Yangcheng Evening News Press Group (hereinafter referred to as "Yangwan Group") has achieved simultaneous growth in the volume, quantity, and quality of its integrated media content products. The monthly average publication volume from its core platforms increased by 97.08%, with a traffic surge of 101.44%. The group has also seen a collective rise in five key capabilities: news influence, public opinion guidance, visual communication, team strength, and "media+" integration. Since comprehensively launching a systematic transformation of mainstream media in June 2025, under the strong leadership of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, Yangwan Group has anchored its goal of "building a first-class new cultural communication media group domestically." It has systematically implemented 18 reform initiatives comprising 63 specific measures, solidly promoting the deep integration and coordinated development of media, culture, data, and industry as an integrated whole. The group's momentum is soaring, and its overall appearance has been completely renewed. Behind the phased achievements of this systematic transformation, what did Yangwan Group do right?
**Building on Culture, Cultivating Excellence to Enhance News Influence** In the transformation, Yangwan Group, based on its distinct positioning as a "cultural newspaper," created the "No. 1 Platform for Lingnan Culture." It leveraged cultural characteristics as its core competitive advantage for differentiation, strengthened cultural leadership to drive transformative breakthroughs, continuously deepened integrated content production, integrated communication operations, and integrated effect evaluation, thereby constructing a new high ground for content.
Yangwan Group developed vertical IPs, newly creating three major vertical cultural IPs: "博物天下" (Museum World), "上场" (On Stage), and "名家说名作" (Masters Discuss Masterpieces). It upgraded and maintained cultural brand projects such as "花地文学榜" (Huadi Literature List), "岭南文史" (Lingnan Culture and History), "岭南文脉" (Lingnan Cultural Heritage), and "岭南大讲堂" (Lingnan Grand Lecture Hall), and refined the weekly publication "文史哲" (Literature, History, Philosophy). By deeply cultivating local services and providing vertical cultural products like "博物天下" (Museum World) and "文化通" (Culture Connect), its influence in the cultural field has grown increasingly strong.
Yangwan Group incubated multiple IPs by establishing 15 integrated media studios across media platforms, departments, and lines, empowering outstanding young talent to take on major responsibilities. Among these, films from the "山海计划" (Mountain and Sea Project) integrated media studio were shortlisted or screened at numerous major domestic and international film festivals, including the Busan International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, and Beijing International Film Festival. The "小羊拍客" (Little Lamb Vlogger) integrated media studio was selected as a case study for innovation in China's newspaper industry. The "阅台海" (Reading the Taiwan Strait) IP's account matrix across domestic and international social media platforms surpassed one million total followers, with 80% of its overseas views originating from within Taiwan. "大美岭南" (Great Beauty of Lingnan) and "高高打卡" (Gaogao Check-in) became top IPs for promoting the "百千万工程" (Hundreds, Thousands, Tens of Thousands Project).
Yangwan Group emphasized practical implementation. During major news campaigns such as the 15th National Games, the National Two Sessions, the "百千万工程" (Hundreds, Thousands, Tens of Thousands Project), and "广货行天下" (Guangdong Goods to the World), it positioned its "command center" at the frontline. This ensured seamless connection between planning, gathering, editing, and publishing—videos were released as soon as statements were made. This formed the agile and efficient "Yangwan Battle Method" characterized by "list-based production, platform-centralized dispatch, and tiered dissemination," shaping a new media warfare strategy for the era where mobile video is the mainstream communication method. This approach has attracted numerous other media organizations to learn from their experience.
Yangwan Group established the Yangwan Transformation Award and created a multi-dimensional, excellence-encouraging assessment and evaluation system, conducting daily reviews to effectively stimulate the enthusiasm of editorial and reporting staff and incentivize the continuous emergence of high-quality works. Through the transformation, Yangwan Group has seen a constant stream of excellent works, with nearly 20 pieces selected for the Central Propaganda Department's "Three Good Works" and the All-China Journalists Association's "My Masterpiece," and one work winning a first prize in the China News Awards. During the 2026 National Two Sessions coverage, their reports were reposted four times by the All-China Journalists Association's official account and received praise four times from the Central Propaganda Department.
