Xing Zhibin

Xing Zhibin (邢质斌)

Xing Zhibin (邢质斌) is a former lead anchorwoman on the official primetime news program of China's national television network CCTV.

Xing was born in November 1947 in Gu'an County, Hebei Province. In 1964, after graduating from Beijing Normal University's affiliated high school, she became a broadcaster for Daxing County, Beijing. In 1973, she transferred to CCTV and started to broadcast the news program the following year. In July 1981, she made her debut on the "Xinwen Lianbo" (News Broadcast). So far, Xing is the longest serving member of the "Xinwen Lianbo" team, and her most famous broadcasts included the National Day parades in Tiananmen Square in 1984 and 1999.

In Xing's nearly 30 years of work, audiences have spoken highly of her due to her stately image and accurate annunciation. In November 2006, Xing received the Golden Microphone Award, the highest honor in the field of Chinese broadcast. "As an anchorwoman, Xing pronounces every word correctly and in a mellow voice, and she has a graceful and dignified manner," her peers said in her evaluation.

Xing submitted her application for retirement and officially finished her broadcasting career in mid 2009. She appeared in several commercials for healthcare products after her retirement. A recent video footage of her in a TV commercial ad for a Shandong-based enterprise, however, has put her at the center of controversy. In the ad, Xing announced the enterprise news in a similar fashion as she did on "Xinwen Lianbo." Many people are offended by respected celebrities – particular in this case one who for years had represented the nation on TV – using their popularity to help companies to sell commercial products.