From rural backwater to ideas factory

Nation's second-biggest broadcaster has global reach. Cheng Si and Feng Zhiwei report from Changsha, Hunan province.

In a little over two decades, Malanshan has been transformed from a rural backwater on the outskirts of Changsha, the capital of Central China's Hunan province, into a thriving producer of cutting-edge television shows.

Since 1994, it has been home to Hunan Broadcasting System, the country's second-biggest broadcaster, which reported revenue of 18.3 billion yuan ($2.63 billion) last year, and total assets of nearly 30 billion yuan.