launches. It now has over 800 million users.
2017
Cryptocurrency is banned， but blockchain， its underlying system， is adopted across industries
2019
Retail livestreamer Li “Lipstick King” Jiaqi makes sales totaling over 1 billion yuan during the Singles Day online shopping festival
2020
Digital health codes become essential for travel during the pandemic
2021
Rules restrict minors to 1 hour of video games on weekends and holidays
2023
Baidu launches ERNIE Bot， its rival to ChatGPT
