True North is pleased to announce the launch of ‘China Icons’, the first professionally produced YouTube Channel exclusively dedicated to China. Commissioned by Beijing-based media company CICC (China Intercontinental Communication Center), the portal will provide a unique insight into Chinese culture, society, industry, the arts and more. With responsibility for commissioning and producing all original content, True North will also look to curate and repackage suitable existing content that contributes to the channel’s goal to help viewers ‘Meet China Icons, yesterday, today and tomorrow’.

The channel launches initially with a dozen individual video stories, ranging from an exclusive interview with NBA star Yao Ming, to rare footage of Giant Panda cubs in the wild and behind the scenes with China’s “taikonauts”. One strand of videos on the channel will be in video-diary style, as foreigners living in China share their insights and enthusiasm for Chinese life, culture and heritage. Through the channel, True North will help a broad global audience get an insider’s look at many aspects of China today, and hear the voices of today’s China,  as viewers meet China’s icons, past, present and still to come.   New content will be uploaded on a weekly basis.

CICC has commissioned the channel with the goal of providing an entertaining and informative window on China for foreign viewers with an interest in learning more about aspects of the country not commonly portrayed. However, of equal importance to CICC is being able to glean insight from foreign audiences’ reaction to the channel. User comments will be enabled across all content, allowing viewers to post responses to each of the films, which will give CICC the opportunity to learn more about international audiences’ perceptions and tastes, as well as informing decisions on what topics to cover in the future.

Liz McLeod, Executive Producer at True North, with responsibility for overseeing the project from start to finish, said of the launch: “China Icons represents an intriguing new move from two progressive media production companies looking to take full advantage of opportunities in online and social media. The great thing about YouTube is we can respond really quickly to what our audience likes and wants to see more of and we expect to see China Icons evolving and growing over the coming years.  We’re delighted to consolidate our relationship with CICC and we’re looking forward to continuing to shape the channel’s evolution, giving people a window into China, one short film at a time.”

Wang Yuan Yuan at CICC, added: “We’re pleased to be able to benefit from True North’s creative and strategic expertise on this important project, as we shine a light on everyday life in China for the benefit of global curiosity and interest.  In the future we hope to evolve China Icons into a suite of channels, each one focussing on a particular special interest. ”

Back to news