Tutorial: Monitoring and Checking Website Availability and Blocking in China Using Python

Introduction

With the increasing importance of global reach, ensuring that your website is accessible to users in different regions, especially in China, is crucial. The "China Connectivity and GFW Blocking Checker (Multi-metric)" API provides a solution for monitoring your website's accessibility and connection quality from within China, particularly concerning potential blocking by the Great Firewall (GFW). This tutorial will guide you through using this API with Python to monitor your website's availability and connection status for users in China.

API Overview

The China Connectivity and GFW Blocking Checker (Multi-metric) API allows you to:

Check if your website is blocked by the Great Firewall of China (GFW).
Test connectivity and website performance from Shanghai, China.
Gather metrics such as DNS resolution time, connection time, download speed, and total time to load the page.

This API is available through RapidAPI, a platform that provides easy access to thousands of APIs. You can find and subscribe to the API at this link: China Connectivity and GFW Blocking Checker (Multi-metric) on RapidAPI.

Getting Started with RapidAPI

Before you can use the API, you'll need to create an account on RapidAPI and subscribe to the "China Connectivity and GFW Blocking Checker (Multi-metric)" API.

Sign Up on RapidAPI: If you don't have a RapidAPI account, sign up at RapidAPI.
Find the API: Visit the API page and subscribe to the API. Choose a plan that fits your usage needs.
Get Your API Key: After subscribing, you'll receive an API key that you’ll use to authenticate your requests.

Using the API with Python

Now that you're set up with RapidAPI, let’s dive into how to use Python to make requests to the API and interpret the results.

Step 1: Install Required Libraries

You'll need the requests library to make HTTP requests from your Python script. If you don't have it installed, you can install it using pip:

pip install requests

Step 2: Write Python Code to Check Website Accessibility

Here's a sample Python script that uses the API to check whether a website is accessible from China:

import requests

# Define the API endpoint and parameters
api_url = "https://china-connectivity-and-gfw-blocking-checker-multi-metric.p.rapidapi.com/"
querystring = {"url": "https://microsoft.com"}

# Set the headers including the RapidAPI key
headers = {
    "x-rapidapi-host": "china-connectivity-and-gfw-blocking-checker-multi-metric.p.rapidapi.com",
    "x-rapidapi-key": "YOUR_RAPIDAPI_KEY"
}

# Make the request to the API
response = requests.get(api_url, headers=headers, params=querystring)

# Check if the request was successful
if response.status_code == 200:
    results = response.json()
    for result in results:
        print(f"Node: {result['node_name']}")
        print(f"Host: {result['host']}")
        print(f"HTTP Code: {result['http_code']}")
        print(f"Connection Time: {result['time_connect']}s")
        print(f"Total Time: {result['time_total']}s")
        print(f"Download Speed: {result['speed_download']} bytes/s")
        print(f"Blocked: {'Yes' if result['http_code'] == 0 else 'No'}")
        print("-" * 40)
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code} - {response.text}")

Replace "YOUR_RAPIDAPI_KEY" with the API key you obtained from RapidAPI.

Step 3: Run the Script

Save the script to a .py file and run it:

python check_gfw_blocking.py

The script will output the results, showing whether the specified website is blocked in China, along with other connectivity metrics.

Example Output

If the website is blocked, the output might look like this:

Node: 上海电信
Host: youtube.com
HTTP Code: 0
Connection Time: 0.0s
Total Time: 7.502061s
Download Speed: 0 bytes/s
Blocked: Yes
----------------------------------------

If the website is not blocked, the output might look like this:

Node: 上海电信
Host: microsoft.com
HTTP Code: 200
Connection Time: 0.202659s
Total Time: 0.468067s
Download Speed: 26968 bytes/s
Blocked: No
----------------------------------------

Alternative Usage Example with cURL

If you prefer using cURL directly, here’s how you can check a website using the API:

curl --request GET \
    --url 'https://china-connectivity-and-gfw-blocking-checker-multi-metric.p.rapidapi.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmicrosoft.com' \
    --header 'x-rapidapi-host: china-connectivity-and-gfw-blocking-checker-multi-metric.p.rapidapi.com' \
    --header 'x-rapidapi-key: YOUR_RAPIDAPI_KEY'

This command sends a request to check the accessibility of https://microsoft.com from China, using the specified API key.

Use Cases

Here are some practical scenarios where you might want to use this API:

Global Website Monitoring: If your website has a global audience, use this API to ensure users in China can access your site without issues.
Troubleshooting Access Issues: If users in China report difficulties accessing your site, you can use this API to diagnose potential blocking or connectivity problems.
Compliance and Audits: If you're operating a business that requires compliance with local regulations, use this API to periodically check your website's accessibility in China.

Terms of Use

Use this API at your own risk. The service is provided "as-is" without any warranties, and no guarantee is given regarding the accuracy or completeness of the results. Abuse of this API, including excessive or malicious use, is prohibited and may result in the suspension of access.

Conclusion

Monitoring and ensuring your website's accessibility in China is critical for global operations. With the "China Connectivity and GFW Blocking Checker (Multi-metric)" API, you can easily check if your site is blocked and diagnose any connectivity issues. By integrating this API into your Python scripts or using cURL, you can automate the monitoring process and ensure that your website remains accessible to users in China.

How to Monitor and Check Website Availability and Blocking in China Using Python