OICQ, a chat tool similar to MSN Messenger, was officially launched in China on Feb 10, 1999, before being renamed QQ in 2000.
In the pre-smartphone era QQ was an important channel.
In 2003 a level system was introduced, and people began comparing their QQ levels.
Users were awarded stars depending on the amount of time they spent on the platform, with four stars being upgraded to a moon, then four moons to a sun – those with the most suns could take pride among their friends.
QQ pets, QQ address book, QQ music, and QQ zone debuted in 2005, with QQ zone perhaps the most popular function, becoming many users' first blog.
By 2006 you could buy diamonds for people you liked on QQ to express love, with diamonds of different color being exchanged for different things: red for virtual clothes; yellow to decorate your QQ zone; green for music.
In 2009 QQ users exceeded 1 billion and it became the most popular chat tool in the world.
