Internet |
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Internet portal |
China portal |
China has been on the Internet intermittently since May 1989 and on a permanent basis since 20 April 1994,[1] although with heavily censored access. In 2008, China became the country with the largest population on the Internet and, as of 2024[update], has remained so.[2]: 18 As of December 2024,[update] 1.09 billion (77.5% of the country's total population) use internet in China.
China's first foray into the global cyberspace was an email (not TCP/IP based and thus technically not internet) sent on 20 September 1987 to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, reading, "Across the Great Wall, towards the rest of the world" (simplified Chinese: 越过长城,走向世界; traditional Chinese: 越過長城,走向世界; pinyin: Yuèguò chángchéng, zǒuxiàng shìjiè).[3][4] This later became a well-known phrase in China and as of 2018[update], was displayed on the desktop login screen for QQ mail.[5]