Deploying webapps for the Chinese market
...from a practical perspective what it means for us developers is an unacceptably high network latency. - epam.com
issues with accessing websites from servers outside china
- Really long waits for page loads,
- frequent timeouts, and
- a really degraded user experience
- If your service or site is not blocked, you can still face issues when using third-party services that are themselves blocked. (npm libraries)
key challenges
- How to avoid the Great Firewall
- Finding the best local/global hosting solutions
- Manoeuvring the browser jungle
- Engaging through the right social networks
- Tackle User Experience differences
to deploy on servers inside china
ICP (Internet Content Provider) license
- An ICP Filing can be difficult to obtain, especially if you have user-generated content (UGC)
Two types of ICP licenses are issued by MIIT:
- ICP Filing (for non-commercial websites) - Also known as “ICP Bei’An” in Chinese, an ICP filing is required for websites that are purely informational and do not engage in online retail activities. If you want to sell goods via your website, then you will need the commercial ICP license.
- ICP License (for commercial websites) - Also known as “ICP Zheng” in Chinese, an ICP license is required for websites that engage in online retail activities. This license allows you to sell goods and accept online payment from users in Mainland China.
It can take 4-8 weeks to obtain an ICP Filing, once all required documentation has been submitted. The average time in which we have helped our customers obtain an ICP Filing is 3 weeks.
A Commercial ICP License can take 60-90 days to be processed and a business must apply directly to the MIIT to receive one. - reference
browser usage in china
app stores in china
~500+ app stores
If you want good SEO on the app, then you need to get listed in the Baidu app store
The 360 security suite also has its app store and you’ll want to tap into their huge install base
91 HiAPK is very successful as they have good relationships with handset manufacturers and the app store is pre-installed on many devices
Anzhi is famous for having a very large forum community that comments on apps
options
Amazon Web Services (China ver.)
- verified identity (manual verification)
- a valid Chinese business license (ICP)
Akamai CDN (content delivery network)
- a valid ICP
Alibaba Cloud
- #1 public cloud vendor in china
- offical online platform to submit an ICP
Alibaba Cloud (hosted in hong kong)
nodejs on alicloud ecs alicloud
speed comparisons from inside china
from order of fast to slow:
- server inside china
- hong kong server + domain name hosted by china server (e.g. alicloud dns)
- tokyo / singapore server + domain name hosted by china server
- servers outside china with domain name hosting outside china
test apps
- hong kong servers -test app (offline)
- tokyo servers -hello world
- us servers
some extra notes
github is not blocked (so ghpages is available) now.sh is not blocked
refs: check if website is accessible from inside china
#refs : miscellaneous
- main article reference
- what? aws in china?
- aws china
- ucloud (another cloud service provider)
- google appengine in china
- check website in china
- vpn list for china
- why is your website slow in china
gpt-summary
This markdown document discusses deploying web applications for the Chinese market, addressing issues with accessing websites from servers outside China, key challenges, deployment options, and browser usage. The document highlights the necessity of an Internet Content Provider (ICP) license for hosting within China, the various hosting options such as AWS China, Alibaba Cloud, and Akamai CDN, and the importance of being listed in local app stores. Additionally, it provides speed comparisons and resources for checking website accessibility from within China.