澜 杨
media proprietor Businesswoman
Yang Lan was born on March 31, 1968 Beijing, China. Yang’s mother was an engineer, and her father taught English literature at Beijing Foreign Language University and sometimes served as the official translator for former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.
In 1990, Yang graduated from the English department of Beijing Foreign Language University.
She was selected from over 1000 candidates as the presenter of a new entertainment program on CCTV, Zheng Da Variety. Yang’s style, talent, and personality made her stand out among Chinese presenters. Within a year Zheng Da, a prime-time Saturday celebrity quiz and talk show, was China’s top-rated TV program with an audience of 220 million, and Yang Lan became a household name. In 1994, Yang was honored with a Golden Microphone award at the first National Hosts Competition.
Setting her sights even higher, in late 1994 Yang gave up her position at CCTV to go to the USA and study international media, and two years later, she received her masters degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. In 1997, Yang became a studio producer and presenter for Hong Kong’s Phoenix Satellite Television Company, an experience greatly benefiting her professionally. The relaxed production environment allowed her to create a series of important programs, which brought her recognition in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Then in October 1999, at the height of her career, Yang left Phoenix in search of greater production freedom. Yang explained: ‘I like creation. I would like to fail in creation rather than succeed in making programs from old and tired ideas’ (Xinhua News, 2003). Leaving CCTV and Phoenix TV allowed her the freedom to make the kind of programs she wanted. Yang’s TV skills are matched by a keen mind for business. In 1999, with her husband, Bruno Wu Zheng, she started her own media company, Sun Television Cyber Networks (Sun TV).
Sun TV went on air on 8 August 2000, and its programs about figures, science and civi- lization, and unsolved mysteries have since attracted large audiences. Yang hopes that Sun TV will help promote both China’s magnificent cultures and the world’s great his- toric achievements. Traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since April 2002, in November of the same year Sun TV was valued at US$179 million, of which Yang owned 35 percent, worth $63 million. In 1999, Yang was named by Asia Week as one of the 20 most influential leaders of the great Asia region, and in January 2001, she was appointed as an image ambassador for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, joining three other Chinese women to be so honored.
