China South Publishing & Media Group

What China South Publishing & Media Group does

China South Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd. (中南出版传媒集团股份有限公司, SH.601098) is a state-owned, fully integrated publishing media conglomerate headquartered in Changsha, Hunan Province, and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange since October 2010. The group controls a complete publishing value chain spanning 9 publishing houses, 1 printing enterprise (Tianwen Xinhua Printing, ranked #1 among national Xinhua printers and #26 in the national top 100), 4 distribution companies including the Hunan Xinhua Bookstore chain (top 6 nationally) and a new textbook distribution network covering 27 provinces, 20 periodicals, 3 websites, 2 newspapers (Xiaoxiang Morning Post and Happy Elderly Newspaper), a digital publishing joint venture with Huawei, and China's first cultural-industry enterprise financial company. The group publishes nearly 10,000 titles annually and serves K-12 education (textbooks to 31 provinces, 35 million users via the Xiangjiao Geography Cloud platform), general readers (top 4 national market share), elderly consumers (1.5 million-copy Happy Elderly Newspaper), and government/enterprise clients through Rednet, Tianwen Digital Media, and related platforms.

The business model combines one-time sales of physical books, textbooks, and printing services with recurring revenue from digital subscriptions, newspapers/periodicals, and platform services (digital education, mass digital reading, government-enterprise learning). Distribution combines a vertically integrated Xinhua Bookstore retail and textbook distribution network within Hunan and across 27 provinces, complemented by owned digital platforms (Yueda Book City, Beikewang, KuaiDian Ting) and third-party e-commerce and short-video channels (Douyin, Xiaohongshu, JD.com). Pricing is unit-based for physical publications, annual contract pricing for educational textbook distribution, and subscription/per-user pricing for digital education and government-enterprise learning solutions, with government-enterprise orders reported in the tens of millions of yuan range.

The technology stack integrates traditional publishing with AI-powered knowledge services (in-house AI Q&A for geography education, AIGC publishing projects launched in 2026), VR/AR immersive displays for cultural heritage (Red Resources Digital Gene Bank), GIS-enabled educational tools (Xiangjiao Geography Cloud), and computer vision in printing operations. Strategic partnerships anchor the technology roadmap, including a 320-million-yuan joint venture with Huawei (Tianwen Digital Media), cooperation with Tencent on local portal Daxiangwang and WeChat O2O retail, and partnerships with China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom for mobile reading distribution where the group ranks #1 among traditional publishers on China Mobile's MCP. FY2025 revenue was 12.601 billion yuan with net profit attributable to parent of 1.594 billion yuan (+16.20% YoY).

Name

China South Publishing & Media Group

Legal name

中南出版传媒集团股份有限公司

Website

https://zncmjt.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

China South Publishing & Media Group is a state-owned, fully integrated Chinese publishing conglomerate operating 9 publishing houses, printing, distribution, newspapers, digital platforms, and a financial company, serving K-12 education, general readers, and government clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Publishing and Media

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Book Printing (2732)

akta.pro primary industry

Reference Works & Academic Databases (Encyclopedias, Indexes, Abstracts) (MPAJABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA), Online News & Magazine Publishing Platforms (CMS & Hosting) (MPAJAMAC), Digital Publishing Platforms (News/Magazines) (BPAMAJAE)

Keywords

• Book publishing services
• Educational publishing
• Print media distribution
• Digital education platforms
• Cultural media operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Changsha

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Publishing (Book Sales): Publishing books through 9 publishers and 2 content planning companies, including educational materials, general books, children's books, art books, and scientific/technical publications. The group publishes nearly 10,000 titles annually. General book market share ranks among top 4 in China.
2. Printing and Printing Materials: Printing services through Hunan Tianwen Xinhua Printing Company and printing materials supply through Hunan Printing Materials Company. Tianwen Xinhua ranks #1 among Xinhua printing enterprises in China and is listed in the national top 100 printing enterprises (#26). Printing materials company has annual output of 900 million yuan.
3. Distribution and Retail: Distribution through 4 distribution companies including Hunan Xinhua Bookstore (covering all of Hunan province), new textbook distribution companies (covering 27 provinces), and retail through physical bookstore network including 21 Lezhi bookstores,阅马栏山店, and other locations. Xinhua Bookstore comprehensive strength ranks among top 6 in national Xinhua bookstore system.
4. Newspapers, Periodicals, and Digital Media: Publishing 20 magazines, 3 websites (红网, 大湘网, 枫网), 2 newspapers (潇湘晨报, 快乐老人报). 潇湘晨报 is the largest circulating and highest advertising revenue newspaper in Hunan, ranked among top 10 national metro newspapers. 快乐老人报 is China's largest elderly-focused newspaper.
5. Digital Publishing and Platform Services: Digital education through Tianwen Digital Media (joint venture with Huawei), e-book platforms, and AI-powered knowledge services. Platform matrix serving over 100 million total users across 50+ digital platforms including 红网时刻, 阅达教育, 贝壳网, 快点听.
6. Financial Services: Hunan Publishing Investment Holding Group Financial Company, the first financial company in China's cultural industry, provides internal banking services including deposit taking, lending, financing leases, and financial advisory. Generated 136 million yuan in revenue and 69.46 million yuan in profit within 8 months of establishment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

