SPOTLIGHT:

VOICE OF BEIBU BAY RADIO

(This post is an edited version of an article I wrote for "The World of Shortwave Listening" column of The Spectrum Monitor magazine - December 2020 issue. Further details on this excellent publication are available at www.thespectrummonitor.com)

Think that China Radio International and China National Radio are the only two Chinese stations to be heard on shortwave? That’s understandable as they provide what seems like blanket coverage of the shortwave broadcast bands. But there is something else!

Broadcasting from Nanning, capital of the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi, China is the Voice of Beibu Bay Radio (a.k.a. Voice of Guangxi Beibu Wan). Although listed as running only 15 kW, this station can be regularly heard in most parts of the world on its two frequencies of 5050 and 9820 kHz. Yet, many listeners are unaware of its existence.

The station schedule includes the following languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Thai. But, sometimes you can be lucky enough to hear small segments of unscheduled English programming. Station IDs are often heard at the top of the hour in English as “This is Beibu Bay Radio, the Voice of Guangxi, China”, or simply as “Beibu Bay Radio”.

The city of Nanning is near the border of northern Vietnam (hence the Vietnamese programming in their daily schedule.) The station is a joint project between China Radio International and the local Guangxi radio and television station. The service was launched in 2010 and at the time it was reported as a new operating model where state-level radio stations link up with local broadcasters in some far-flung provinces. CRI has established radio stations in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Jilin, Heilongjiang and Yunnan provinces, which border neighbouring countries. The initial aim was for CRI to establish a network of radio stations that targets audiences in the countries and regions that border China.

The station describes its programming as a comprehensive introduction to China's politics, economy, sports, tourism and culture, and provides rich information services for ASEAN users.

Beibu Bay Radio draws its name from the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone of China’s southwestern coastal region, part of the infamous Gulf of Tonkin. Older readers and those interested in the Vietnam War will remember that on August 2, 1964, President Johnson claimed that Vietnam attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. This sounded the start of a significant escalation in the war between Vietnam and the US and its allies.

Here is the current schedule (subject to change) for Beibu Bay Radio running on 5050 and 9820 kHz:

2247-0100 Mandarin

0944-1130 Mandarin

1130-1200 Cantonese

1200-1300 Vietnamese

1300-1400 Mandarin

1400-1500 Vietnamese (relay of CRI Vietnamese service)

1500-1530 Mandarin

1530-1600 Thai

There are reports of the Lao language being heard between 1330 and 1345 UTC, but I have not personally confirmed that as yet. Also note that on 9820 kHz, both China Radio International and China National Radio (CNR 2) have schedules that clash with Beibu Bay Radio at certain times of the day. So, depending on your location, it can be challenging to know which station you are monitoring! Careful listening for station IDs at the top of the hour will usually reveal the answer!

73 and good DX to you all!

Rob Wagner VK3BVW