BEIJING- Over 100 journalists from more than 90 countries around the world participated in a one-week internship program organized by China International Press Communication Center (CIPCC).

The journalists enjoyed the highly fruitful internship program at the place of China Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters in Beijing.

During the mentioned program which started on May 11, journalists were categorized in different groups for different departments.

While every journalist got familiar with the activity of the Chinese media in a new department in the CCTV building every day, he/she had also the chance to visit other departments and all different parts of the huge building.

Although visiting all parts of the high-profile skyscraper during just one week is impossible, going around different sections really astonished the intern journalists.

The CCTV Headquarters is a 51-floor skyscraper formed out of a pair of conjoined towers that sits on the East Third Ring Road, Guanghua Road in the Beijing Central Business District (CBD) and serves as the headquarters for China Central Television (CCTV). 

The building's construction began on 1 June 2004 and its façade was completed in January 2008. The structure was feted by some architectural critics as "the greatest work of architecture built in this century" and was named the 2013 Best Tall Building Worldwide by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

China Central Television (CCTV) is the national television broadcaster of China, established in 1958. CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Central Publicity Department.

CCTV has a variety of functions, such as news communication, social education, culture, and entertainment information services.

The idea of an English channel was brought out in 1996. CCTV-4 had three half-hour English news broadcasting every day, but later, on 25 September 2000, CCTV-9 a satellite channel was set up to be the first 24-hour English channel, aimed to establish the overseas market. In October 2001, CCTV partnered with AOL Time Warner and other foreign news corporations, giving them access to the Chinese media market in exchange for cable delivery in the US and Europe, mainly delivering CCTV-9 programs.

The CCTV-4 channel split into three separate channels on 1 April 2007—each serving different time zones: China Standard Time (CST), Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and Eastern Standard Time (EST)—in order to improve service for audiences around the world.

On 25 July 2009, CCTV launched its Arabic-language international channel, stating that it aims to maintain stronger links with Arab nations.

In December 2016, CCTV's foreign language services were spun off into China Global Television Network (CGTN).

As initially mentioned, China International Press Communication Center (CIPCC) arranged the one-week internship program for the foreign journalists.

CIPCC, under the China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA), has initiated a program to build a platform for the media from countries around the world, especially developing countries, to observe China and study development in this country.

The program aimed at media exchange was halted in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

In each edition of the program, journalists from all around the world gather together to get familiar with the modern China and exchange their experiences in the field of journalism.

In 2024 edition of the program, scheduled to be held from late February until late June, over 100 journalists from more than 90 countries are participating.

Photo: CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (By Mahnaz Abdi)