**Building Platforms, Amplifying Voice to Enhance Public Opinion Guidance** In the transformation, Yangwan Group strengthened its platform matrix. Aiming at the internet as the main battlefield and client apps as the main front, it established an omni-media matrix centered on its proprietary platform "羊城派" (Yangcheng派) and surrounded by third-party platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin. It worked to expand and strengthen its leading third-party platform accounts, thereby expanding its communication territory.
Yangwan Group built a matrix of commentary columns, reviving "街谈巷议" (Street Talk and Alley Gossip) and coordinating with key commentary IPs like "羊晚快评" (Yangwan Quick Comment) and "粤派评论" (Yue School Commentary) to achieve "commentary on all matters at all times," using its stance and perspectives to guide public opinion.
Yangwan Group revamped the Yangcheng派 client app, launched a new logo, introduced a "Video" channel, and strengthened key channels like "Commentary," "鉴证" (Verification), and "绿动" (Green Action). It enhanced its capability for original, first-release coverage of major news, focused on building premium IPs, launched version 10.0 of Yangcheng派, and achieved fully independent development of the client app.
Yangwan Group formulated personalized operation strategies, conducting in-depth research on platform development directions and their content dissemination patterns. It established operating strategies for each platform account, set up dedicated teams for port operations, strengthened operational capabilities for the "Two We's" (Weibo and WeChat) and short video ports, and formed a special team for Weibo ranking冲刺 (ranking冲刺), working to expand and strengthen its leading third-party platform accounts.
Through the transformation, Yangwan Group's integrated media achieved simultaneous growth in the "three quantities." The monthly average publication volume from core ports like the Yangcheng派 client, WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin increased by 97.08%, with a traffic increase of 101.44%. The number of Weibo hot search topics and WeChat "100,000+" articles in 2025 were more than 10 times and over 7 times those of 2024, respectively. In the monthly evaluation of production and communication effectiveness for new media operated by mainstream media, the official Weibo account of Yangcheng Evening News ranked among the top six local media nationwide for the first time. In the latest provincial rankings, Yangcheng Evening News's Weibo, video account, WeChat, and Toutiao account all ranked within the top three.
**Focusing on Video, Optimizing Visuals to Enhance Visual Communication Power** In the transformation, Yangwan Group positioned video as the core product for its transformation and development, emphasizing visual, social, and youth-oriented expression. It made a comprehensive push for video transformation, guiding all staff to actively embrace short videos. A "Video Workshop" has largely taken shape, leading to the emergence of a large number of high-quality videos.
Yangwan Group built the "Video Workshop," significantly increasing the proportion of video production among editorial staff and newly establishing a video business cluster. Following the philosophy of "everyone is an anchor, all staff are media," it achieved full-chain coverage for multi-category video planning, production, design, live streaming, and operations. An AI video production team was formed to regularly plan high-end影像 videos, launching video IPs like "探宝girls" (Treasure Hunt Girls) and "粤见AI" (Meet AI in Guangdong), forging a team with high-end影像 production and operational capabilities.
Post-transformation, the total number of video works published by Yangwan Group exceeded 100,000, with a monthly average increase in original videos reaching 153%. Video products such as "Two Sessions On-Site | National People's Congress Representative Liao Zhilue: He Brought Huajuhong Saplings to the National Two Sessions!" and "Yangwan Reporter on the Scene: Hong Kong Tai Po Fire, Public Spontaneously Distributes Daily Necessities, Lion Rock Spirit Materialized at This Moment" were selected for the Central Propaganda Department's "Three Good Works." The "百村焕新记" (Record of Hundreds of Villages Renewed) series ranked first in the province seven times in series of 100 video traffic rankings. Twenty-two videos from the 15th National Games garnered over one million views each, and eight short videos from the 2026 National Two Sessions exceeded one million views. Videos like "广货行天下春季行动启动" (Guangdong Goods to the World Spring Action Launched) were played on outdoor large screens across the province. The "'百千万'新地标" (New Landmarks of the Hundreds, Thousands, Tens of Thousands) documentary series received affirmation from higher authorities.
