# China National Radio

China National Radio (CNR; Chinese: 中央人民广播电台) is the national radio network of China, headquartered in Beijing. CNR forms the national radio service of the state-owned China Media Group. As of September 2024, the Media and Journalism Research Center evaluated the parent company of CNR, the China Media Group, to be "State Controlled Media" under its State Media Matrix.

## History

The infrastructure began with a transmitter from Moscow to set up its first station in Yan'an (延安). It used the call sign XNCR ("New China Radio") for broadcasts, and is the first radio station set up by the Chinese Communist Party in 1940.
In the west, it was known as the Yan'an New China Radio Station (延安新华广播电台) broadcasting two hours daily. In China, it was called the Yan'an Xinhua Broadcasting Station, which was established on 30 December 1940.
On 25 March 1949, it was renamed Shanbei Xinhua Broadcasting Station (陕北新华广播电台) after it departed from Yan'an. It began to broadcast in Beiping under the name of Peiping Xinhua Broadcasting Station (北平新华广播电台). On December 5, 1949, it was officially named to Central People's Broadcasting Station, two months after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The station offered 15.5 hours of daily programming broadcast to most parts of China.
Mao Zedong 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 during the Cultural Revolution.
During the Cultural Revolution, 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 later adopted China National Radio as its English name.

## Services
### Radio stations

| Station | Description | Freq |
| News Radio (literally: Voice of China) 中国之声 CNR 1 | Flagship radio station of CNR. Mainly news and commentaries, broadcasting 24/7 hours except during 02:05-04:25 (UTC+8) on every Tuesday. Major programmes: News and Newspapers Summary (新闻和报纸摘要), National News Simulcast (全国新闻联播), News Live (新闻进行时) | see list |
| Business Radio 经济之声 CNR 2 | Mainly business news, broadcasting 24/7 hours except during 00:05-04:55 (UTC+8) on every Tuesday | MW: 630, 855, 900, and 1116 SW: 3985, 6010, 9620, 12080, 15270 etc. FM: 96.6 in Beijing, 91.4 in Shanghai, 106.6 in Guangzhou, etc. (Frequencies on FM may vary in different cities) |
| Music Radio 音乐之声 CNR 3 | Chinese and World pop music on FM in many main cities in China, broadcasting during 05:55-00:05 next day (UTC+8, except 14:05-16:55 on every Tuesday) | FM 90.0 in Beijing, FM 107.7 in Shanghai, FM 87.4 in Guangzhou, etc. (Frequencies on FM may vary in different cities) |
| Golden Radio 经典音乐广播 CNR 4 | Previously known as Metro Radio (都市之声). Mainly classical, ethnic and retro music, broadcasting during 04:55-01:05 next day (UTC+8, except 13:05-16:55 on every Tuesday) | FM 101.8 in Beijing |
| Cross-Strait Radio 台海之声 CNR 5 | The first Taiwan service, broadcasting in Mandarin. Mainly news, entertainment, talk, during 04:55-01:05 next day (UTC+8) | MW: 549, 765, 837, and 1116 SW: 5925, 7385, 9410, 9665, 9685, 11620, and 11935 FM: 102.3 in Fuzhou, Putian, eastern coastal areas of Quanzhou and Matsu; 94.9 in Xiamen, Zhangzhou, south part of Quanzhou and Kinmen |
| Shenzhou Easy Radio (literally: Sound of the Divine Land) 神州之声 CNR 6 | The second Taiwan service, broadcasting in dialects including Hakka, Southern Min and entertainment in Mandarin, during 05:55-00:05 next day (UTC+8) | MW: 684, 909, and 1089 SW: 6165, 9420, 11905, and 15710 FM: 106.2 in Fuzhou, Putian, eastern coastal areas of Quanzhou and Matsu; 107.9 in Xiamen, Zhangzhou, south part of Quanzhou and Kinmen |
