Tourism operators the whole world over are gearing up for an influx of Chinese tourists over the next decade and they are looking at some pretty novel ways of trying to make them feel at home.
Hotels in Europe and North America are apparently currently developing Mandarin check-in services for Chinese tourists – which are actually situated half a world away.
“A check-in machine could link them with someone who does speak the language but they could be in Shanghai or anywhere else,” Asiawide Hospitality Solutions president and CEO Kevin Murphy told …

The systematic blockade of American media giants Youtube, Facebook and Twitter is a major setback for international firms trying to access the Mainland Chinese markets – and for China-based organizations trying to get their message out of China. By blockading Chinese access to these sites, China is effectively creating 2 internets that don’t communicate freely with one another. The irony, however, is that the fracturing of the internet into 2 separate systems may benefit the American media giants and present them with new opportunities – both within China and abroad.
Has …

When Lan Ping wanted to take a trip to the Maldives this summer, she turned to an online bulletin board instead of a travel agent to plan it.
“It is what everybody is doing now,” said the 24 year old. “The comments in the online travel forums look more real and personal.”
Lan is one of a growing number of Chinese tourists logging onto discussion forums to share vacation diaries, search for information and seek advice from other travelers, according to a new survey from Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor.
The Internet has …

WEB2ASIA compiled a list with the Top 30 Internet & Telecommunication Companies on the Chinese market.

They are ranked according to their market capitalization, whenever possible we link to the English Version of their homepage. Note: Market Cap is based on the stock prices of the 18th of August 2009, for their current value click on the Stock Exchange Link.

While currently most companies are listed either in the US (NASDAQ and NYSE) or on the Hong Kong Stock Market (SEHK), it will be interesting to see if the Chinese Mainland stock market (SSE) …

China has devoted extensive resources to building one of the largest and most sophisticated filtering systems in the world. As the Internet records extraordinary growth in services as well as users, the Chinese government has undertaken to limit access to any content that might potentially undermine the state’s control or social stability by pursuing strict supervision of domestic media, delegated liability for online content providers, and increasingly, a propaganda approach to online debate and discussion.
Source: Open Net Initiative 2008
Note: a previous version of this profile is available at China, 2006-2007.

BACKGROUND
The convening …

General Web Services

Leading Western Web Service
Chinese Equivalent

Tripadvisor
Yiqilai but also Qunar & eLong

Google
Baidu

Wikipedia
Hudong

Facebook
Xiaonei

Flickr
Yupoo & Bababian

Digg
QQ Bookmark, Baidu SouCang, Yahoo ShouCang, eYou,INU.cc, Gotou, Otag.cn, MyURLWorld, BBmao

LinkedIn
Tianji, Renhe & Wealink

Twitter
Digu, Zuosa & Fanfou

YouTube
Tudou & Youku

Amazon
Dang Dang

delicio.us
QQ Bookmark, Baidu SouCang, Yahoo ShouCang, eYou,INU.cc, Gotou, Otag.cn, MyURLWorld, BBmao

dooyoo
Beargoo

Netflix
your trusted street vendor

Craigslist
Baixing & Ganji

imdb
Douban

Wall Street Journal Online
People’s Daily

monster.com
Zhaopin

Ebay
Taobao

Alexa
Chinarank

Hulu
PPLive & PPstream

4chan
Our Chinese comrades would never look at such filth. Never.

last.fm
cn.last.fm

Technorati

Yahoo! Answers
Zhidao Baidu

Zynga
making billions off online addicted kids? Tencent! Honorable mention: 5Minutes

MSN Messenger
QQ

Myspace
51.com & Kaixin

Yahoo!
Sina & Sohu

Expedia
Ctrip

Paypal
Alipay

Match.com
Zhenai

Yelp
Dianping

Source: WEB2ASIA (August 5, 2009)

Just returned from an extended trip to NY and HK. I’ve come back to a China without Twitter and Facebook. If Beijing is following the YouTube playbook then we might not see them again for a while.
Let’s call it ‘platform blocking’. Beijing isn’t banning individual sites or even servers anymore – it’s taking complete networks offline. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter aren’t just time-wasters and peep shows – they are the future of communication, media and collaboration tools of the future. In the short term, these blockages are inconvenient and annoying …

Two seemingly unrelated but notable events took place on July 24th in China. In the morning, the official news agency Xinhua published an article titled “Ten Suggestions for Local Governments on How to Respond to Internet Opinion.” In a commanding tone, the article argued that local governments should release information early, “reporting facts fast, reporting causes with caution.” Crisis management is actually “crisis communication management,” it asserted. It cites that the “open government information regulations” require “being open as the principle, not being open as an exception.”
The call to “tell …

The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has just published their mid-year statistical survey report on the Internet Development in China:

The Number of Chinese Netizens increased by over 40 Mil during the first half of 2009, representing a 13.4% growth rate compared to 2008. By June 30 2009 the total number of Chinese Internet Users has reached 338 Million, which represents a penetration rate of 25.5%

320 Mil (or 94.3%) of all online users have broadband access

155 Mil (or 45.9% of all netizens) use their mobile devices to go online. In the first …

Travelzen today announced the launch of a ‘Truly Hassle-free’ Travelzen.com website that will set new benchmarks in business and leisure travel in China. Guaranteeing both prices and availability, the new site will also eliminate the annoying last-minute increases in quoted prices that have long handicapped the development of China‘s online travel industry.
The impressive result of 2 years’ intensive R&D, the new website will see Travelzen become the first travel provider in China to offer a genuinely world-class end-to-end online travel experience. Leveraging its ‘Truly Hassle-free’ transaction model, Travelzen.com will free travelers from the …

Seven different government agencies, including the Ministry of Public Security and the State Council Information Office declared war on Internet smut today. 19
Seven different government agencies, including the Ministry of Public Security and the State Council Information Office declared war on Internet smut today. 19 Internet companies, including Google, Baidu, Sina, and others, were cited for “violating public morality and harming the physical and mental health of youth and young people.”
The official government online announcement is here. Another Chinese language report, including video of a TV report with footage of computer servers being …