The top-level domain (TLD) you mentioned, XN—FJQ720A, is an Internationalized Country Code Top-Level Domain (IDN ccTLD) that represents the term “.中国” in Chinese. This specific domain code employs Punycode – a special encoding used to convert Unicode characters to the ASCII character set. If you are wondering why we need this, it is because the Domain Name System (DNS) underpinning the internet supports only a limited character set.
When the internet was first created, it was designed largely for English-speaking users, with its DNS accommodating the ASCII characters found in English-language text. However, with the global spread of the internet and the increasingly multilingual nature of its users, it became necessary to adopt a system that supports non-ASCII characters. This led to the creation of IDN ccTLDs (Internationalized Domain Names in Applications), which allow domain names in non-Latin alphabets.
Part of the Fast Track Process, the “.中国” domain (XN—FJQ720A) was approved by ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) in 2010 along with several other IDN ccTLDs as noted on the ICANN official website. This process was aimed at facilitating a speedier introduction of IDN ccTLDs, helping to foster a more globally inclusive internet.
ICANN maintains a complete list of IDN ccTLDs, including XN—FJQ720A for China, which was applied by CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center) and finally approved by ICANN. The purpose was to provide a domain for the Chinese-speaking population worldwide, including regions such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and anywhere Chinese language is used. Using this domain makes a website more local to these regions and may provide SEO and marketing benefits.
Additional sources that verify this information include World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Brand Database noting many trademarks registered under .中国 (XN—FJQ720A) domain and tech giant Microsoft’s guide on configuring Internationalized Domain Names.
In conclusion, XN—FJQ720A is an important aspect of supporting the multilingual and globally diverse nature of the internet. It exemplifies how the internet, though initially designed for an English-speaking user base, has evolved to accommodate a much wider array of languages and scripts, thus making it more accessible and user-friendly for a global audience.
Sources:
1. ICANN Official Website – https://www.icann.org
2. World Intellectual Property Organization – https://www.wipo.int/branddb/en/
3. Microsoft’s guide on configuring Internationalized Domain – https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/configure-internal-dns-for-office-365-bfeea945-da00-4edd-9269-9f129e1612d0?ui=en-us&rs=en-us&ad=us
