By William Irion
Yunnan Information Daily (云南信息报)

It was with gladness in my heart that I discovered in Kunming the Sunday English Weekly edition of the Yunnan Information Daily newspaper. A great printed resource for English learners in Yunnan and for foreigners to read. It was with sadness in my heart that I learned that it was no longer going to be printed in the newspaper from April 2013. Yes, it may still be published online at www.ynxxb.com. Its demise, I believe, was from a poor marketing and advertising focus. No foreigner I spoke with knew that inside this great newspaper was an English Weekly section. Few Chinese I know knew the English Weekly was inside. There are so many papers to choose from at the Kunming newspaper stands. The English Weekly made this newspaper stand out but few knew it was there. It could have been a great way to get foreigners to actually buy a real Chinese newspaper so as to learn more about Yunnan even if they cannot read Chinese. It is sad to lose this printed Yunnan provincial resource which could be developed with simple new marketing techniques. Hope new changes will happen soon.