China South Publishing & Media Group is a fully integrated publishing media conglomerate that publishes, prints, distributes, and licenses books, newspapers, magazines, and digital content across China, with operations also spanning financial services and digital education platforms. The group publishes nearly 10,000 titles annually through 9 publishing houses, operates Hunan's largest bookstore chain, leads domestic textbook distribution to 27 provinces, and ranks #1 nationally in content e-commerce market share.

Product overview

China South Publishing & Media Group (中南出版传媒集团股份有限公司) operates as a comprehensive publishing media conglomerate with full industry chain integration covering publishing, printing, distribution, media, digital publishing, and financial services. The portfolio includes 9 publishing houses publishing nearly 10,000 titles annually, the Hunan Xinhua Bookstore chain, Tianwen Printing, newspapers (潇湘晨报, 快乐老人报), news portal 红网, digital platforms (天闻数媒, 湘教地理云), and financial services. The group has expanded into digital education platforms (智慧操场, 贝壳网), AI-powered services (红源, 新汉语在线), and cultural retail (乐之书店), representing a platform-plus-modules architecture with publishing as the core business supplemented by technology-enabled services and media operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 潇湘晨报: Largest circulating, most advertising revenue, strongest comprehensive strength metropolitan daily newspaper in Hunan, ranked among top 10 urban daily newspapers nationwide
• 快乐老人报
• 红网
• 天闻数媒
• 湖南省新华书店
• 岳麓书会
• 中南好书
• 乐之书店
• 湘教地理云

