Shenzhen province is China's heaviest internet user

As at the end of 2015, there were 8.97 million internet users in Shenzhen; 83.2% of its population, the highest figure in China, according to a new report from the Shenzhen Association of Online Media and the China Internet Network Information Centre (CINIC). Other findings from the survey of Shenzhen's population include: 95% of its "netizens" access the Internet via their mobile phones; 77% of internet users shopped online last year, 15% more than the national average; a boost in the development of online payment apps driven by growth in online shopping, usage in 2014 increased by 11%; and Shenzhen internet users spent 35.7 hours online per week in 2015, about five hours longer than that they spent in 2012.

Zhang Yang, Liu Qi nicolezyyy@163.com IF a Shenzhener is using his smartphone, he is probably surfing the Internet. A report released yesterday showed that eight out of 10 people in Shenzhen are Internet users, while 90 percent of Shenzhen netizens access the Internet via their mobile phones. According to the report released by the Shenzhen Association of Online Media and the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), there were 8.97 million Internet users in Shenzhen as of the end of 2015, making up 83.2 percent of Shenzhen’s population, the highest nationwide. “About 94.8 percent of Shenzhen netizens access the Internet through their mobile phones, while the number of people using laptops and desktop computers to browse the Internet is declining,” said Liu Xin, deputy head of the Internet research department of CINIC. According to the report, mobile phones are having a great influence on Shenzhen netizens’ news reading habits. Around 91.9 percent of mobile-phone Internet users in Shenzhen read news on their phones, and 67.5 percent of mobile-phone netizens viewed more news online over the past six months. About 77 percent of Shenzhen Internet users shopped online last year, 15 percent more than the nationwide average. The surge in online shopping has boosted the development of online payment apps, with usage of payment apps in Shenzhen growing by 11 percent over 2014. The report also showed that Shenzhen Internet users spent 35.7 hours online per week in 2015, about five hours longer than that they spent in 2012. Internet speed in Shenzhen was a weak point, with the average Internet speed slower than that in developed countries, with 47.3 percent of mobile-phone Web users complaining about the connection speeds. Liu said the city government should upgrade the city’s Internet infrastructure and expand the coverage of wireless Internet to improve the city’s Internet service. “Meanwhile, the development of Internet service in Shenzhen will have a larger influence on corporations than on individuals,” he said, adding that a boost to the Internet industry will propel the integration of e-commerce and traditional industries. Zhong Haifan, head of the city’s Internet information office, said big data methods have been widely used to improve government efficiency, and access to government data will gradually open to the public in the future.