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World desk3 min

What China’s “IPv9” Means—and Why the Name Is Confusing

The label “IPv9” has been used for three unrelated things. Here’s how the historic registry entry, RFC 1606 and China’s decimal-network proposal differ.
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China’s so-called “IPv9” is not the same thing as RFC 1606, the April 1, 1994 satirical RFC, or the earlier TUBA proposal associated with IP version 9. The shared label refers to three different things. The IANA registry marks version 9 “Reserved (Historic)” and points to RFC 1347—not to China’s later decimal-network project.

Three different things have been called “IPv9”

The label is easy to misread because it appears in unrelated contexts: a 1992 proposal, a 1994 joke RFC, and a Chinese decimal-network project discussed years later. Their names do not make them one protocol.

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Use of “IPv9” Date and source What it refers to Status
TUBA / IP version 9 June 1992, RFC 1347 A proposal for TCP and UDP over CLNP, intended to provide larger addresses and a migration path. The historic assignment cited by IANA; separate from China’s decimal network.
RFC 1606 April 1, 1994, RFC 1606 A satirical, fictional retrospective about IPv9. An informational independent submission, not an Internet standard.
China’s “IPv9” / decimal network Public reporting in the 2000s A separate proposal associated with decimal addressing and digital- or numerical-domain naming. Historical project and reported standards activity; the sources cited here do not establish that it became an IETF IP standard.

What the IANA record says about IP version 9

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority’s IP Version Numbers registry, last updated January 28, 2021, lists version 6 as IPv6 and version 9 as “Reserved (Historic),” citing RFC 1347. The registry describes the four-bit version field and explains that assignments follow a standards-action procedure.

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This record settles the protocol-number question: the historic version-9 entry is linked to TUBA, not to China’s later decimal-network proposal. A number appearing in the registry does not by itself certify that a distinct project using the same label is an adopted Internet protocol.

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RFC 1606 is a joke, not documentation of China’s project

Julian Onions’s RFC 1606 was published on April 1, 1994. Its deliberately fantastical retrospective includes fictional references to 42 routing levels, nanotechnology and interplanetary communications. The RFC’s own status statement is unambiguous: “This memo does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.” The IETF Datatracker identifies it as an independent submission, not an IETF standard.

Because the RFC predates the Chinese project’s public discussion by years, it cannot be a technical specification for that project. The two share a name, not an established design or standards lineage.

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What China’s decimal-network proposal was described as

Contemporaneous reporting in 2004 discussed a Chinese decimal-network project involving decimal addressing and digital-domain naming, alongside proposals for standards. A 2019 CERNET retrospective revisited the controversy and explicitly distinguished the Chinese system from RFC 1606. These accounts document discussion and claims about the project; they do not establish international adoption or a current, widely operating network.

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Later coverage should also be read according to what it actually reports. A 2007 news report relayed proponents’ claims that a base system had passed review and that a trial in Hunan was planned. A 2008 advocacy article promoted the project. A planned trial or an advocate’s account is not, on its own, proof of sustained deployment.

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Some retrospective accounts attribute claims such as a 256-bit format to proponents. The sources cited here do not establish that as a standardized packet format. Likewise, claims about security, scale, compatibility, national control or cost savings should be treated as arguments made by proponents, not as independently demonstrated outcomes.

How the history fits together

  1. June 1992: RFC 1347 proposes TUBA, using CLNP and larger addresses as a possible migration path.
  2. April 1, 1994: RFC 1606 publishes a satirical fictional history and explicitly disclaims Internet-standard status.
  3. 2002: Historical accounts describe publication of China’s Digital Domain Name Specification as an electronic-industry standard. That is not the same as adopting a new global IP protocol.
  4. 2004–2005: The decimal-network proposal attracts press coverage, criticism and public debate.
  5. 2007–2008: News and advocacy articles describe a proposed trial and promote the system; they do not establish its present-day operational status.
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Did China’s “IPv9” become an international Internet standard?

The standards evidence cited here does not show that it did. IANA’s historic version-9 entry points to RFC 1347, while RFC 1606 explicitly says it is not an Internet standard. The Chinese decimal-network proposal is a separate historical project; reported standards activity in China is not evidence of IETF approval or global adoption.

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The sources cited here also do not establish whether the Chinese proposal has any current operational deployment. Without direct, current evidence, claims that it is operating today or has been broadly adopted should not be presented as fact.

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