China’s internet users approached 1.1 billion at the end of June, up 7.42 million from December, as a plethora of online entertainment options lured the young and old into joining the world’s largest online population, the latest government figures showed.

Around 78 per cent of mainland Chinese citizens were connected to the internet as of June, according to a report released on Thursday by the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC), a state agency. Over 37 per cent of new internet users were drawn to short video apps, the report said.

Entertainment and social needs were the main drivers of internet usage in China. Some 95 per cent of web users in the country had viewed short videos, which are available on popular platforms, including ByteDance’s Douyin, its rival Kuaishou, as well as Tencent Holdings’ multipurpose app WeChat.

Short dramas, with each episode typically a few minutes long, were watched by over 52 per cent of internet users, the survey showed. As the sector gains popularity, Chinese authorities have been tightening their scrutiny. Since June, all short dramas in the country have been required to go through production licensing and content reviews before being aired.

Most of those who joined the internet in the first half of this year were between the ages of 10 and 19 years old, accounting for 49 per cent of the total, as well as elderly people aged 50 or above, accounting for 36 per cent.

The CNNIC, which has been conducting twice-yearly surveys of the nation’s internet sector since 1997, recorded a slowdown in user growth, as internet penetration neared saturation. In the same period last year, China added 11.09 million web users.

Digital payments are becoming more popular among the elderly and foreigners. In the first six months of the year, over three quarters of internet users aged 60 and above had used online payment services.

During the same period, more than 5 million inbound visitors used mobile payments, a fourfold jump from a year ago. Transaction numbers surpassed 90 million to exceed 14 billion yuan (US$2 billion), a sevenfold increase year on year, CNNIC data showed.

This comes after China’s two dominant mobile payment services, Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay, eased the way for foreign travellers to pay for goods and services on the mainland, following new guidelines released in March by the State Council – the national cabinet.

Ant is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.

The report also highlighted trade-in sales on e-commerce platforms, part of a nationwide government initiative launched in March to encourage consumers to upgrade their home appliances and vehicles, aimed at boosting sluggish consumption.

In the first half of the year, nearly 69 per cent of trade-in participants used online platforms to replace items like smartphones and traditional household appliances.