There might be light at the end of the tunnel for social media in China.

Chinese people have been left in the dark for several years since the nation blocked Facebook, Twitter, and a host of other social networks. But according to the South China Morning Post, the government has finally started to come around - to some degree. The government will now allow the social media sites (and will also be unblocking the New York Times), but only in the 17-square-mile Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

According to CNN Money, the experiment in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone serves as a testing ground for financial and service sector reforms. The government could proceed with unblocking Facebook in other areas of China if there are no problems in Shanghai. People who try to access Facebook in China are greeted with a "Network Timeout" on the webpage.

The Chinese government has acted with complete hysteria since Facebook was used to rally a protest against the regime. As the government witnessed the Arab Spring unraveling in other nations with the help of Twitter, China also kept Twitter and other social networks at bay.

Despite the blockage, millions of Chinese people have rebelled by finding a way around the censorship. According to CNN Money, 8 million secret Chinese Facebook users in 2009 ballooned to 65 million in 2012. At least 35 million Twitter users also secretly gained access in 2012.

In place of Facebook, China has government-approved social media sites such as Renren, Sina, Weibo, and WeChat, which is said to have hundreds of millions of users.

With government-controlled news and social media, Chinese people have not had equal access to basic current events and realities of the world. Freeing social media would be a big step in the right direction for human rights in China.