Wang Yahui started his first business in 2008, as a 17-year-old middle school student hoping to cash in on the growing popularity of social networking sites.

"Starting my own business was my dream, the thing I always wanted to do," said Wang, from Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province. "So I started my own social networking website."

He wasn't alone. A host of similar sites sprang up, and after a short battle for supremacy, a clear winner emerged, a Facebook clone called RenRen.