China National Radio (CNR; ; pronunciation: ) is the national

radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio ( duplex communication) type ...

of China, headquartered in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

History

The infrastructure began with a transmitter from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to set up its first station in

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an ...

(延安). It used the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

XNCR ("New China Radio") for broadcasts, and is the first radio station set up by the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

in 1940. Miller, Toby (2003). ''Television: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies''. Routledge Publishing. In the west, it was known as the Yan'an New China Radio Station () broadcasting two hours daily. In China, it was called the Yan'an Xinhua Broadcasting Station, which was established on 30 December 1940.CNR website.
CNR website
" ''CNR introduction.'' Retrieved on 2007-04-29. On 25 March 1949, it was renamed Shanbei Xinhua Broadcasting Station () after it departed from Yan'an. It began to broadcast in

Peiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

under the name of Peiping Xinhua Broadcasting Station (). On December5, 1949, it was officially named to Central People's Broadcasting Station, two months after the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The station offered 15.5 hours of daily programming broadcast to most parts of China.

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

emphasized that all citizens should listen to the station on 5 May 1941. The "Central Press and Broadcasting Bureau" was the driver in pushing all schools, army units, and public organizations of all levels to install loud public speakers and radio transmitters. By the 1960s, 70 million speakers were installed reaching the rural population of 400 million. The Central People's Broadcasting Station innovated wired transmissions, which were linked to the commonly found telephone poles hanging with loud speakers. Local stations were usually located in county seats or in individual factories or production brigades. It was part of Mao's ideology of delivering "Politics on Demand". The station served as the headquarters for

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

. During the

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, Central Radio offered extensive daily programming schedules, beginning with The East is Red. The majority of the daily schedule consisted of news and cultural programming, broken up with specialized programs on topics like morning calisthenics, children's shows, and broadcasts of military interest. The station was later renamed China National Radio as its English name. It would move to a new building in 1998. Today, CNR forms the national radio service of the state-owned

China Media Group China Media Group (Chinese: 中央广播电视总台; lit. Central Radio-Television General Station) also known as Voice of China, is the predominant state media company by means of radio and television broadcasting in the People's Republic ...

, continuing its mission to broadcast a variety of radio programmes to listeners all over China and around the world.

Services

Radio stations

TV channels

* CNR Care: Mainly Healthy Information, stopped streaming at 1 July 2019. * CNR Mall: TV Shopping Channel – a joint venture with

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pen ...

.''QVC Announces China Joint Venture'', QVC news release via PR Newswire, Cleveland, OH, 20 March 2012
Retrieved: 11 August 2014.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chinese-language radio stations Multilingual broadcasters 1940 establishments in China Mass media companies established in 1940 Radio stations established in 1940 Mass media in Beijing China Media Group