For the paste, see Doubanjiang

Doubanjiang

Doubanjiang is a spicy, salty paste made from fermented broad beans, soybeans, salt, rice, and various spices. Doubanjiang exists in plain and spicy versions, with the latter containing red chili peppers and called la doubanjiang .It is used particularly in Sichuan cuisine, and in fact, the people...

.

Douban.com , launched on March 6, 2005, is the largest Chinese website devoted for movies

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, books, and music reviews. It had about 30 million registered users in 2010 and as of May 2011, it ranks the 134th most popular website worldwide and 22nd in China according to Alexa Internet

Alexa Internet

Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...

.

Timeline

• Year 2005
  • March 6th, account registration was open to the public
  • March 8th, Group (小组) was released
  • March 9th, the first topic appeared in the Group
  • July 6th, the traditional Chinese version of website was published
  • August 23rd，Douban Location (豆瓣同城) got online to provide users to share and discover local events and activities
  • December 8th, English version of website was open for public testing

Censorship

Douban has attracted a large number of intellectuals who are eager to discuss social issues. This makes douban vulnerable to be outlawed by the Chinese government. Douban has introduced a massive censorship on all contents posted in the website and often found itself in the hot water of controversy.

In March 2009, douban removed art paintings of the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 for the ground that it contained 'pornographic' elements. The action led to a campaign called "Portraits: Dress up" in which internet users were asked to dress up images of famous renaissance nudes in a protest against douban's self-censorship. The discussion about the campaign was then removed by the administrator.

The year also saw the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...

, and douban has further extended its keyword list to ban any terms that may be relevant to the incident. One notable example is the ban on merely mentioning the name of Victoria Park

Victoria Park, Hong Kong

Victoria Park is a public park in Hong Kong, named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It is located in Causeway Bay, on the north of Hong Kong Island, between Causeway Bay and Tin Hau MTR stations...

 in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

where the memorial gathering for the 20th anniversary was held, in the fear that it may lead to sensitive discussions. Users also found that some discussion groups, like a Hong Kong cultural study group hkren were suddenly banned and all topics were removed without any notices. The action further angered some members to move to other similar websites that employ lesser strict self-censorship policies.