UCLA
Center for East Asian Studies
China General Search Engines
Chinese Yahoo/Google (牙虎中国)
This website is the most responsive site of those listed here for searching by province and type of firm (e.g. law firm). Selections of website lists come up in Chinese, but web addresses are given and are accessible. Brief descriptions of these websites are given in Chinese with English translations sometimes provided. Connections to websites are easily made. This search engine occasionally ignores the type of firm requested and just brings up other business firms (e.g. consulting firms instead of law firms).
Chinese Excite
This website is similar to Chinese Yahoo, but does not respond to list searching of firms by province. Selections of website lists come up in Chinese, but with fewer English translations of site descriptions than on Chinese Yahoo. Web addresses are given and easily accessible. This search engine often includes news articles and reports in the lists brought up.
263.net (263在线)
This website is consistently slow in loading, but is otherwise a very useful site. Use "web site" (网站) + name for selections in the search box (e.g. law firm). Good lists come up, with selections in English and Chinese, but other countries' entries (other than China) also are included. The search engine gives links to the Chinese Yahoo site and brings up some news articles which are fairly well updated. Website addresses are given and clickable. There are some repeat listings. Another way to find firms is by region (国家地区) on the list of pre-selected categories to which it is possible to link on the site. Once the region is located, proceed by province-Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan.
Wanfang Data (万房数据)
Utilizes www.wanfangdata.com.cn as a data base resource. This informational data base is linked to www.chinainfo.gov.cn, an official PRC government site. The Wanfang data base offers comprehensive lists on firms in several categories such as law firms and banks which must be selected from the website's pre-defined categories. The sub-headings under these categories are clearly notated. It is a three-step process to get to the site's extensive list of clickable firm websites, but the list of results is worth the search.
China.com (中华网)
This website is available in simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and English. The English mirror site is quite slow to load. Selecting the "web guide" category brings up two useful links: "business & economy" and "government." The site is not as comprehensive as the others noted here in terms of producing firm lists, website addresses, and summary information. It is geared mostly to searching for news articles.
China Window (中国之窗)
On this website, regional divisions are located on the homepage (by province). The site is good for detailed basic information on each province. The site for Guangdong is quite comprehensive, while Guangxi's and Hainan's are less useful. The website also contains policies on foreign firms' investments, requirements for investing, and procedures for doing so.
Goyoyo (go悠游)
While based in and focused on Hong Kong, this site provides excellent lists for websites on everything from law firms in China to insurance agencies. Connections to these companies' websites, where available, are easily accessible.
Netease/163 (网易)
When inquiries are made as to categories (i.e. "law firms") in a particular province, this search engine provides links to mailing addresses or email connections, but not to website addresses.
Search China
This website pops up in English. The website contains a good range of categories for firms, including law, insurance, and commercial banks. The site provides an extensive list of these companies' website addresses.
Sina (新浪)
This website uses Altavista or Yahoo as a search engine, but if you use the Chinese language option on the search engine window, the website does list very useful firms from law offices to market research firms throughout China. One drawback to the website is that the list which pops up also includes firms from other countries and news articles. There is easy access to different firms' websites. This website is one of only two websites officially authorized by the PRC government to carry news articles from non-government sources.
Sohu (搜狐)
This search engine provides extensive lists of firms, including law offices and advertising agencies. These firms' names are all in Chinese and are accompanied by a very brief description of the firm. Access to the firms' websites is available, but no addresses are included on the initial screen which pops up, making the search a three-step process rather than one. This website is the second of only two websites officially sanctioned by the PRC government to carry news articles from non-government sources.
Zhaodaola (找到啦)
This search engine provides extensive lists for some of the categories of firms including law offices and market research agencies. Networks links are listed and access to different firms' websites is available, but addresses are not initially listed. News article resources on this site are very out of date. The search engine provides a rating system ranging from good to very good for listed websites (under pre-formulated categories), their services, and products.
Other Search Engines For Chinese Websites
Altavista, 1608, CWW, Cseek, 51go, ChinaByte, China Online, China.com
Other Useful Sites and Utilities
Netatnet
www.netatnet.net/english/service.htm
This utility provides website to website translation. For instance, Chinese websites can be translated into English. Once information concerning the original language of the website in question and the target language into which the website is to be translated are entered, the screen splits into the original website and the website in translation. This website is useful for viewing and utilizing Chinese search engines in English. Of course, translation software is in its infancy on this site and results can turn out as only rough approximations.
Google Toolbar
Internet Explorer users can install the Google toolbar on their browser. This tool provides for quick web searches and -- better yet -- the ability to search within a single site or a list of sites brought up by a search engine for a more specific selection (e.g., within a list of bank sites, you could choose corporate accounts to find out which banks offered this service). To install the Google toolbar, go to the URL: http://toolbar.google.com and select the "get google toolbar" option. From the next window which pops up, select the "install google toolbar" option. In the next window, select "install with advanced features" option. By loading the Google toolbar with advanced features, you may, as the website warns, lose some degree of privacy on the website. Finally, hit "yes." Once this is done, the Google toolbar should be available on your toolbar selection (under the "View" option of the main menu). The Google toolbar may be language sensitive, depending on the websites you wish to search (for example, a Chinese website may not accept English inquiries using the Google toolbar--in which case, IME is needed).
Search
the CEAS Website