Great Firewall of China collapses -- for a few hours

Cautious excitement spread on some social-networking platforms as hope flared that Internet freedoms suddenly were being expanded after months of intensifying scrutiny.

“It’s finally unblocked, reasons unknown,” wrote a blogger named EFanZh. “I hope nothing gets blocked anymore. I can’t take it any longer.”

But by the time many woke up, strict restrictions had returned. Error messages once again flashed across computer screens for sites blocked by the nation’s censorship filter.

“It seemed just like a dream,” said Michael Anti, a social critic and one of hundreds who tweeted about the development on Twitter.