.wang

Overview

• .wang is a generic top-level domain (gTLD). The string "wang" is the hanyu pinyin transcription of the Chinese character 网, which means "website" or "portal."
• The applied-for string was intended as a connected namespace to serve the Chinese Internet population and to be appended to names to indicate websites or portals.

History

• Applicant: Zodiac (Zodiac Leo Limited) applied for .wang in ICANN's New gTLD Program.
• Reveal Day for the application was 13 June 2012.
• A Registry Agreement from ICANN was issued to Zodiac on 24 October 2013 after passing Initial Evaluation.
• .wang was delegated to the DNS Root Zone on 3 January 2014.
• Registry listed in the available materials: KNET. Priority number noted in application materials: 154 (Zodiac Leo Limited).

Usage and Audience

• Target audience: Chinese-language websites and communities seeking a namespace that conveys "website" or "portal."
• Intended positioning: to attract and serve the Chinese Internet population and to promote innovation, participation, and collaboration among that audience.
• Applicant vision: operate TLDs centric to Chinese culture and provide a "sticky" namespace owing to the high frequency of the character 网 in Chinese Internet terminology.

Application and Applicant Background

• Applicant organization: Zodiac Holdings Limited (Zodiac), a company founded by James Seng, headquartered in Hong Kong with an operations center in Beijing.
• Key personnel mentioned in the application: James Seng (Internet pioneer, involved with IDN standardization) and Eugene Li (former VP of CNNIC).
• Funding noted in the application materials: approximately USD 20 million in support for application and operation of new gTLDs.
• The applicant originally preferred the single-character IDN ".网" but adopted the pinyin form ".wang" due to restrictions in the gTLD Applicant Guidebook.

SEO and Brand Impact

• The applicant asserted that "wang" (网) is commonly used and memorable in the Chinese Internet community, implying potential acceptance and strong brand recall for sites using .wang.
• No technical SEO or search-engine-specific policies are provided in the source material.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       WANG

organisation: Zodiac Wang Limited
address:      Block A Unit 406, Horizon International Tower No. 6 Zhichun Road
address:      Haidian District
address:      Beijing 100088
address:      China

contact:      administrative
name:         Eugene Li
organisation: Zodiac Holdings Ltd
address:      Block A Unit 406, Horizon International Tower No. 6 Zhichun Road
address:      Haidian District
address:      Beijing 100088
address:      China
phone:        +86.1082961219
fax-no:       +86.1082961269
e-mail:       ceo@nic.wang

contact:      technical
name:         Zhanyong Zhang
organisation: Zodiac Holdings Ltd
address:      Block A Unit 406, Horizon International Tower No. 6 Zhichun Road
address:      Haidian District
address:      Beijing 100088
address:      China
phone:        +86.1082961219
fax-no:       +86.1082961269
e-mail:       vp@nic.wang

nserver:      A.ZDNSCLOUD.CN 203.99.24.1
nserver:      B.ZDNSCLOUD.CN 203.99.25.1
nserver:      C.ZDNSCLOUD.COM 203.99.26.1
nserver:      D.ZDNSCLOUD.COM 203.99.27.1
nserver:      F.ZDNSCLOUD.CN 116.169.54.111
nserver:      G.ZDNSCLOUD.COM 223.72.199.37
nserver:      I.ZDNSCLOUD.CN 2401:8d00:1:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      J.ZDNSCLOUD.COM 2401:8d00:2:0:0:0:0:1
ds-rdata:     19549 8 2 328b02976180a88840e22a052b3d03c8ce7b67609b7cc1840e0e0fe71a3e8e8e

whois:        whois.gtld.knet.cn

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.nic.wang

created:      2013-12-12
changed:      2024-12-03
source:       IANA