China Daily, launched on June 1, 1981, was the first national English newspaper since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949.
It was in 1979 that China adopted a policy of reform and opening to the outside world, an initiative by Deng Xiaoping. As China's focus shifted to modernization and major efforts were made to restructure the country's economic, political and social systems, China Daily rolled off the presses as a witness to the opening of New China and reported it to the outside world.
Being the "Window to China", China Daily continuously strives to expand and upgrade its contents and publications to reach out to a wider range of readers and age groups. True to its commitment to helping the world know more about China and the country's integration with the international community, China Daily is regarded as one of the country's most authoritative English media today.
In the past 25 years, China Daily has expanded rapidly in readership and publications and chalked up some remarkable achievements. Here are some important highlights that we'd like to share with you:
The China Daily Story - Highlights
June 1, 1981- China Daily was officially launched. The paper came out five days a week, with no editions on Sunday or Monday, and was also printed and circulated in Hong Kong.
Jun 1, 1982- China Daily began to publish six issues a week, with no Sunday edition
Jun 1, 1983- The North American edition of China Daily was launched in New York
Apr 20, 1984- Managing Editor Feng Xiliang was awarded the Missouri Honour Medal by the University of Missouri's School of Journalism for his distinguished work in journalism and his contribution to the launch of China Daily.
Mar-Apr 1985- China Daily and the All-China Journalists Association co-sponsored a "China Revisited" programme, inviting veteran American journalists to revisit places where they had been in the 1940s
Jun 1985 -The four-page Business Weekly began circulation in North America
Sep 1, 1986- The China Daily European Edition was launched and receptions were held in London and Beijing to mark the occasion
1987- The China Daily series on the forest fire in the Greater Xing'an Mountains won a special prize in the annual best news coverage competition. The China Daily photo of Nie Weiping, by Wang Wenlan, won first prize for best news photo
May 1988- The "Sino-American CED Economic Seminar" was held in New York, jointly sponsored by China Daily, China Daily News and Chinese Association of Entrepreneurs
Feb 19, 1989- The four-page Shanghai Focus was launched, and, together with Business Weekly, became a part of the paper's Sunday Edition
June 23, 1990- China Daily moved into its new office building, marking a significant milestone in the paper's history. President Yang Shangkun sent his congratulations to the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by 200 guests. He said he hoped the paper would help to let people all over the world know more about New China
Sep 20 - Oct 8, 1990- Authorized by the Organizing Committee of the 11th Asian Games, China Daily published 19 issues of the 24-page colour tabloid Asiad Daily
Jan 8, 1991- China Daily journalists Zhu Ling and Kang Bin were given the title "Outstanding Journalist" by the All-China Journalists Association
Jun 1, 1991- The 10th Anniversary of the founding of China Daily. Party and State leaders Jiang Zemin, Yang Shangkun and Li Peng sent their congratulations
Oct 1991- Beijing Weekend officially launched with an initial circulation of more than 10,000
Mar 1992- Reports from China is launched in the United States and published along with the Washington Post National Weekly
Nov 20, 1992- Shanghai Star, a 16-page weekly tabloid, launched
May 5, 1993- 21st Century Weekly is launched by China Daily and the Beijing 2000 Olympics Bidding Committee
May 4-7, 1994- China Daily sponsored a large symposium in New York and Chicago to discuss the establishment of a market economy in China and its influence on Sino-American trade
Jan 2, 1995- China Daily expands its number of pages from 8 to 12
Aug 29 - Sep 16, 1995- World Women was published by China Daily for the Fourth World Conference on Women. Nineteen colour issues of the eight-page newspaper were printed during the session
Feb 1996- China Daily Online Edition debuts
Mar 1996- The first "21st Century Cup" National English Speaking Contest held in Beijing
Oct 1997- China Daily Hong Kong Edition is launched
Sep 1999- China Daily publishes an exclusive journal for the Fortune Global Forum convening in Shanghai
Nov 1999- China Daily starts to print in color
Jun 2000- China Daily joins the Asian News Network, an alliance of 14 major Asian newspapers with more than 20 million readers. China Daily is the only representative from China in the alliance
Oct 2001- 21st Century Teens is launched with a circulation of 80,000. The current circulation is 1,000,000.
Sep 2003- 21st Century Kids is launched as the first bilingual newspaper for primary and junior high schools students
Jan 2004- China Daily expands its pages from 12 to 16
Apr 2004- The first China Daily CEO Roundtable (CDRT) is convened in Hong Kong
China IPR Weekly, the only English-language IPR weekly in the country, is launched
May 2005- China Daily publishes an exclusive journal for the Fortune Global Forum 2005 in Beijing
Jul 2005- Editor-in-Chief Zhu Ling takes over as Executive Chariman of the Asian News Network
2005- Average traffic for China Daily website exceeds five million a day, rising to first among 1,200 sites in Alexa's global ranking.
Sep 2005- China Daily Website uses "Mobile-cast" technology to provide live broadcast services for subscribers
Environment China Weekly, co-sponsored by All China Environment Federation, is launched
Dec 2005- Up to Dec 2005, 21 sessions of the China Daily CEO Roundtable had been successfully convened in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, attracting approximately 800 board directors, presidents, CEOs, and high-level managers
Jan 5, 2006- Newly designed Beijing weekend launched
Jan 9, 2006- China Business Weekly is printed and distributed in Thailand with the local English-language newspaper, The Nation
