Early Life
Ma was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Ma attended Hangzhou Teacher's Institute (currently known as Hangzhou Normal University) and graduated in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in English. Ma initially failed the entrance exam twice. While at the school, Ma was elected student chairman. He later became a lecturer in English and International Trade at the Hangzhou Dianzi University. Ma first started building websites for Chinese companies with the help of friends in the US. Ma has commented that "The day we got connected to the Web, I invited friends and TV people over to my house," and on a very slow dial-up connection, "we waited three and a half hours and got half a page.... We drank, watched TV and played cards, waiting. But I was so proud. I proved (to my house guests that) the Internet existed"
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