Do you know that you cannot Google in China?

If you ever visit China and need to find something on the internet, you cannot Google. This is because a generation of Chinese people is growing up with an internet that is distinctively different from the rest of the world. Yes, you cannot Google, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter in China because the country’s firewall has blocked access to them.  

Ban on foreign apps 
China follows very strict internet censorship, known as the Great Firewall of China, existing for more than a decade. Internet in China is a world unto itself, where the government monitors content and the world's most popular websites and apps are not easily accessible.  

In fact, Google's first foray into Chinese markets was a short-lived experiment. Google China’s search engine was launched in 2006 and abruptly pulled in 2010 amid a major hack of the company and disputes over censorship of search results. 

Following that, between 2010 and 2015, China developed its own internet space. Chinese engineers and entrepreneurs returning from the US’ Silicon Valley, including many former Googlers, were made to participate in bringing a high-class technical and entrepreneurial knowledge to establish products and apps which only China could use. These apps and products turned out to be imemnsely successful and amidst this home-grown success, the Chinese government decided to break away from the outside world of web. In 2014, the government blocked virtually all Google services in China, including many considered essential for international business, such as Gmail and Google Maps.  

Home-grown online platforms 
Now you must be thinking how your fellow students in China survive this censorship? But you would be surprised to know that they themselves do not question it. Young people don’t mind the restricted access to internet since to serve their purpose, a plethora of Chinese websites and apps are available that serve the same functions.  

For example, Google is blocked but Chinese teens would rather use Baidu, the local search engine, for their queries. Facebook, the world's no. 1 social network is not accessible in China but in its place, WeChat is the largest social media platform in China. The popular micro-blogging website Twitter too is banned in China and Weibo is Twitter's equivalent in China. Google-owned video platform YouTube is blocked and Youku.com, a subsidiary of Alibaba, and Tencent Video are famous amongst the young crowd.  

How smart of China! They have built an alternative value system for their people that competes well with the Western system.