The 21YunBox Blog
We’ve written numerous posts to assist foreign companies in achieving success in China. Our goal is to provide valuable insights and strategies that can help businesses navigate the unique challenges and opportunities in the Chinese market. Stay tuned for more updates and feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further assistance. We’re here to help!
MLPS in China (网络安全等级保护): Do You Need It, and at Which Level?
MLPS — China's Cybersecurity Multi-Level Protection Scheme (等保) — is the baseline cybersecurity-compliance regime mandated by Article 23 of the Cybersecurity Law. What it is, the five levels, whether you need it, and the grading → filing → assessment process, with primary sources.
Oct 8, 2026
280 Sites Measured From Inside China: A Third Never Finished Loading
We requested 280 enterprise sites from a probe inside mainland China, three times each. 58% finished every attempt and 34% finished none — and two thirds of the failures answered first. Blocked is not the common failure.
Aug 29, 2026
A Chinese Cloud Probe Is Not a Chinese Visitor: The Same Hosts, Opposite Answers
We measured third-party hosts from a mainland cloud probe, then from a Beijing consumer broadband line. Hosts that answered 100% of the time from the cloud answered 0% of the time from the home line — which means most China measurements, including ours, are taken from the wrong place.
Aug 28, 2026
ICP Filing vs ICP License: What the Regulation Actually Says
The filing/licence distinction that governs every foreign website in China comes from one State Council decree. Here are the operative articles, in the original and in translation, with what each one means in practice.
Aug 28, 2026
Four Ways to Deliver a Website Into China, Measured — Three of Them Never Finished Loading
We served one identical page four ways and measured it from inside mainland China. Offshore, nearshore, and in-country ICP-filed hosting all failed to finish loading in 60 seconds, every attempt. The fastest first byte belonged to a path that never completed.
Aug 28, 2026
Eight Ways We Got China Performance Measurement Wrong — and Why Seven of Them Flattered Us
Every one of these is a real error we made building a probe network inside mainland China. Each produced a number that looked publishable. Seven made our own product look better than it is.
Aug 28, 2026
An ICP Filing Will Not Make Your Site Fast in China — and the Fast Path Still Needs One
Compliance does not buy performance. That is true, and it is only half of the relationship. The path that removes the cross-border round trip is the same path that triggers the filing requirement — which is why the two decisions cannot be made separately.
Aug 27, 2026
China CDN Providers Compared: Who Has Mainland Nodes, and Who Needs Your ICP
Which CDNs actually have points of presence inside mainland China, which serve China from Hong Kong or Singapore, and which require you to hold an ICP filing yourself. A provider-by-provider comparison.
Aug 27, 2026
Case Study: Enterprise DXP in China (Sitecore & Vercel)
How a global enterprise kept Sitecore XM Cloud and Vercel while making its China website fast, secure, and compliant using the 21YunBox Optimizer.
May 6, 2026
China Website Optimizer: Boost Enterprise Performance, Security & Compliance
21YunBox helps global enterprises make their existing websites work reliably in Mainland China. Maximize speed, security, and visibility with our enterprise-grade Optimizer overlay.
May 4, 2026
China Provisions on the Administration of Communication Short Message Services
MIIT Order No. 74 (effective May 1, 2026): the current rules for SMS / short-message services — telecom licensing and number-resource prerequisites, real-name, consent for commercial messages, port-code rules, anti-fraud, and six-month record retention.
Feb 9, 2026
Hosting and CDN for China: What Actually Works, and What the Filing Requires
A CDN only helps if its points of presence are inside mainland China — and anything served from inside mainland China needs an ICP filing. The hosting and delivery options, compared on both.
May 11, 2025
Top App Stores in China: Your Ultimate Guide
Discover China's complete app store ecosystem. Learn about 20 key platforms including Huawei App Gallery, Xiaomi Store, Honor Market, and niche players like Zhuoyi and HiAPK. Essential reading for app developers targeting China.
Mar 2, 2025
China Network Data Security Management Regulations
State Council Order No. 790 (effective Jan 1, 2025): China's network-data rules tying the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, and PIPL together, covering important data and cross-border transfer.
Sep 24, 2024
China ICP License and ICP Filing: What It Is and How to Get One
An ICP filing is required for any site served from mainland China, it is issued to a mainland legal entity, and it binds to your hosting provider. What it costs, how long it takes, and what gets applications rejected.
Jul 21, 2024
China AI Algorithm Filing: Who Actually Needs One, and What the Rules Say
Algorithm filing is not required of everyone deploying AI in China — the trigger is a specific phrase in the regulation. The operative articles, in the original and in translation, with the ten-working-day clock and what happens to offshore services that skip it.
Jun 24, 2024
Shopify in China: Reachability, PIPL & ICP for Your Store
Your Shopify store is reachable from mainland China, but Shopify hosts your storefront and checkout on its own offshore infrastructure with no mainland-China region — so the real doors are the ICP filing a public store needs and the PIPL cross-border transfer of your shoppers' personal and order data. A compliance-first look, in Shopify's own words and China's own law.
Apr 3, 2024
China Provisions on Promoting and Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows
CAC Order No. 16 (effective March 22, 2024): 2024 rules on when the security assessment, standard contract, or certification routes apply to cross-border data, with exemptions and FTZ negative lists.
Mar 22, 2024
AEM in China: Data Residency, Reachability & ICP
Adobe hosts AEM — AEM as a Cloud Service and Edge Delivery Services — outside mainland China, so a China-facing AEM site reaches across the border for delivery, holds its content and personal data offshore under PIPL, and still needs an ICP filing. A compliance-first look at the two doors, in Adobe's own words and China's own law.
Mar 3, 2024
Next.js in China: Ultimate Deployment Guide
Boost Your Next.js App in China: Ultimate Guide to Lightning-Fast Deployment, Seamless CI/CD, and Full Compliance. Achieve 3x-5x Faster Performance Now!
Jan 30, 2024
Top Chinese Search Engines: Market Share, Baidu, and What Differs from Google
Discover the top Chinese search engines, their market share, and how they differ from Google. Learn how to optimize for Baidu, Sogou, and more to succeed in the Chinese market.
Jan 13, 2024