Yangwan Group addressed its visual短板 (shortcomings) by establishing a group product design center, forming a visual design team, recruiting young and excellent design talent, setting visual统一 standards (unified standards), clarifying visual specifications for video products, and revamping and iterating on Yangcheng派 and Yangcheng Evening News, leading to a significant improvement in design水平 (design水平). Since 2026, a batch of visual products produced by Yangwan Group, including posters for the Guangdong E-Sports Super League, the interactive product "2026 Guangdong High-Quality Development Conference
**Restructuring Processes, Strengthening Incentives to Enhance Team Strength** In the transformation, Yangwan Group broke down long-standing departmental barriers, using internet thinking to主导资源配置 (lead resource allocation) and重构生产关系 (restructure production relations). It坚持 (persisted in) treating观念转变 (conceptual change) as the precursor to transformation,注重 (focused on) using performance evaluation as the指挥棒 (baton) to激发 (stimulate) talent creativity. The spirit of干事创业 (doing work and starting ventures) was fully renewed, with一批 (a group of) "文章高手" (writing masters), "视频好手" (video experts), and "传播能手" (communication specialists) emerging.
Yangwan Group strengthened top-level coordination by establishing the Yangcheng派 Operation Committee, chaired by the报社社长 (newspaper president), and its command center. It newly formed seven major business clusters: Strategy & Gathering, Video, Regional, Distribution, Operations, Service, and Technology, directly managed by the command center. This achieved扁平化运行模式 (flattened operation模式),业务适配主流化 (mainstream-aligned business adaptation), and资源成效最大化 (maximized resource effectiveness).
Yangwan Group broke the "big pot rice" system by revising and implementing seven supporting systems, including the "Compensation Management System," "All-Media Editorial Performance Assessment Management Measures," and "All-Media Professional Technical Staff Rank Evaluation and Appointment Management Measures." It adjusted the ratio of fixed to浮动薪酬 (floating compensation),配套制定 (formulated supporting) detailed implementation rules for employee performance assessment in editorial departments and comprehensive management departments, realizing "more work, more pay; better work, better pay."
Yangwan Group established a "new benchmark." Through架构调整 (organizational restructuring) and流程再造 (process reengineering), it重塑新闻生产方式 (reshaped news production methods), guiding all staff to actively embrace new integrated media trends like short videos, IP-ization, and AI empowerment. It研发 (developed) a new media assessment system,坚持移动优先 (adhered to mobile-first), increased the weight of traffic in all-media performance assessments, forming a virtuous cycle where "traffic and效果说话" (results speak).
Through the transformation, Yangwan Group established a value orientation where "躺平" (lying flat) leads nowhere, but hard work earns recognition. A group of young,优秀人才 (excellent talents) emerged,冲锋在前 (charging at the forefront),挑大梁 (shouldering major responsibilities),唱主角 (playing leading roles),打头阵 (taking the vanguard), and站C位 (standing in the center position) during the transformation. With young people having出路 (avenues for advancement), the entire group became revitalized. All staff engaged in transformation practices with high morale, achieving resonance between观念转变 (conceptual change) and变革成效 (transformative results).
**Strengthening Industry, Promoting Integration to Enhance "Media+" Integration Power** In the transformation, Yangwan Group propelled itself from being a "news disseminator" to leaping towards becoming a "comprehensive service provider" and "ecosystem builder." It focused on the integrated development of "media + industry," cultivating new cultural formats, and using "media+" to拓宽 "发展之路" (broaden the "path of development").
Yangwan Group集聚产业动能 (gathered industrial momentum). Using the Yangcheng Creative Industry Park as a载体 (carrier), the main park集聚 (gathered) 190 digital cultural enterprises, forming digital cultural industry clusters in全媒体 (all-media), gaming, animation, music live streaming, creative design, cross-border e-commerce, and more. It was rated as a Guangzhou Cultural and Creative Integration Demonstration Base, with 10% of Guangzhou's Top 30 Cultural Enterprises originating from here.
