Li Yong (television Host)

Li Yong (television Host)

Li Yong (simplified Chinese: 李咏; traditional Chinese: 李詠; pinyin: Lĭ Yŏng; born May 1968 in Urumqi, Xinjiang) is a leading host on China Central Television (CCTV). He is known for his unorthodox presentation skills and outfits.

Li's family originate from Shandong, but he grew up in Xinjiang, the west part of China, where he was interested in painting as a child. He excelled in the National College Entrance Examination and planned to become an actor. From 1987 he studied radio at the then Beijing Broadcasting Institute, where he began dating Ha Wen. The two subsequently married; Ha has both produced Li's programmes for CCTV and been his publicist. Li is a member of the Communist Party of China. After graduating, he joined CCTV's in 1991 as a choreographer. While he has also worked in news, he has made his name in light entertainment. He now lives in central Beijing and the couple have a daughter born in 2002.

Since 2001, he has been one the six main hosts of the CCTV New Year's Gala, which has a regular audience estimated at over one billion people. He is often used in on-screen and printed promotional material as the public face of CCTV.

Li was launched to fame by Lucky 52 (幸运52), a CCTV-2 gameshow with audience figures around 50 million. Based on a British gameshow format (possibly Who Wants to be a Millionaire?). The show aired on Saturdays at 6:55pm. The last air was 25 October 2008 and its repeats, as Li has announced/CCTV has announced that Lucky 52 will go off air.

He then added Super 6+1, another gameshow broadcast on CCTV-2 on weekend evenings after Xinwen Lianbo. A spin-off talent competition named Chinese Dream was aired during the October 2005 National Holiday, as CCTV attempted to respond to the success of rival Hunan TV's Super Girl. Despite the support of SARFT, which was alleged to have clamped down on rival programmes, the programme was considered a relatively failure and was folded back into Super 6+1.

The World Brand Laboratory has recognized Li as the top TV host in China since their ranking began in 2004. His worth to CCTV is currently estimated at ¥500 million (at 2007 rates, £33m or US$66m). The 2005 ranking described him as unconventional, "humorous and intelligent".

He is known for his flamboyant image and his looks, which have been described as unconventional and even ugly. His on-screen dress is often formal men's attire with such modifications as sequins and brightly coloured linings. His hair is longer than is conventional for Chinese men of his age and status. The 2005 ranking noted his tendency to laugh in front of the camera, at his own jokes.

This Li Yong should not be confused with numerous other Li Yongs, notably the current Vice-Minister of Finance.