The first step is to go to the domain settings on Alibaba Cloud and change the DNS servers to the ones provided by Cloudflare.
Alibaba Cloud requires SMS verification when modifying the DNS settings. After the change, DNS propagation should be completed within 24 hours.
Once Cloudflare detects the domain that is still registered at Alibaba Cloud, the transfer option will become available. At that point, click the domain transfer button in Cloudflare.
Next, request the domain transfer authorization code from Alibaba Cloud. This code is needed on the Cloudflare side to continue the transfer.
After entering the transfer code in Cloudflare, the next step is payment. Usually, this can be done with a credit card or PayPal.
The first and only credit card I ever applied for was actually for using Cloudflare Tunnel. I tried paying with PayPal this time because I thought I could use the $10 balance I had somehow received before, but unfortunately PayPal would not let me combine balance and credit card payment.
That $10 originally came from an old PayPal account I had created back in 2005. When I closed that account a few years ago, I transferred the balance to my new account. The annoying part was that PayPal kept asking for verification, and I could not remember the phone number I had used back then. I could only see the last four digits. When I finally closed the account, I suddenly remembered it was my home landline number. That was frustrating.
If anyone knows a reliable and cheap place for domain renewal, it is still worth considering another transfer later. I originally wanted to transfer an .xyz domain after seeing Cloudflare list it at $0.88, but when I checked again today, Cloudflare was showing more than $11. In that case, I may as well leave it at Tencent Cloud for now. Renewing for 8 yuan is still acceptable.
For screenshots and image hosting, I am using ShareX now. It has replaced both PicGo and the QQ screenshot tool for me.
The reference guide I found was not very clear, and the site was unreachable at the time.