Yangwan Group拓展发展空间 (expanded development space). Currently, aiming at four core定位 (positionings) including creating a "testing ground for the systematic transformation of mainstream media," it is全力推进 (fully advancing) the construction of the Lingnan Digital Creativity Building. It will重点布局 (focus on布局) eight core industries including artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, and micro-short dramas. The building is planned for completion and handover in October this year.
Yangwan Group开辟全新赛道 (opened up new tracks), exploring models like "rent换股权" (rent for equity) to引入 (introduce) projects like KFC快餐车 (fast food trucks) for revenue sharing. It collaborated with relevant units in Guangzhou City and Tianhe District to共建 (co-build) the "Tianhe District Game Industry Service Center" with a配套孵化基地 (supporting incubation base),致力于 (committed to) long-term发力 (exertion) in the gaming industry. It participated in hosting the Guangdong E-Sports Super League, cooperated with Kuro Game, and built a二次元主题公园 (anime-themed park). It completed the construction of the Lingnan Cultural Big Data Center, launched the Lingnan Culture Large Model (which completed national dual备案 filing), advanced the construction of the Lingnan Cultural Gene Bank and Cantonese语料库 (corpus), completed the construction of a 1-billion-token语料 (corpus), and saw its "文化通" (Culture Connect) intelligent agent selected as a 2025 Guangdong "Artificial Intelligence + Culture and Tourism"典型案例 (typical case).
Transformation leads, the system焕新 (refreshes). Through the transformation, Yangwan Group achieved simultaneous growth in the "three quantities" and collective increase in the "five capabilities,"初步走出 (initially forging) a systematic transformation "Yangwan Path" with distinct cultural characteristics and明显的后发优势 (obvious late-mover advantages). In the next step, Yangwan Group will持续深化 (continuously deepen) systematic transformation, striving to build a first-class new cultural communication media group domestically.
**Top Ten Highlights of Yangcheng Evening News Press Group's Systematic Transformation** 1. Newly established seven major business clusters,重置组织架构 (resetting the organizational structure). 2. Major报道 (reporting) formed the "Yangwan Battle Method" of "list-based production, platform-centralized dispatch, and tiered dissemination." 3. Post-transformation, the total number of published video works exceeded 100,000, with a monthly average increase in original videos of 153%. 4. Established 15 integrated media studios让年轻人挑大梁 (letting young people shoulder major responsibilities). The "阅台海" (Reading the Taiwan Strait) IP's domestic and international social media account matrix surpassed one million total粉丝 (followers), with 80% of overseas views来自岛内 (originating from within Taiwan). 5. Established the "Yangwan Transformation Award" for daily reviews to激励优秀作品生产 (incentivize the production of excellent works). 6. Integrated media achieved simultaneous growth in流量, 数量, 质量 (traffic, quantity, quality). Coverage of the九三阅兵 "观礼包" (September 3rd Military Parade "Viewing Package")单篇流量超1亿 (single article traffic exceeded 100 million). Coverage of the十五运会 (15th National Games) exceeded 10,000 articles with nearly 700 million traffic. Weibo ranking跻身省级媒体全国前六 (entered the top six nationally for provincial media). 7. Launched three major cultural vertical IPs: "博物天下" (Museum World), "上场" (On Stage), and "名家说名作" (Masters Discuss Masterpieces). The "小羊拍客" (Little Lamb Vlogger) IP was selected as a中国报业创新发展案例 (case study for innovation in China's newspaper industry). 8. After implementing经营一体化运营 (integrated business operations),新媒体收入同比增长29% (new media revenue increased by 29% year-on-year). 9. The Lingnan Culture Large Model completed national dual备案 (filing). The "文化通" (Culture Connect) intelligent agent launched operation. 10. Yangcheng Creative Industry Park集聚 (gathered) over 200 new业态企业 (format enterprises) with an annual产值超400亿元 (output value exceeding 40 billion yuan).