.sh.cn Domain: China's Regional Extension for Shanghai
.sh.cn is one of the administrative-region domains under .cn, the country code top-level domain of China, and it stands for Shanghai. The zone is administered by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC); .cn itself entered the root zone on 28 November 1990. Administrative-region domains are divided according to the abbreviated names of China's administrative divisions: there are 34 of them, matching the country's 34 provinces, autonomous regions and directly governed municipalities. On that map sh is the abbreviation for Shanghai, just as bj serves Beijing, and Shanghai-based organisations can show the region in their address.
The two letters at the end give a visitor a location at a glance — something an address aimed at the whole country does not say. The registration rules are shared with .cn: names are allocated first come, first served, the applicant must submit identity documents and keep the registration data true, accurate and complete, and the registration service provider carries out the verification. Corporate applications call for a business licence or organisation registration certificate, individual applications for an identity document.
One obligation continues after registration: changes to the registration data must be reported within 30 days, and where information is found incomplete or untrue and is not corrected, the registration may be cancelled. .com.cn is set aside for commercial identity, .org.cn for not-for-profit bodies and .cn for the country as a whole. Check the name you would tie to Shanghai on the domain search page.
.SH.CN Domain at a Glance
- Registry China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
- Region represented Shanghai
- Place in the namespace One of the 34 administrative-region domains under .cn
- Identity verification The domain does not activate until data is verified against documents
- Keeping data current Changes to registration data must be reported within 30 days
- Document Requirement View required documents
- Country China
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.sh.cn Domain Prices — No Surprise Fees
Registration, transfer and renewal fees are listed separately. The renewal price can differ from the first-year price, so you see both up front.
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New Registration
$26.50 /year -
Renewal
$29.15 /year -
Restore
$124.90 -
Trustee Service
$1.00
Included With Every .sh.cn Domain
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Free DNS management
Change A, MX, TXT and CNAME records yourself from the panel — no waiting on anyone when you move a site or mailbox.
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Domain lock
While the lock is on, nobody can move your domain to another registrar without your approval.
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Domain forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
.sh.cn Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: for .sh.cn the post-expiry timeline is set by the registry, so it differs from one extension to the next. The diagram below shows the windows that actually apply to .sh.cn, day by day. One thing never changes, whichever extension you hold: renewing before the expiry date is always the cheapest and safest route.
Domain Is Available (Available)
A .sh.cn address at this stage has not been taken yet, and it goes to whoever registers first. Check the name you have in mind — if it is free, it can be yours within minutes.
Domain Is Active (Active Period)
Once registration is complete, the domain is registered to you for the term you selected. You can renew at any point before it expires to keep it active, or switch on auto-renewal so you never have to watch the date.
Redemption Period (Redemption Period)
The domain is not released the moment it expires — during this window it is still yours and can be recovered. Some extensions charge an extra restore fee at this stage, so renewing before expiry is always the cheaper route.
Domain Is Available Again
Once deletion completes, the domain leaves the system and anyone can register it — popular names are often taken the same minute by someone watching. Keep auto-renewal on so a name you care about never gets this far.
.sh.cn Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.sh.cn Domain Registration
- Document Requirement View required documents
- Country China
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.sh.cn Domain Support
- IDN Support No
- Transfer Support No
- Late Renewal Support No
Documents Required for a .sh.cn Domain
Local presence is required for registering Chinese domains. If your company does not meet the residency requirement, we will proceed with the domain registration, using the name of our representatives, and make it available to you; this alternative has an additional cost (Trustee Service).
If you have a Chinese Company or ID please contact one of our executives before requesting your new domain name.
Frequently Asked Questions About .sh.cn Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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Under the national top-level domain registration rules, natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organisations may apply for .cn and the domains beneath it, and names are allocated first come, first served. CNNIC's implementation rules state no separate registration restriction for administrative-region domains. In practice these names are chosen by organisations that identify their activity with the region concerned.
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One group of the English second-level domains under .cn consists of administrative-region domains: there are 34 of them, divided according to the abbreviated names of China's administrative divisions and matching the country's 34 provinces, autonomous regions and directly governed municipalities. sh.cn stands for Shanghai and bj.cn for Beijing. The structure adds a geographic layer to the address itself.
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Even once registration completes, the domain does not activate until the registration data has been confirmed against the documents supplied; the address will not open in a browser. Organisations are asked for a business licence or registration certificate and natural persons for an identity document, with the registration service provider carrying out the verification. Writing the company name exactly as it appears on the document is the most concrete way to shorten the process.
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Changes to the registration data must be reported within 30 days. Where the information is found to be untrue, inaccurate or incomplete, the registration service provider requires correction, and failing that the registration may be refused or cancelled. Updating the record in the same week a company name, address or authorised contact changes is far easier than dealing with a cancellation risk later.
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Because the registration rules are identical, the decision is not technical but communicative. .cn addresses the country as a whole, while .sh.cn puts Shanghai at the end of the address. For an organisation whose work is concentrated in that city, the regional name establishes local proximity. If you sell nationwide, .cn sends the better signal; if you serve one city, .sh.cn does.
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Beneath .cn the split follows intended use: .com.cn is set aside for showing commercial identity in the address and .org.cn for not-for-profit bodies. Administrative-region domains carry a geographic marker instead; sh.cn points to Shanghai and bj.cn to Beijing. The identity verification requirement and the registration rules are common to all of them.
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