A Chinese company has applied for over 100 new top-level domains, covering culture, technology, and commerce

The company, Journey to the West Corporation, recently disclosed that it has submitted applications for more than 100 new gTLDs to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The application list on the company’s website includes 323 primary and secondary strings, many of which are closely related to Chinese culture, industry, and geographical indications. This is the first known instance of an applicant explicitly including internationalized domain names (IDNs, i.e., non-Latin alphabet domain names) in a publicly available list.

Based on their website categories, these domain names cover a very wide range:

Flagship Domains (23): e.g., .panda, .dragon, .jade

Physical Geography (18): e.g., .orchid, .plum, .chrysanthemum

Arts and Crafts (9): e.g., .porcelain, .lacquer, .cloisonne

Zodiac Animals (8): e.g., .zodiac, .tiger, .rabbit

Food Culture (15): e.g., .mooncake, .hotpot, .noodle

Performing Arts Culture (5): e.g., . .guzheng, .erhu, .pipa

Martial Arts Strategies (8): e.g., .taichi, .shaolin, .wudang

Invention Heritage (7): e.g., .abacus, .compass, .gunpowder

Royal Mythology (14): e.g., .forbidden, .imperial, .mandarin

Festivals and Blessings (15): e.g., .lunar, .springfestival, .newyear

Philosophical Studies (8): e.g., .wisdom, .scholar, .exam

Journey to the West Legends (10): e.g., .journey, .xiyou, .pilgrim

Trade & Logistics (27): e.g., .sourcing, .export, .import

Manufacturing Materials (15): e.g., .textile, .garment, .fabric

Technology & Electronics (11): e.g., .pcb, .semiconductor, .chip

Energy & Transportation (27): e.g., .battery, .lithium, .anode

Digital Commerce (13): e.g., .livestream, .shortv ideo, .miniapp

Brand Guochao (10): e.g., .guochao, .domestic, .nationalbrand

Future Technology (11): e.g., .smartcity, .newinfra, .digitaltwin

In addition, the company has applied for a large number of Chinese Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), covering categories such as digital retail, industry and trade, energy, health, agriculture, consumer goods, education, culture and entertainment, and public welfare, including “.美食”, “.旅游”, “.酒店”, “.芯”, “.电子”, “.新年”, “.养生”, “.国潮”, and “.老字号”. Some of these Chinese domain names overlap with existing top-level domains; for example, “.公益” is already an existing gTLD authorized by ICANN. At the same time, at least six Latin letter domain names (.fan, .furniture, .silk, .soy, .storage, .公益) are also existing top-level domains that have been authorized or applied for.

It is worth noting that the company’s background is still unclear. The website claims to be “backed by domain investors and Chinese internet celebrities,” but its footer points to the location of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)—also the office of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), which manages China’s national top-level domains. However, the company’s showcase domain was registered today through the overseas registrar Spaceship. If it were truly related to MIIT or CNNIC, it would typically choose a domestic registrar. The website is currently still under development.

Preliminary comparisons reveal at least 13 domains that potentially conflict with other known applicants. Assuming all applications from “Journey to the West Company” use the correct string, the conflicts include: .Factory (overlapping with Link Freedom Group (LFG) and USA Made in America (Colin Campbell); .Dragon and .panda (overlapping with Oinkadot); and .Cell, .drone, .logistics, .model, .port, .pump, .robot, .swap, .tea, and .token (overlapping with LFG).

The release of this application list reveals that Chinese companies are systematically deploying new general-purpose top-level domain (GTLD) resources, with a particular focus on building digital brand assets using Chinese cultural symbols and keywords related to emerging industries. However, the overlap between some domain names and existing applications, as well as the ambiguity surrounding the companies’ true backgrounds, leaves uncertainties for subsequent ICANN review and dispute resolution procedures. As the new round of domain name applications progresses, the final outcome of this list warrants continued attention.