1987, China sends out its first email, which said "Across the Great Wall we can reach every corner of the world." The message is sent to a German university.
1994, China achieves a fully-functional connection to the internet, becoming the 77th country to access the internet.
1995, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications starts to provide internet services to the public. China's first internet service provider, Infohighway Information & Technology Co Ltd, is founded in Beijing.
1996, the country's first internet cafe “Spark Ice” opens in Beijing.
1998 Wang Keping becomes the first Chinese shopper online – he bought 100 hours of access to the internet for 100 yuan ($15).
1999, Tencent issues the first version of QQ, which developed into China’s most popular instant messaging platform.
2000, Baidu is set up. It is now the largest search engine in China.
2001, China's 10 major backbone networks sign interconnection agreements to facilitate cross-regional traffic on the internet.
2003, Alibaba launches online shopping website Taobao, which grew into the largest customer-to-customer (C2C) shopping website in the world.
Nov, 2003, e-sports became the 99th official sports event in China.
2004, a nationwide campaign is launched to fight rampant online pornography.
2005, blogging becomes popular among Chinese netizens, giving them a new window to voice opinions.
2006, a virus called “panda burning incense” invades millions of computers. The attacks expose loopholes in cyber security and highlight the need of an upgraded firewall.
2007, a unified e-government network takes shape, a landmark for governance to go digital.
2008, the number of Chinese netizens hits 253 million, overtaking the United States as home to the world's largest number of internet users.
2009, Tort Liability Law of the People’s Republic of China is approved. The law first explains how to handle internet infringement.
2010, the State Council vows to push forward the three-network convergence, which aims to combine cable television, telecommunications and the internet into one single line.
2011, the People's Bank of China issues the first batch of third-party payment licenses, which facilitates the growth of online payments.
2012, a regulation on the protection of personal information online is approved by top lawmakers, requiring internet users to give real names to service providers.
2015, “Internet Plus” strategy is first proposed in the Government Work Report to boost the integration of the internet and traditional industries.