Products and services

• 9 Publishing Houses (9家出版社) Publishing division comprising 9 wholly-owned publishers including Hunan Education Press, Hunan People's Publishing House, Hunan Literature & Art Press, Yuelu Academy (Classical Literature), Hunan Science & Technology Press, Hunan Children's Press, Hunan Art Press, Hunan Electronic Audio Press, and Democracy & Construction Press. Publishes nearly 10,000 titles annually across educational materials, general books, children's books, art, and audio publications. Five publishers are ranked among national top 100.
• Hunan Provincial Xinhua Bookstore (湖南省新华书店) The largest publication and cultural supplies chain operation enterprise in Hunan province, with a chain operation network covering all cities and counties. Operates 21 Lezhi bookstores and Yuemalanshan stores, with comprehensive strength ranked among top 6 Xinhua bookstores nationwide. Distributes books, educational materials, and cultural products through physical retail and digital channels.
• Hunan Tianwen Xinhua Printing (湖南天闻新华印务) Printing services enterprise offering book, newspaper, packaging, ticket, security, digital, and combined-edition printing. First batch of green printing enterprises in China, ranked #1 among national Xinhua printing enterprises and #26 among national top 100 printing enterprises. Developed an intelligent printing factory with full process digitization and computer vision quality inspection.
• Xiaoxiang Morning News (潇湘晨报) Hunan's largest circulation, most advertising revenue metropolitan daily newspaper, ranked among top 10 national urban newspapers. Distributed through digital platforms including official Weibo (2.4M+ followers, #2 nationally among market-oriented newspaper Weibo accounts), WeChat, and self-built mobile apps. Operates 96360 community service stores combining newspaper distribution with O2O services.
• Kuaile Laoren Bao (快乐老人报) China's largest circulation elderly-focused newspaper with 1.5 million copies, distributed through China Post as one of the 100 Popular Newspapers. Part of a comprehensive senior citizen industry ecosystem including Fengwang (Maple Net) senior lifestyle website, Kangyi Magazine, and Meishi Meike International Travel Agency for senior tourism.
• Rednet (红网) Hunan's major provincial news portal and party news website, ranked #1 among national local news websites and #9 overall among national news websites. The only network media in China to win the China News Award (First Class) for three consecutive years. Operates 14 city and 123 county-level sub-sites plus mobile apps and social media accounts. Includes government-citizen interaction platforms Wenzheng Hunan and Baixing Husheng.
• Tianwen Digital Media Technology (天闻数媒科技) Joint venture with Huawei (CNS holding controlling stake) with 320 million yuan capitalization, focusing on digital education, mass digital reading, and government-enterprise learning markets. Strategic cooperation with China Broadcasting Group on three-network convergence innovation teaching platform and e-schoolbag application system. Ranked #1 among traditional publishing groups on China Mobile reading base MCP. Secured tens of millions of yuan in government-enterprise learning orders.
• Hunan Publishing Investment Holding Group Financial Company (湖南出版投资控股集团财务有限公司) First financial company in China's cultural industry, established with 10 billion yuan registered capital. Provides deposit absorption, loan processing, financing lease, bill acceptance and discount, guarantee, entrusted loans and investment, insurance agency, and financial and financing advisory services. Operates as the group's capital center, settlement center, and capital operation center.
• Xiangjiao Geography Cloud (湘教地理云) Digital geography education service platform integrating GIS technology with middle school geography textbooks from Hunan Education Press. Features China's first remote sensing image resource database for geography education and an AI Q&A model trained on small-scale high-quality datasets. Serving 35 million users nationwide across multiple provinces including Hunan, Shandong, Shanxi, Guangxi, Hainan, and Gansu.
• Xin Hanyu Zaixian (新汉语在线) International Chinese language learning platform launched at Dubai University, integrating AI and big data for Chinese education. Modules include character learning, digital textbooks, self-study tools, teacher training, and intelligent assessment for global Chinese language learners.
• Hongyuan Platform (红源) Hunan Red Resources Digital Gene Bank—a digital encyclopedia of Hunan red culture featuring 210 patriotic education bases, 32 VR virtual exhibitions, biographical records of 74 Hunan revolutionary figures, and 388 digitized historical artifacts. Incorporates VR panoramic tours, 3D modeling, and intelligent voice guides for red culture education and tourism.
• Lezhi Bookstore (乐之书店) Independent brand bookstore chain under Hunan Xinhua Bookstore with 21 stores across Hunan combining books, cultural creative products, coffee, and reading activities in scenic locations. Multiple stores have won the National 'Most Beautiful Bookstore' designation for four consecutive years (2022-2025).
• Yueda Book City (阅达书城) Online bookstore with smart book recommendations, free delivery within 3km of physical stores, and community reading activities. Direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform for CNS's published titles.
• Beikewang (贝壳网) Error question collection and exercise explanation platform from Hunan Education Publishing House providing integrated educational services for K-12 student learning, including problem analysis and solution explanations.
• Kuaidianting (快点听) Digital reading platform for students featuring point-reading, follow-reading, and recitation functions with audio content sourced from Hunan Electronic Audio Publishing House, including award-winning classic poetry recitations.
• Lingting Jingdian Mobile App (聆听经典移动APP) Mobile app featuring classic poetry and literature recitations by renowned artists including Sun Daolin, Qiao Zhen, Ding Hua, and Chen Duo. Won the Chinese Publishing Government Award and China Outstanding Publication Award.
• Hunan Province New Textbook Distribution (湖南省新教材) Cross-regional educational textbook distribution company covering 27 provinces and municipalities nationwide. Hunan textbooks have entered Taiwan (first cross-strait cultural exchange), Macau, and South Korea (first Chinese textbook exported internationally). Holds #1 market share, sales revenue, and profit among local publishing groups in the textbook segment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2025 full year revenue of ¥126.01 billion with net profit up 16.20% year-on-year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability12 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• Huawei (华为)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2010Joint venture Tianwen Digital Media Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. established with 3.2 billion yuan capitalization (CNS holding the controlling stake), focusing on digital education, mass digital reading, and government-enterprise learning markets. The partnership integrates Huawei's technology capabilities with CNS's content resources.
• China Broadcasting Group (中广传播集团)coreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic cooperation on 三网融合 (convergence of three networks) innovation teaching platform and electronic textbook application system. Partnership focused on electronic textbook R&D and trial deployment in demonstration zones.
• Tencent (腾讯)coreTechnology or IntegrationJoint venture established to create Da Xiang Wang (大湘网), Hunan's most influential local lifestyle portal. The collaboration leverages Tencent's internet platform and technology with CNS's local media content and distribution network. Also collaborated on WeChat-based O2O retail with 友阿股份.
• Japan Kadokawa (日本角川集团)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic cooperation with Kadokawa involving content collaboration and market exploration. Kadokawa's expertise in anime and light novels complements CNS's publishing strengths.
• Changsha Rail Transit Group (长沙轨道交通集团)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture to operate Changsha Metro平面媒体 and WiFi media platforms. CNS provides full media resources including newspapers, magazines, internet, mobile internet, TV, radio and outdoor media for comprehensive metro coverage.
• 友阿股份 (Youa Co., Ltd.)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerO2O cooperation through WeChat platform. Youa department stores integrated with WeChat payment and membership system, creating China's first WeChat payment-enabled retail experience. D湘网 facilitated the partnership as technology partner.
• 中科星图 (Zhongke Xingtu)coreTechnology or IntegrationCross-border cooperation for GIS technology integration with geography textbooks. Created China's first remote sensing image resource database for geography education. The 湘教地理云 platform combines textbook content with 3D real-scene geographic data.
• Hunan Education Television (湖南教育电视台)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture 湘教传媒 established between CNS and Hunan Education Television for market operations. Business covers TV program production, advertising, and large-scale events. Represents the first major cross-industry strategic integration in Hunan's cultural sector.
• Hunan Provincial GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership for cultural and educational initiatives. CNS supports government reading promotion campaigns (书香社会), party-building programs, and public cultural services. The group operates government information platforms through 红网.
• China Mobile (三大电信运营商手机阅读基地)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEstablished strong cooperative relationships with three major telecom operators' mobile reading bases. CNS ranked first among traditional publishing groups on China Mobile reading base MCP (MCP总排名中居传统出版集团第一位).
• Springer Nature (施普林格·自然集团)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through Palgrave Macmillan for international academic publishing. 《中国货币通史》 English edition to be published by Palgrave Macmillan. One of many international partnerships for copyright export.
• Printing Materials Suppliers and Paper MillsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHunan Printing Materials Company manages procurement and supply of printing materials, serving as the largest printing materials supply enterprise in Hunan with annual output of 900 million yuan.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Springer Nature: Global academic and educational publisher with whom CNS partners via Palgrave Macmillan for English-language academic publishing. Comparable as an STM/academic publishing partner and competitor in cross-border Chinese-English academic content.

