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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's secret visit to Beijing this week had internet users scrambling to stay a step ahead of censors as China's tightly controlled state media remained silent on the trip until he had left.
As those on social media tried to speculate about who was visiting amid the unusually tight security, mentions of North Korea on the main platforms were blocked.
There were no North Korea-related articles on prominent accounts on the popular messaging app WeChat, while searches using the term "North Korea" were blocked on Weibo, a popular microblogging platform.
"They have been deleting North Korea-related articles for the past few days," one Chinese person who edits an online account about North Korea said during the week.
"It's been very hard for us to post on our public account."
In an effort to get around censors, internet users resorted to using nicknames for the visitor, including, "the fatty on the train" and, "the obese patient", as well as others terms like, "the visitor from the north-east" and, "the sibling next door".
But later searches showed Chinese authorities were quick to crack down on these names too.
Users attempted to keep each other abreast of developments, circulating videos of a motorcade travelling around Beijing and entering Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guest House, and speculating about the guests' visit to sites including Zhongguancun, one of China's technology hubs.
The Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet regulator, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the censorship.
China's propaganda ministry released a notice on Monday banning state media from reporting news related to North Korea, one journalist who works for a Chinese state-run media outlet said.
An editor at another state media outlet said they were directed by superiors not to cover discussions of the visit by a North Korean.
Chinese state media eventually confirmed on Wednesday the visit by Mr Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and said it was an unofficial trip from Sunday until Wednesday.
The trip was Mr Kim's first known journey abroad since he assumed power in 2011 and was believed by analysts to serve as preparation for upcoming summits with South Korea and the United States.
He travelled to Beijing amid tight security aboard a green train used exclusively by the ruling Kim family for many years.
Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, who famously hated flying and had a penchant for a playboy lifestyle, is said to have decked the train out for lavish parties, bouts of heavy drinking and karaoke on his many journeys by rail.
It's not known how often Kim Jong-un has used the train to travel inside North Korea.
ABC/Reuters
Topics: censorship, information-and-communication, communism, world-politics, foreign-affairs, social-media, china, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, asia