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Many users were unable to access the website for Alibaba Group’s Chinese New Year subsidy campaign for its AI assistant due to a system crash following the rollout of CNY3 billion (USD420 million) in cash incentives. Numerous reports emerged across China indicating that they could not open the entry page for the Lunar New Year subsidy campaign when it launched today.
An official from the Hangzhou-based company stated, “We are rapidly increasing resources to ensure the system runs smoothly.” The first phase of the campaign runs until February 12, according to the campaign page. Participants who download the app can receive a one-time discount coupon worth CNY25 (USD3.60), which can be used for a milk tea or other special Chinese New Year items on the e-commerce platform’s flash sale.
Moreover, users will earn additional rewards for inviting friends to download the app, with those friends also receiving incentives. Inviting three friends in one day enters users into a lucky draw with prizes valued at CNY10,000 (USD1,440).
Within three hours of the campaign’s start, over one million cups of milk tea had been booked through the platform, according to the company. The second phase of the campaign will kick off on February 13, offering users a chance to win cash rewards up to CNY2,888 (USD415).
Some users have reported that sharing the campaign link with the QR code on Tencent’s super app WeChat has been blocked. Tencent also restricted links related to its own Lunar New Year promotion for Yuanbao AI and Baidu’s Wenxin.
WeChat explained that it prohibits sharing links for cash red envelopes because such activities tend to encourage frequent link sharing, which can disrupt the platform’s ecosystem, impair user experience, and lead to harassment.
This year’s Chinese New Year has become a competitive battleground among China’s AI apps. ByteDance’s cloud computing unit, Volcano Engine, became the exclusive AI cloud partner for China Central Television’s Spring Festival Gala, introducing its Doubao assistant to millions of viewers. Baidu announced plans to distribute CNY500 million (USD71.9 million) to Wenxin users, while Tencent launched a CNY1 billion red envelope campaign for Yuanbao.
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