Douban.net, cont. Be part of a bridge space.

A bridge space: where Chinese and non-Chinese can collide and create new online experiences and connections.

Jason blogged the English beta version of Douban.net, which opened in 12/2005, below.  Something like All Consuming, the original Chinese-language version Douban.com went live in 3/2005 and now has (according the the Douban website) over sixty thousand registered users, over a million collections and ratings, and over 13,000 full-length reviews.

The English-language Douban.net looks like it hasn’t reached critical mass by any means, but it should
be a good place to browse every now and then, or even to participate in
and make connections in virtual China.  A recent visit revealed a review of Wei Hui’s Shanghai Baby and groups called blogger, douban fans, design, and learn language mutually, among others.

A brief look at the Douban.com Chinese homepage shows reviews of recently published Chinese novels, and postings by users like JameSentiment in Hong Kong who is listening to Beijing-born singer Shunza’s album Songs for Lovers and recently watched Japanese director Katsuyuki Motohiro’s 2000 film Space Travelers.