Wang Yue is what the mainland online gaming industry calls a 'hardcore' games enthusiast. A typical evening finds Mr Wang, a 26-year-old graphic designer, in front of his computer, devoting three hours to unearthing virtual treasures and slaying dragons in the World of Warcraft, one of China's most popular massive, multiplayer online games.
On weekends, Mr Wang builds fortresses and raises armies for an average of five hours a day.
'This is my way of relaxing,' he said.
The central government wants to curb the amount of time that gamers like Mr Wang lose themselves in the virtual worlds of online role-playing games, which have been blamed for truancy, death from exhaustion and even murder.
In response to growing concerns, the General Administration of Press and Publication (Gapp) on August 23 announced a compulsory 'anti-fatigue' system limiting a gamer to three consecutive hours of play.
After that point, the system reduces a game character's ability by half. After five hours of continuous play, a player's character capability is reduced to the lowest possible level, and he must wait for a minimum of five hours for the program to reset.