China has the largest newspaper market in the world, with 1,937 newspapers printing 43.9 billion copies in 2009. Roughly one in five newspapers printed worldwide are Chinese. Of the top 100 most-read daily newspapers ranked by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers in 2008, 26 were Chinese.

Yet despite the industry's massive size, newspaper readership among the country's 1.4 billion people remains low compared with developed nations. In 2005, only 76.84 people per thousand read a daily newspaper, compared with 545 in Japan and 198 in the United States.

In contrast to declining print media in the West, China's newspaper industry has massive growth potential. Its development may shape the face of the print industry worldwide. To help you understand it, China.org.cn brings you the country's top 10 newspapers by circulation.

   West China City News (華西都市報)

The Chengdu-based West China City News is Sichuan Province's most-read newspaper with circulation of 1.15 million. Established on New Year's Day, 1995, the City News is the largest of 12 newspapers published by the Sichuan Daily Newspaper Group. The commercial paper is a cash cow, bringing in 1.2 billion yuan in advertising revenue in 2010 with the third fastest-growing ad sales of any Chinese newspaper, according to the paper's website. An electronic version of the paper is available online.