(Yicai) Feb. 6 -- Many users were unable to enter the website for Alibaba Group Holdings' Chinese New Year subsidy campaign for its Qwen artificial intelligence assistant due to a system crash after the tech giant began distributing CNY3 billion (USD420 million) of cash incentives.

A considerable number of users in several areas across China complained online that they were unable to open the entry page for Qwen's Lunar New Year subsidy campaign when it launched today.

"We are urgently increasing resources to ensure the smooth operation of the system," an official from Hangzhou-based Alibaba told Yicai.

The first round of the Qwen campaign will be held through Feb. 12, according to the entry page. Users who download the app will receive a one-off discount coupon worth CNY25 (USD3.60) for a cup of milk tea or other special Chinese New Year purchases on Taobao Flash Sale.

In addition, users will be given rewards for each friend they invite to download Qwen, with their friends also getting rewards. Those who get three friends to download the app in a single day will be added to a lucky draw with rewards worth CNY10,000 (USD1,440).

Qwen sent Over one million cups of milk tea was booked less than three hours after the campaign began, Alibaba said to Yicai. The second round will start on Feb. 13, with each user having the chance to win up to CNY2,888 (USD415) in cash red envelopes. 

Users noted that posting a link with the QR code for the Qwen campaign on Tencent Holdings' social media super app WeChat has been blocked. However, the Shenzhen-based firm has also blocked links related to Lunar New Year push of its own Yuanbao AI app and Baidu's Wenxin.

WeChat said that it bans the sharing of cash red envelope links because such marketing activities lure users to frequently share links, which may disrupt its ecosystem, affect user experience, and lead to user harassment.

This year's Chinese New Year has turned into a high-stakes battle among China's AI apps. ByteDance's cloud computing unit Volcano Engine became the exclusive AI cloud partner for China Central Television's Spring Festival Gala, introducing its Doubao assistant to hundreds of millions of viewers. Baidu announced plans to distribute CNY500 million (USD71.9 million) to Wenxin users, while Tencent launched a CNY1 billion red envelope campaign for Yuanbao.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev