''City Weekend'' was a free, bi-weekly entertainment event and venue listing magazine based out of China. Its on-line edition was both autonomous and complementary to the print magazine — ''City Weekend'' was "reader-powered" and sources most of its information directly from the expat community. The last publication was in 2018, and they have closed operations in China since then. The website is not maintained anymore.

History and profile

Founded in 1999, ''City Weekend'' created content related to dining, nightlife, arts, culture, health and wellness, fashion and shopping, local community news, and travel in the English language. It was one of the highest-circulation English magazines in China, available free. The magazine distinguished itself by being one of the first private English language publications in China - it had been distributed since 1999 in Beijing, and 2000 in Shanghai; up until 2018. The magazine itself acted as a source of information for many in the expat community. Staff relied on its reader-powered website to access local communities and generated everything from national articles to factual news about local events, venues, and classified ads in China's two largest cities — Beijing and Shanghai (and for a brief period Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Suzhou). ''City Weekend'' also published a variety of free guides yearly, including a Bar and Restaurant Guide and the Service Directory (a small English business and service phone book). The magazine also produced supplements focusing on expat families (Parents & Kids, as well as Shanghai Family), and the real-estate market (Home & Office). ''City Weekend'' was published by the Swiss multinational publisher

Ringier Ringier is a media group operating in multiple countries with over 6,500 employees. Founded in 1833, the family-owned business manages media brands across print and digital, TV and radio, and is active in the entertainment and digital marketplac ...

, and its circulation was audited by

BPA Worldwide BPA Worldwide is a United States–based not-for-profit media auditing company that provides independent, third-party audits of media including print, digital, out-of-home and events. In early 2023BPA merged with the Alliance for Audited Media ...

. In 2010, ''City Weekend'' launched an English-language

group buying Group buying, also known as collective buying, offers products and services at significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would make the purchase. Origins of group buying can be traced to China, where it is known ...

platform called FlashBuy, the first one of its kind targeting English speakers in both

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. In 2014, ''City Weekend Beijing'' was sold to another company. Ringier continued to operate ''City Weekend'' nationally in China, everywhere except Beijing until 2018. In 2018, after a failed acquisition, ''City Weekend'' ended publication in China.City Weekend failed deal
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References

External links

Official website
{{italic title 1999 establishments in China 2018 disestablishments in China Biweekly magazines published in China City guides Defunct magazines published in China English-language magazines Free magazines Listings magazines Local interest magazines Magazines established in 1999 Magazines disestablished in 2018 Magazines published in Shanghai