Table of Contents

Foreword

There is a survey showing that China’s cloud computing market reached approximately 1.09 trillion yuan in 2025 and is projected to hit 1.4 trillion yuan in 2026, growing at roughly 34% annually. China’s internet market is already very mature. If our websites or software need to interact with Chinese users, it is worth understanding the promotional windows of China’s major cloud providers to save more on costs.

Singles Day (November 11)

Singles Day is the single largest promotional event in the Chinese cloud market. Originally an e-commerce festival, it has expanded into every consumer and B2B category, including cloud services.

  1. Timing: Activity typically starts in mid-to-late October and runs through November 11, with the core discount window on the day itself.
  2. What to expect: Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and Huawei Cloud all participate. Discounts on lightweight servers and entry-level instances can reach 50-70% off. Alibaba Cloud has historically offered its 38 yuan/year lightweight server as a headline deal during this period.
  3. For foreign developers: Promotional pages are accessible, but the deepest discounts are often limited to new users with verified accounts. If you have been thinking about testing a Chinese cloud provider, this is the window to do it.

618 (June 18)

618 is the mid-year counterpart to Singles Day, originating from JD.com’s anniversary sale.

  1. Timing: Late May through June 18.
  2. What to expect: Discounts are generally slightly less aggressive than Singles Day but still significant. Tencent Cloud’s 618 promotions have included 1-core pricing on entry-level instances and renewal discounts.
  3. Strategy: If you missed Singles Day or need to add capacity mid-year, 618 is the next best window.

New Year and Spring Festival (January–February)

Chinese New Year falls in late January or February, and cloud providers use this as a secondary promotional window.

  1. Alibaba Cloud’s “Kainian Caigou Ji” (开年采购季): Runs from January 1 through March 31, offering 99 yuan/year ECS instances and 199 yuan/year general-purpose instances. This is a longer window than Singles Day, which makes it easier to plan around.
  2. Spring Festival specials: Some providers run short campaigns around the Lunar New Year holiday itself.

Vendor Anniversaries

Each major provider has its own anniversary sale, and these are worth tracking if you are already in one ecosystem.

  1. Alibaba Cloud: September
  2. Tencent Cloud: June
  3. Huawei Cloud: December

Huawei Cloud’s anniversary promotions have included 50% off new-user first purchases on general computing instances.

Quarter-End Windows

Chinese cloud providers, like their Western counterparts, sometimes run promotions at the end of fiscal quarters to hit revenue targets. March, June, September, and December are worth watching, though these promotions tend to be less publicized than the major festivals.

How to actually get the discounts

Knowing the calendar is only half the problem. The other half is navigating the mechanics.

  1. Complete identity verification early. For Alibaba Cloud’s international site, individual verification requires a passport or driver’s license, and the issuing country must match your account’s country setting. The review takes about 3 business days. Do this before the promotion starts, not during.
  2. Watch for “new user” restrictions. The deepest discounts are almost always limited to accounts that have never made a paid purchase. If you have previously bought from a provider, you will not qualify for the headline prices.
  3. Stack coupons where allowed. Chinese providers often allow coupons to stack with promotional pricing, but there are rules. Alibaba Cloud notes that each order can use only one coupon, and some special-price items cannot be combined with coupons. Read the fine print.
  4. Consider 3-year commitments for stable workloads. The duration discounts on 3-year prepaid instances are substantial—Tencent Cloud’s 3-year discount reaches 39% off the monthly rate for eligible types. If you are confident you will use the server for that long, the math works.
  5. Beware auto-renewal traps. Huawei Cloud’s own guidance warns that auto-renewal may be enabled by default and renewal prices can be higher than promotional prices. Disable auto-renewal after purchase and set a reminder to evaluate before the next billing cycle.

A note on the China vs global divide

Note: Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and Huawei Cloud operate separate international and China-mainland platforms. The international sites (alibabacloud.com, intl.tencentcloud.com, huaweicloud.com/intl) serve non-Chinese users and accept international payment methods. The China sites (aliyun.com, cloud.tencent.cn) require Chinese identity verification and are optimized for the domestic market.

The promotional calendars described here apply to both platforms, but the deepest discounts on the China sites may not be available on the international versions. If you are not a Chinese citizen or resident, you will typically be working with the international platforms, where verification requirements are lighter and payment is more straightforward.

Summary

The Chinese cloud promotional calendar centers on Singles Day (November 11) as the biggest window, 618 (June 18) as the second, and New Year, vendor anniversaries, and quarter-end as secondary opportunities.

Thank you very much for reading to the end!

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