.cn

.cn

Introduced	November 28, 1990
TLD type	Country code top-level domain
Status	Active
Registry	China Internet Network Information Center
Sponsor	Chinese Academy of Sciences
Intended use	Entities connected with People's Republic of China
Actual use	Very popular in China (5th largest ccTLD)
Structure	Names may be registered directly at the second level or at the third level within generic second-level categories or Chinese province codes
Documents	China Internet Domain Name Regulations
Dispute policies	CNNIC Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
Website	CNNIC (domestic); Neulevel (foreign)

.cn is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for mainland China.

The domain name administration in People's Republic of China is done through a branch of the Ministry of Information Industry. This ministry oversees everything from telecommunications to broadcasting similar to the Federal Communications Commission in the United States. The registry is maintained by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). The actual registrations are done through commercial registrars similar to other parts of the world. Neulevel has entered into a partnership with CNNIC to market .cn outside mainland China.

With little over 3.3 million registrations it is the 5th most popular ccTLD, after .de, .uk, .nl and .eu.

Second-level domains

Any individual may register for second-level domain names. However, the registry has created a set of predefined second-level domains for certain types of organizations and geographic locations. Registrations for such third-level domains were available before second-level domains became available in 2004, and registrants of third-level domains were given priority for names at the second level.

Generic second-level domains

• ac.cn : Academic institutions
• com.cn : Industrial, commercial, financial enterprises
• edu.cn : Educational institutions
• gov.cn : Government departments
• mil.cn : Military
• net.cn : Networks, NICs and NOCs
• org.cn : Non-profit organizations

Second-level domains of provinces

The two-letter abbreviations are the same as those found in GB/T 2260-2002.

• ah.cn : Anhui
• bj.cn : Beijing
• cq.cn : Chongqing
• fj.cn : Fujian
• gd.cn : Guangdong
• gs.cn : Gansu
• gz.cn : Guizhou
• gx.cn : Guangxi
• ha.cn : Henan
• hb.cn : Hubei
• he.cn : Hebei
• hi.cn : Hainan
• hk.cn : Hong Kong
• hl.cn : Heilongjiang
• hn.cn : Hunan
• jl.cn : Jilin
• js.cn : Jiangsu
• jx.cn : Jiangxi
• ln.cn : Liaoning
• mo.cn : Macau
• nm.cn : Nei Mongol
• nx.cn : Ningxia
• qh.cn : Qinghai
• sc.cn : Sichuan
• sd.cn : Shandong
• sh.cn : Shanghai
• sn.cn : Shaanxi
• sx.cn : Shanxi
• tj.cn : Tianjin
• tw.cn : Taiwan
• xj.cn : Xinjiang
• xz.cn : Xizang
• yn.cn : Yunnan
• zj.cn : Zhejiang

Internationalized domain names with Chinese characters

Internationalized domain names with Chinese characters may be registered at the second level under the .cn top-level domain.

On June 25, 2010, ICANN approved the use of the internationalized country code top-level domains .中国 (china in simplified Chinese characters, DNS name xn--fiqs8s) and .中國 (china in traditional Chinese characters, DNS name xn--fiqz9s) by CNNIC. These two TLDs were added to the DNS in July 2010.

CNNIC proposes Chinese domain names in .公司 (".com" in Chinese) and .网络 (".net" in Chinese). However, these are not recognized by ICANN and are only available via domestic domain name registrar.

See also

• .hk (Hong Kong)
• .mo (Macau)

References

• Provisional Administrative Rules for Registration of Domain Names in China

External links

• IANA WHOIS for .cn
• China Internet Network Information Center
• List of Neulevel accredited registrars
• Ministry of Information Industry
• Directory of .cn domain names and their owners