| Radio The Greater Bay 粤港澳大湾区之声 CNR 7 | Zhujiang delta, Hong Kong and Macao Service, broadcasting in Cantonese (some programmes may mix Mandarin), Teochew and Hakka, during 04:55-02:00 next day (UTC+8, except 14:00-17:00 on every Tuesday) | MW: 1215 in Pearl River Delta SW: 7345, 9745, 13770, and 15550 in South China FM: 101.2 in Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong; 98.0 in Guangzhou; 93.2 in Foshan and Zhaoqing; 105.4 in Zhuhai and Macau; and 102.8 via RTHK relay |
| Ethnic Minority Radio 民族之声 CNR 8 | The Minorities Service, including Korean and Mongolian service, broadcasting during 05:00-23:05 (UTC+8) | MW: 1143 (in Mongolian, airing during 05:00–14:00), 1017 and 1143 (in Korean, airing during 14:00–19:00 for 1017, and 14:00–23:00 for 1143) (transfer CRI Korean radio during 05:00–07:00, and 19:00–23:00 for 1017) SW: 9610 and 11810 (in Mongolian, airing during 05:00–14:00), 5975 and 9785 (in Korean, airing during 14:00–23:00) FM: 104.5 (in Mongolian, airing during 05:00–14:00, transfer CNR 16 on other times) May transferred by IMRBN General News during 11:00–12:00, or by other local radio channels in Inner Mongolia. May transferred by Yanbian Korean Radio during 20:00–21:00 |
| Story Radio 文艺之声 CNR 9 | Literature and entertainment programmes, broadcasting during 05:00-02:00 next day (UTC+8, except 13:05-16:55 on every Tuesday) | FM 106.6 in Beijing |
| Senior Citizen Radio 老年之声 CNR 10 | For the elderly, including entertainment, health programmes, etc., broadcasting during 04:25–02:05 next day (UTC+8, except 14:05-16:55 on every Tuesday) | FM 104.4 and AM 1053 in Beijing |
| Tibetan Radio 藏语广播 CNR 11 | Tibetan service, broadcasting during 05:55–00:05 next day (UTC+8) | MW: 1098 SW: 3990, 6010, 9480, 11685, 15570, etc. FM: 105.7 in Lhasa |
| Reading Radio 阅读之声 CNR 12 | Audio reading, broadcasting during 05:00-02:00 next day (UTC+8, except 13:05-16:55 on every Tuesday) | AM 747 in Beijing |
| Uyghur Radio 维吾尔语广播 CNR 13 | Uyghur service, broadcasting during 07:55-02:05 next day (UTC+8) | MW: 1422 in Kashgar, 1098 in Beijing SW: 6120, 9655, 13700, 15390, etc. |
| Hong Kong Edition 香港之声 CNR 14 | Broadcasting in Hong Kong only, in Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew and Hakka, broadcasting 24/7 hours except during 00:05-04:55 (UTC+8) on every Tuesday | on AM 675 (relayed by RTHK) and FM 87.8 in Hong Kong and Shenzhen |
| China Traffic Radio 中国交通广播 CNR 15 | Broadcasting nationwide on highways, offering highway information, broadcasting 24/7 hours except during 00:05-04:55 (UTC+8) on every Tuesday | FM 99.6 in Beijing, Tianjin, FM 101.2 in Hebei, FM 95.5 in Shanghai, FM 90.5 in Hunan, etc. (Frequencies on FM may vary in different cities) |
| Countryside Radio 中国乡村之声 CNR 16 | Broadcasting agricultural programmes 24/7 hours except during 00:05-04:55 (UTC+8) on every Tuesday | MW: 720 in Huabei FM: 107.9 in Donggang, 101.4 in Qingtongxia, 104.5 in Hohhot (transfer CNR 8 during 05:00–14:00) May also transferred by some local radio stations in Guizhou, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Xinjiang, or by DTV radio functions via CDR technical |
| Kazakh Radio 哈萨克语广播 CNR 17 | Kazakh service, broadcasting during 07:55–02:05 next day (UTC+8) | MW: 1008 and 1422 SW: 4850, 6180, 9630, 12055, etc. FM: 89.5 or 90.1 |

### TV channels

* CNR Care: Mainly Healthy Information. Stopped streaming on 1 July 2019.
* CNR Mall: TV Shopping Channel – a joint venture with QVC.