The Great Firewall of China, also known as the Golden Shield Project in China, is an extensive web filtering system that was set up by the Chinese government in 1998. This sophisticated and multi-layered government programme blocks tens of thousands of sites using URL filtering, keyword censoring, IP blocking, DNS filtering and redirection.
China has the world’s largest number internet-using population, climbing to approximately 772 million. The average connection speed for these users is comparatively slow at 2.38Mbps, compared to Hong Kong which has an average internet speed of 21.9mbps, making China the 141st country in the world in 2018 for internet speed.
Nine state-run operators maintain China’s gateways to the global internet. Websites that are hosted on servers outside of China must pass through the firewall, which can impact on the performance speed of the website.
Performance speeds can be particularly slow at weekends and after 8pm Beijing time, as at these times internet usage in China and the West reaches its peak, resulting in the data lines and firewall operating at their physical capacity.
The Chinese government blocked a number of social media websites from mainland China in 2009 including Facebook and Twitter. Popular social media networks in China include WeChat, Renren, Weibo, Youku Tudou and Dianping.
Internet connectivity at World Routes will be affected by the firewall and many popular websites will be either restricted or blocked.
We strongly recommend that delegates download the following information before travelling to Guangzhou, to avoid technical issues.
• Presentations and marketing collateral
• Promotional videos
• Routes app
Many internet users have used VPNs (virtual personal networks) to conduct business and bypass the firewall. By using a VPN, the IP address changes to another country where a restricted or blocked website can be accessed.
In early 2015, China imposed further restrictions on VPN networks, which have caused many to become unpredictable.
Any information that is critical to delegates for World Routes should be downloaded and stored locally on a device, before travelling to Guangzhou.
Please contact our team if you have any queries about internet usage in China.
Related Content