Direct peers

• Shanghai Century Publishing Group: Major Shanghai-based state-owned publisher with broad book publishing, periodical, and digital media operations. Comparable as a similarly diversified state-owned publisher competing in the same national general trade and educational publishing markets.
• China Publishing Group Corporation: China's largest state-owned publishing conglomerate, operating a similar full-chain book publishing, printing, and distribution model under central government ownership. Directly comparable as the leading state-owned publisher with national textbook and general trade book market presence.
• CITIC Press (中信出版): Major listed Chinese book publisher specializing in business, personal finance, and general trade publishing. Comparable in core trade publishing operations, though narrower in scope than CNS's full-chain model.
• Reader Media Group (读者传媒): Listed Chinese media company focused on Reader magazine and related book publishing. Comparable in periodical and educational publishing operations, though smaller in scale and scope.
• Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing & Media Group (凤凰传媒): Major state-owned provincial publishing and media group listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with comparable book publishing, textbook distribution, and digital education operations. Highly comparable as a peer provincial publishing group with similar revenue scale and government-aligned structure.
• Zhejiang Publishing Group (浙版传媒): State-owned Zhejiang-based publishing conglomerate with integrated publishing, printing, distribution, and digital media operations. Directly comparable as another major provincial publishing group pursuing similar full-chain strategies.
• Shandong Publishing Group (山东出版): Listed state-owned Shandong-based publishing conglomerate with integrated publishing, distribution, and educational textbook operations. Directly comparable as a peer provincial publishing group with similar textbook and trade book exposure.

Broad incumbents

• People's Education Press (人教社): China's dominant national textbook publisher under the Ministry of Education, controlling the largest share of K-12 textbook content in China. Comparable as the leading educational publisher with national reach and curriculum authority.
• Pearson: Global education and publishing company with major K-12 textbook and digital learning operations. Comparable as a global education publishing incumbent whose digital learning and AI-powered textbook initiatives parallel CNS's Tianwen/Huawei strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/china-shenhua-energy-co-ltd-

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about China South Publishing & Media Group