As promised, Yahoo today shuttered its email service in China, sending users instead to partner Alibaba Group.
The Web giant in April revealed plans to close its platform on Aug. 19, shuffling customers to Alibaba's email alternative, Aliyun.
"As part of an agreement we announced regarding Yahoo's stake in Alibaba on May 2012, we will shut down China Yahoo Mail accounts," the company said in the spring. "We'll offer two options to our users to make this transition as smooth as possible."
Existing users had the choice between the Aliyun product and another third-party email provider, including the U.S. version of Yahoo via IMAP/POP. Those who chose the former have the added benefit of email forwarding from their old account through the end of the year.
Last fall, Yahoo sold half of its 20 percent stake in Alibaba, earning $7.6 billion. Its remaining stake is worth about $14 billion. If the Chinese company goes public, as it is expected to in the next two years, Yahoo could sell even more of its holdings, the AP said in the spring.
The end of Yahoo Mail in China doesn't mean the end of Yahoo in the region — other company products and services, including its search engine, will continue running in the country.
This isn't the first time Yahoo has pulled back in Asia. Yahoo left South Korea at the end of 2012.
In early June, Yahoo Mail Classic shut down, making way for a new version of the service, which launched earlier this year. For more, see PCMag's review of Yahoo Mail and the slideshow above.