How iQIYI’s “Qijing” Platform Revolutionizes Testing Across Devices and Teams

Industry Background – Evolution of Testing Philosophy and Innovation

In today’s fast‑moving digital economy, every tech product—from smart hardware to cloud services—must pass rigorous quality checks. QA teams protect product quality, but testing now permeates every role: engineers verify code logic, operations simulate workflows, and product managers confirm feature completeness. Testing has become a mandatory quality‑verification mechanism across the development lifecycle.

iQIYI Testing Demands – A Complex Ecosystem

iQIYI, a nationwide content platform, faces testing challenges far beyond industry averages, covering product, development, operations, content review, advertising, encoding, membership, and more.

Multi‑terminal complexity: PC, iOS/Android, TV, web, mini‑programs, and car‑connected devices each require distinct hardware, resolution, and interaction testing.

Diverse test environments: From local dev machines to private/public cloud clusters, load balancers, API gateways, and micro‑service gateways, creating a complex topology of test paths.

Global distribution strategies: CDN‑driven regional variations in content, ads, recommendations, and payment flows must be accurately reproduced.

Compliance verification: Policies such as GDPR, CCPA, and copyright standards demand exhaustive testing coverage.

Content safety and leakage prevention: Role‑based access controls and automated lifecycle management protect unpublished content.

Existing Test and Verification Solutions – Effective Yet Fragmented

iQIYI maintains several test environments: a unified internal environment for version iteration, a cross‑team scenario‑based environment, a company‑wide dogfood environment for pre‑release validation, and specialized environments for critical content releases.

Access methods include Wi‑Fi/VPN entry points, host file redirection, and a remote phone‑rental platform for real‑device testing.

These solutions suffer from a lack of uniformity: disparate environments, inconsistent access rules, and fragmented management.

Solution 1: Independent Test Domain

Implementation: Use a separate domain pointing to the test IP while the production domain points to the live IP.

Drawbacks:

Test and production packages differ, risking test‑environment bugs leaking to production.

Inconsistent paths may miss production issues.

Potential certificate and cross‑origin problems.

Solution 2: Host‑Based Redirection

Implementation: Keep the production domain but force it to resolve to the test IP via host file changes.

Drawbacks:

Forgotten host entries can misroute traffic.

Team members must synchronize host rules, increasing coordination overhead.

Mobile/TV devices cannot easily modify hosts, limiting coverage.

Solution 3: Dedicated Test Wi‑Fi

Implementation: Deploy separate routers for each test environment, mapping production domains to test IPs via router‑level host settings.

Drawbacks:

Multiple wireless sources cause interference.

Lack of a unified configuration center forces manual device switching.

Synchronizing host entries across routers is cumbersome.

Breakthrough – From Fragmentation to LEGO‑Like Integration

The “Qijing” environment unifies all scattered testing components into a standardized workflow, offering a single entry point and language for all verification needs.

Environment Governance: Cloud‑Based Central Hub

Each test environment owns its domain‑IP mapping, eliminating local host modifications. A cloud‑based configuration center provides isolated spaces for each environment, enabling seamless domain resolution across devices.

Seamless Access Experience

Connecting to the office Wi‑Fi automatically associates devices with the appropriate test environment; external users via VPN receive the same seamless routing.

Zero‑Trust Permission System

Dynamic “IP‑Device‑User” mappings enforce atomic, device‑level permissions. Lifecycle management automates permission expiration, and full audit trails protect data.

Technical Architecture Core

The platform builds a cloud‑native dispatch system. A DNSProxy module routes domain requests to the correct test environment, supporting both DNS and HTTPS‑DNS protocols. Integrated with micro‑service gateways, it enables traffic shading and link isolation.

Access is secured via enterprise‑grade network authentication; TV and other dumb devices use special credentials, eliminating the need for dedicated test Wi‑Fi. Remote VPN connections also map to the correct environment.

Zero‑trust clients maintain real‑time “IP‑Device‑User” mappings, updating instantly on any fingerprint change, ensuring consistent environment isolation across devices.

Enhanced Verification Capabilities

Network Export Simulation: SDN dynamically routes traffic to regional exit nodes for geo‑specific testing.

Real‑Time Request Analysis: Built‑in request inspection replaces external tools like Fiddler/Charles.

Weak‑Network Emulation: Linux TC + NetEm simulates latency, bandwidth limits, packet loss, and reordering.

Key Benefits

Full‑Terminal Coverage: Test on phones, web, TV, mini‑programs, using everyday devices without special Wi‑Fi.

Unified Environment & Device Management: Centralized control of test environments, personal devices, and IoT assets; batch operations simplify multi‑device handling.

Cloud‑Based Configuration: Settings apply instantly to all devices; one‑click sharing enables teammates to replicate environments.

Real‑User Perspective Validation: Tests run on actual employee devices, mirroring real user conditions; weak‑network simulation improves video playback under poor connectivity.

Zero‑Trust Permission Control: Granular, auditable access with automatic expiration.

Request Analysis & Lane Navigation: Visual request tracing and micro‑service traffic shading support parallel version testing.

Real‑World Use Cases at iQIYI

Content final‑check across all terminals before release.

Company‑wide dogfood testing for last‑mile validation.

Agile cross‑team collaboration using shared test domains.

Personal test spaces for rapid prototyping without consuming shared resources.

Effectiveness Demonstrations

iOS devices automatically route to the assigned test cluster without any manual configuration, as shown in the screenshots.

iQIYI app accesses the test environment directly.

Users can switch between multiple environments on a single device, with each environment delivering distinct backend responses.

Conclusion – Efficiency‑Driven Quality Assurance Evolution

The Qijing testing platform embodies iQIYI’s systematic response to development efficiency and security. By standardizing processes and centralizing management, it dramatically reduces test preparation time, breaks down cross‑team barriers, and ensures data safety through zero‑trust and dynamic permissions. Ongoing improvements will refine environment scheduling and real‑time device linkage, turning every test into a reliable foundation for business value.