The Yangcheng Evening News is probably China’s best-known local evening newspaper with a nationwide distribution. Produced in Guangzhou as the flagship newspaper of the Yangcheng Evening News Group, the paper has had a long-standing reputation for being relatively critical and independent-minded, offering lively news coverage of issues close to people’s everyday lives. Although it is not an official party organ, it is nonetheless subject to careful Party supervision under the Guangzhou city Party Propaganda Bureau because of its large circulation and popularity.
One of several evening newspapers founded by the Party in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the paper was launched on 1 October, 1956 and was specifically intended to offer lighter news coverage than the heavily political morning dailies.
The Yangcheng Evening News was closed down during the Cultural Revolution period, but reopened in 1980 with a renewed commitment to social news reporting. Circulation of the newspaper in 2000 reached approximately 1.2 million nationwide, putting it among the country’s leading titles, although the majority of papers are still sold in Guangdong province. The Yangcheng Evening News has been a commercial success in the post-Mao reform period and has expanded its operations, establishing the Yangcheng Evening News Group, home to five other daily and weekly titles, a book-publishing house, and a number of other business interests.
KEVIN LATHAM
Encyclopedia of contemporary Chinese culture. Compiled by EdwART. 2011.