Yes, certainly. The top-level domain (TLD) ‘XN—FIQZ9S’ is an encoded version of a second-level domain under the internationalized top-level domain (IDN TLD). IDN TLDs are top-level domains that are displayed in an end-user application, such as a web browser, in their language-native script or alphabet, such as Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic, Tamil, Greek, or Latin alphabet-based characters with diacritics or ligatures. The encoded version (xn—…) is called Punycode, which is a way to represent Unicode within the limited character subset of ASCII used for Internet host names.
The specific TLD “‘XN—FIQZ9S’” is an encoded version of “.中国”, which represents China. It is a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) administered by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). According to the IANA’s Root Zone Database, it was delegated and approved on 16th April 2010.
TLDs are the last part of the domain name. For instance, in the domain name “www.example.com”, “.com” is the TLD. It is the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. The second level is “example” and the third level is “www”. However, the TLD ‘XN—FIQZ9S’ gets resolved to “.中国”, enabling domain names entirely in the Chinese language.
The reason for assigning a separate TLD for China in Chinese is about making the internet more accessible, usable, and enjoyable for Chinese users who desire or need to use their native language online. It was part of the internet’s “Internationalized Domain Name” (IDN) implementation, a long-term process started by IETF and ICANN as a way of acknowledging and accommodating the global diversity of languages and scripts.
It is worth noting that having a .中国 TLD is not restricted to entities in China: Chinese entities could still have domains under the .CN or .COM TLDs, and entities outside China can have .中国 domains. However, it is common practice for entities to register local TLDs to increase local trust and presence.
In conclusion, the top-level domain (TLD) ‘XN—FIQZ9S’ is the ASCII-compatible encoded version of the internationalized TLD “.中国”, signifying China, and as such is part of the internet’s ongoing efforts to be more accommodating to diverse languages and scripts.
Sources used:
1. IANA Root Zone Database:
2. ICANN About IDN:
3. CNNIC:
4. RFC 3492 (Punycode):
