Domain name for the Chinese market

Background to the Chinese domain name

Here are a few terms to help you when reading this paper.

Domain name basics

There are two main parts to a domain name you need to consider when making a purchase:

• TLD (Top-Level Domain): the part of the domain name that comes after the “dot”, e.g. .com, .net.
• Domain: the part that comes before the TLD, e.g. mydomain in mydomain.com.

The domain name is the domain + TLD, e.g. mydomain.com.

NS vs DNS

• Name server (NS): a server available to the internet hosting the Domain Name Service (DNS).
• Domain Name Service (DNS): the database containing your DNS records, e.g. the IP address of your website.

Often, NS and DNS are used interchangeably. In China, many local name servers operate across multiple locations, maintaining copies of DNS databases for domains purchased in China. This helps keep response times low for over a billion internet users across a large country.

When marketing and selling to the Chinese market, you need your domain name to respond quickly and be easily accessible.

Ideas for your Chinese domain name

Using an existing company / brand name

If your company, brand, or product name already has traction in China, the decision is straightforward: build your domain around the name already known in China.

Using a keyword

If you do not have an established company/brand name in the Chinese market, you can use keywords based on your industry or services. Start with your current keywords (e.g., from Google), then assess whether those terms are meaningful and usable in the Chinese market.

Using a brand/company name or keyword in Pinyin

Pinyin is written using Latin characters and is the main input method Chinese users rely on to type Chinese on mobile devices, tablets, and PCs.

• Example: “Panda” in Chinese is 熊猫; in Pinyin: Xiongmao.
• Pinyin words are commonly used in domain names. For example, “Baidu” means “a hundred times” or “countless times”.

Translating your company, brand, product, or other name into Pinyin may yield a meaningful domain name. If you do this, have the Pinyin reviewed to ensure there are no undesirable secondary meanings.

Add the country code to the domain

Because a domain should be as short and memorable as possible, consider adding the country code to your domain label. This can help you use a shorter name and clearly signal “China” to the market.

• Example: 123.co → 123cn.co
• Use a similar format to Pinyin: short, easy to remember, easy to spell (often 3–5 Latin characters per word).

Chinese third-party services

Chinese B2B platforms (e.g., Alibaba), B2C platforms (e.g., Tmall), and social media (e.g., WeChat) typically require an account name during setup, which is then used for search and discovery.

We recommend using the same domain naming format for the Chinese market across all Chinese systems. Check whether your planned domain/account name is already in use.

Short names are recommended

If possible, keep the domain short and recognisable to Chinese businesses and people. Many simple English words (e.g., audio, video) are widely understood and have entered common use.

Subdomain of an existing domain

Using a subdomain on your existing domain is an option, for example:

• newkeyword.mydomain.com

You cannot use Chinese Name Servers unless your domain has been purchased from a Chinese supplier. If you cannot use Chinese NS, see your server/location options in Asia to improve performance for China.

TLD (Top-level domain) choice

Using a different TLD for your China market is generally preferable to using a subdomain.

Popular TLDs (as of 01 January 2025) include .com, .co, .shop, .xyz, .cloud, .design, .wiki, and .icu.

There are also China-related TLDs such as .cn, .com.cn, and .中国. As of 2022, these are only available to Chinese companies and citizens.