She is one of China's fifty most successful business leaders and she has been described as being "bigger than Oprah". Well known to one billion viewers, Yang Lan is among China's most popular TV personalities. Born in Beijing in 1968, Yang Lan began her career as the host for the popular "Zheng Da TV show". She was only 21 at the time and had just graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Becoming the host of a show with an audience of 200 million at such a young age was a big challenge, but Yang Lan was ready for it and quickly became popular.
Many of us would probably have stayed on to enjoy the fame and money that come with being a TV star, but Yang Lan had more important plans. She left the show after four years and went to New York City to get a Master's degree at Columbia University. Her experience abroad inspired her and she made up her mind to create a new kind of TV station for Chinese viewers. When Yang Lan returned to China, she decided to develop her interest in business. Together with her husband, she started her own media company, Sun Media.
When Yang Lan grew up, her family did not have a television. She remembers how she and the other children in her neighbourhood would sit in front of a small black and white TV owned by one of the other families in her building. TV was a new thing at the time, but Yang Lan thought that the powerful medium could be used in a different way. She wanted to make shows that were both entertaining and educational. When she was studying abroad, she produced a feature show (专题片) called "Horizon". The show introduced American popular culture to Chinese viewers. Viewers liked the first season of "Horizon", but Yang Lan wanted to do something more serious and meaningful. The following year, she began interviewing important people, such as Dr Henry Kissinger, and discussing social issues. Her viewers were pleased and the show became even more popular. She later developed "Yang Lan One on One", having interviewed more than 300 opinion leaders around the world.
Despite the incredible success of her media company, she has not forgotten what made her want to be a journalist in the first place. One of Yang Lan's goals is to create a distinctly Chinese show that can act as a positive force in real life. Chinese people today, Yang Lan notes, want to watch shows that deal with problems they may experience in their own life, such as how to fit in the fast-changing society. Her media company's goal, she says, is "to educate through entertainment, and to illuminate (启发) through information."
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