360 Search API for the Chinese web
Search 360 over HTTP and receive a Chinese-language result set that differs from Baidu, which is what makes it useful as a cross-check rather than a substitute.
Endpoint
Results arrive in the same JSON shape as every other engine, so existing parsing continues to work.
Results point at Chinese-language sites, including baike.so.com.
The snippet is the page description as 360 renders it.
The ordering differs from Baidu for the same query.
Useful for
Cross-checking / China research / Coverage breadth
A different Chinese index, not a mirror
Set `search_service` to `360` and the results come from 360 search. The endpoint, the authentication, and the response shape are the same as every other engine.
Genuinely different results
For the same Chinese query, 360 surfaces its own properties and a different mix of sites than Baidu does, so running both widens coverage rather than repeating it.
360 Baike as a reference layer
Definitional queries surface baike.so.com, a reference source distinct from Baidu Baike.
Useful as a corroboration pass
When a claim matters, agreement between two independent Chinese indexes is a stronger signal than depth in one.
Standard Search parameters
`max_results` up to 50, plus `include_sites`, `exclude_sites`, and `time_range`.
What is a 360 search API?
A 360 search API is an HTTP interface that returns results from 360 search (so.com) as structured data. 360 is one of the significant search engines in mainland China alongside Baidu, and it maintains its own index and its own reference property, 360 Baike. Search1API exposes 360 as one of the search services on its Search endpoint, returning titles, links, and Chinese-language snippets in the same JSON shape it returns for its other engines. Its value is not that it replaces Baidu but that it disagrees with it: for research where a single ranking could be misleading, a second independent Chinese index is a cheap corroboration pass.
Typical workflow
Search 360 over HTTP and receive a Chinese-language result set that differs from Baidu, which is what makes it useful as a cross-check rather than a substitute.
Send a Chinese-language query with `search_service` set to `360`.
Compare the result set against a `baidu` query for the same terms.
Set `crawl_results` when the workflow needs page text rather than links.
One request, a second Chinese result set
A single call searches 360 and returns Chinese-language results in the standard shape, which pairs naturally with a Baidu query over the same terms.
bash
Best for
Corroborating a claim across two independent Chinese indexes.
Widening coverage on a Chinese topic beyond one ranking.
Research where a single engine’s ordering could be misleading.
AI assistants that cite more than one Chinese source.
FAQ
How is 360 different from Baidu?
They maintain separate indexes and separate reference properties, so the same Chinese query returns a different set of sites and a different ordering. Running both is a coverage and corroboration strategy rather than a redundant call.
Should I query in Chinese or English?
Chinese. The index is Chinese-language, and a Chinese query is what produces a meaningful ranking.
Can I get the page content as well?
Yes. Set `crawl_results` to the number of top results you want fetched, and each page retrieved successfully includes a `content` field with the page text as markdown. Results that cannot be retrieved are returned without `content` and are not charged.
What does a 360 search cost?
One credit per search, and one additional credit for each page retrieved successfully through `crawl_results`. At the base top-up rate of $1 for 1,000 credits, that is $1 per 1,000 searches. Signup includes 100 free credits with no credit card.
Can I query several engines in one request?
The Search endpoint accepts an array of query objects, so a Baidu query and a 360 query can be sent in a single batch. Each item is billed individually and a failed item is not charged.
Which other Chinese engines are supported?
The same Search endpoint accepts `baidu` and `quark` for the Chinese web, `wechat` for Official Account articles, and `bilibili` for video, alongside global engines, for 17 engines in total on one contract.