China Radio International, one of the most influential international broadcasting stations in the world, serves the entire globe with 211 hours of broadcasts every day in 43 foreign languages and Chinese dialects. The English Service is one of its most important divisions. And through our website users can read program transcripts, view illustrations and hear our programs as well.   The English Service was first launched at Shahe Village at the foot of the Taihang Mountains in north China's Hebei Province on September 11, 1947, when the country was engaged in a civil war. The XNCR, as we were called then, made its debut in nothing but a cave studio in the mountains of Taihang, to provide first-hand information about the liberated areas. Conditions there were so primitive that our very first announcer Wei Lin would often have to carry a flashlight to the cave studio so as to scare the wolves away.       When the People's Republic was founded in 1949, we moved from the Taihang Mountains to Peking, capital of the new China. We therefore changed our signal from XNCR to Radio Peking on April 10, 1950, and set up our own independent editorial department under the Central People's Broadcast Station. Radio Peking had been on the air till 1983, when the name was changed into Radio Beijing. 10 years later, to avoid confusion with the local Beijing People's Broadcast Station, we again changed our name to China Radio International on January 1, 1993     As China opens its door to the outside world and as more and more English speaking people come to China, we feel the need to launch our home service to cater to their needs. At the beginning of 1984, we started to broadcast our home service to the Beijing area on AM and FM frequencies. The service later expanded to dozens of major cities across China, providing listeners inside China with timely news and reports, music, weather, English and Chinese learning skills, as well as other services.   In addition to our short-wave broadcasts, we also try to make ourselves heard on the local AM and FM frequencies in many parts of the world through different forms of cooperation. We can now be heard locally in cities like Washington, Los Angles, London, as well as dozens of major cities across the world. If you're randomly tuning your AM/FM receiver at your home or in your car, chances are you'll meet us. Just check our Programs section to find out the exact local time and frequencies in your area.   For many domestic listeners, we probably sound more like a music station as we try to expand our broadcast domestically. In fact, of our 18 hour-daily-broadcast in the Beijing area, for example, music programs that feature different styles make up 14.5 hours of it. Popular programs like Easy FM, Joy FM, Hit FM, Afternoon Concert, Jazz Bit, etc, are warmly received across the country. On March 28, 1999, 91.50 FM was converted into an all-English channel in Beijing. Listeners who want to keep up with current affairs, learn English and enjoy music can now stay on just a single frequency.   In 1997, with a 40 million yuan investment from the Chinese government and a government loan of 3.2 million US dollars from Austria, we completed a revolutionary switch from a traditional analog broadcast mode to a state-of-the-art digital one. The digital facilities, provided by Siemens Austria, include a data storage bank, a central control, live broadcast systems and recording work-stations. As both the production and the transmission of programs are digitalized, we now boast the largest digital broadcasting system of any radio service in the world.   At present, we broadcast 136.5 hours of programs each day. And it is widely acknowledged that we're one of the most convenient media to learn about China. Dedicated to serving as a bridge that links China to the world, and the world to China, we hope to do our bit to promote exchanges and enhance mutual understandings between China and other countries. In 2002 alone, we received over 168,000 letters from our listeners in more than 100 countries and regions. We're always very appreciative of your trust on us and we know we can count on you, because you are our strength.   We've walked out of the Taihang Mountains long ago, and moved into a high-rise building in the western part of Beijing in 1997. You can always reach us by dropping us a line, or send us an email at the following address. • English Service, • China Radio International,    Beijing, 100040, China •Tel: 86-10-68891652, 86-10-68891617 • Fax: 86-10-68891582 • Email: crieng@cri.com.cn • Website: http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/