Society

A stunning makeover for China Daily

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-01 07:00

Survey: Do you like the redesign of China Daily newspaper

A year in the making, the redesigned China Daily made its debut on March 1 - the biggest revamp in its 29-year history. The new China Daily has a cosmopolitan and sophisticated look to go with its rich content and its unique status as the country’s national English-language newspaper.

China Daily has set the goal of being a world-class newspaper commensurate with China’s global stature. Editor-in-Chief Zhu Ling sees the launch before the “Two Sessions” of the NPC and CPPCC as a great opportunity to better present China to the outside world. As the Chinese newspaper most quoted by foreign media, China Daily has set up its biggest team yet to cover this important event, which is drawing increasing international attention.

In terms of layout, the makeover is full-blown, including a new masthead. Using state-of-the-art design principles, it incorporates photographs, graphics, cartoons and other visual elements in a unified style that represents the cutting edge of the newspaper industry.

In terms of content, the new China Daily has fine-tuned its reporting mix, giving breaking news and instant updates to its website and beefing up in-depth investigations and analyses for its print version. The convergence has also enriched chinadaily.com.cn, making it the biggest English-language news site in Asia and creating platforms for public discourse on China topics.

Metro Beijing, inserted into the flagship edition for the Beijing market, will expand from four pages to eight, making the Beijing edition a 32-page daily. Serving millions of international readers who arrive in the capital city every year, this section combines news reporting with service information. This model will eventually be replicated in Shanghai and Guangdong, providing more localized content for each metropolitan market.

Founded in 1981, China Daily has a daily circulation of 300,000. It has a stable of 11 publications, nine websites in three languages and three mobile platforms, forming Asia’s biggest network of English-language news and information. Notable among these are Asia’s largest English-language news website with 20 million daily visits, its cellphone-distributed Mobile News with 600,000 subscribers, and its email news reaching 200,000 subscribers in 105 countries.