China Is Obsessed With The Internet [STATS]

China is huge, real huge! By the end of 2009, there were a total of 384 million Internet users in China. That’s bigger than the entire U.S population. If that didn’t impress you, 233 million Chinese users access the Internet through 3G handheld devices after China’s mobile network providers introduced the services in 2009.

But of course, with a population of 1.3 billion, the above numbers might not be too much of a surprise. What’s eye-opening is the amount of time they spend on the Internet. A research done by China Internet Network Information Center has shown that people in the 60 largest cities in China spend around 70% of their leisure time on the Internet. In smaller towns, the corresponding number is 50%. The question is, what do they do online? The table below from CNNIC reveals.

Videos, music and social-networking are three main reasons why China users are spending so much time online. Facebook is replaced by Qzone and Renren, and YouTube is replaced by YouKu and Tudou. China is indeed self-sufficient in terms of her web needs. Coupled by a strict Internet policy, no wonder foreign online companies find it hard to breakthrough the China market.

In almost all aspects, from RSS, photo sharing to blogging, China has her own platform for her own people.  Check out this wiki to understand more on China and other Asia countries’ digital landscape.