Published : 2025-09-02
On September 2, 1958, Beijing Television Station officially launched its broadcasts, marking the first television station established since the founding of New China in 1949.
As the predecessor of today's China Central Television (CCTV), the station's debut signalled the inception of China's television industry.
Beijing Television Station began formal programming broadcasts to the capital region that same day. This followed a four-month experimental transmission period.
During the trial phase, it aired twice weekly for two to three hours each session, primarily featuring news programmes, social education shows, and cultural performances.
After the official launch, broadcasts expanded from twice to four times weekly.
Notably, Beijing Television commenced its first broadcast at 7:00 p.m. with a programme titled "Television News", which served as the precursor to the "Xinwen Lianbo" (News Broadcast).
The origins of Chinese television programming can be traced back to 1954, when a State Council meeting conveyed directives regarding "establishing television services." At that time, television was a novel medium still unfamiliar to the general public.
In 1955, the People's Daily published a popular science article titled "Television", introducing this new phenomenon that would transform people's cultural lives.
With the industrial development of New China, Tianjin Radio Factory produced the nation's first batch of black-and-white televisions in March 1958, branded as the "Beijing" model.
On May 1, 1958, after intensive preparations, Beijing Television Station commenced test broadcasts. The day's programming featured speeches by advanced producers, news documentaries, educational films, poetry recitations, and dance performances.
At that time, Beijing Television Station's transmission radius was only 25 km, and there were only about 30 television receivers in the entire city of Beijing.
Following the successful establishment of the first television station, television stations were subsequently established in various provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across China.
On May 1, 1973, Beijing Television Station began test broadcasts of colour television programmes, completing the leap from black-and-white to colour.
