CITY
NEWS
SERVICE
ONE-LINER
CNS is Shanghai's official English-language platform, created to serve as both guide and narrator—capturing the pulse of the city as it rises on the global stage.
Read our story
How It Started
2021
In 2021, Shanghai faced a communication gap. The city was changing fast. Its global profile was rising. But its voice to the world? Muffled. Especially for the people already living here.
The announcements came. Public service news, policy updates, emergency alerts—important, urgent stuff. But all in Chinese. So for the city's international residents, consulates, entrepreneurs, travelers—it meant relying on word of mouth, WeChat translations, or unofficial third party channels.
THAT'S WHERE CITY NEWS SERVICE BEGAN. NOT AS A MEDIA PRODUCT. AS A NECESSITY.
2022
In 2022, the Shanghai Information Office joined forces with Shanghai Daily (The Chinese Mainland's first English newspaper) to launch a new platform with a clear purpose: give Shanghai a voice—one that could speak clearly, humanly, and globally.
What We're Really Doing
City News Service isn't just a bulletin board. It's a lens. A platform for exploring what it means to live, work, build, create, and belong in a city with more people than all of Australia.
Because the real story of this city—the one you hear at dinner tables, in cafés, on factory floors, at convention centers, in community chats, or on 91st floor board rooms—isn't the one that always makes global headlines. And that disconnect? That's exactly what we're here to change.
So we ask questions. We listen. And we publish content that comes from context, not assumption. The result: a platform that educates, entertains, informs, assists, and expands perception.
PLATFORM
Our Pillars
CITY
What Shanghai is and who makes it.
How to live in Shanghai- Who's living and creating in Shanghai
- What to do in Shanghai
NEWS
Authenticated Information that matters. No Filler.
- Culture, lifestyle, movement.
- Policy changes that affect visas, businesses, families
- Stories from communities.
SERVICE
Practical help, with style.
- Tools for city living and beyond.
- Emergency info (typhoons, alien invasions, etc.).
- Government PSAs in plain English (metro updates, health stuff, new public services)
COMMUNITY
Making Shanghai feel less like a big city
- Supporting existing communities
- CNS Hosted online communities to foster connection
- Highlighting ways to connect and volunteer
Why It Matters
What we publish isn't just about what is happening. It's about how we present it. Have we taken time to understand our audience? Have we built trust? Shared context? A place where stories can come alive?
International residents tell us the same thing, over and over: the way China is portrayed often feels disconnected from how life here actually feels.
CNS is our answer to that. A platform that shows Shanghai not as a headline—but as a lived experience – shaped by the many people who have been part of the city's ascendancy to a place of global prominence.
THIS IS SHANGHAI, UP CLOSE. AND THROUGH IT, A CLEARER VIEW OF CHINA AND ITS FUTURE.
SHANGHAI
Who is it for
Yes,
for the diplomats and entrepreneurs.
Yes,
for the foreign students and longtime residents.
Yes,
for tourists, business travelers, and the globally curious.
Yes,
for the fashionistas and futurists.
Yes,
for families
Yes,
for creators
CNS is for everyone who believes a city is more than buildings. It's a story. And it's better when we tell and live it together