TV:

There are around 100 terrestrial television channels in China, possibly far more, mostly screening Qin, Ming or other romantic period dramas with an odd blend of Kung Fu, wizardry and love. There are also frequent live music shows, documentaries about daily life and in-depth news coverage programmes. But if you want to relax and watch decent TV then the CCTV channels (not to be confused with the Western security camera system, but the ‘official’ state-run channels = China Central Television) include a traditional Chinese opera channel, military channel, documentary channel and CCTV9. The latter is exclusively in English and is mostly news/sport/business as well as showing useful Chinese language programmes. CCTV6 shows films (sometimes in English) and CCTV5 is for non-stop sporting action. Channel V is a 24-hour music channel. Each province of China has its own collection of TV channels too. Chinese TV can also be watched from several free TV-streaming internet sites such asTVU PlayerandPPMate.