Online Odyssey

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