The 24th Asian Television Awards was held in Manila on January 10 and 11 with hundreds of Asian talents in attendance, and CGTN bagged four awards including Best Terrestrial Broadcaster of The Year.

It also won the awards of Best Lifestyle Program, Best Single News Report and Best Digital Non-Fiction Program for "Giant Clams-Nature's Climate Archive," "The Spirit of Zen," and CGTN Digital's production "Painted Love: Our Story" respectively at the award ceremony.

This is the second time CGTN has participated in the Asian Television Awards. The network was honored for its professional production capabilities, responsible broadcasting attitude and deep humanistic caring.

"It's such an honor, privilege and absolutely surprised to receive this award. I'm so excited to bring this award back to Beijing and share with our team, I think this is a true recognition of their hard work and dedication over the years," said Zheng Mengmeng, who received the awards on behalf of CGTN nominees.

Since its establishment in December 2016, CGTN, as a multilingual and multi-platform international communication organization, has been committed to telling Chinese stories from both a Chinese perspective and a global perspective.

In 2019, the "debate" about Sino-US economic and trade relations between CGTN anchor Liu Xin and Trish Regan from the Fox Business Channel made more in the global audience aware of the network.

Recently, CGTN has released the features of "Fighting terrorism in Xinjiang" and "The black hand — ETIM and terrorism in Xinjiang," which have gained over one billion hits on the online platforms at home and abroad.

"Giant Clams-Nature's Climate Archive" introduces how Chinese scientists used modern technologies to study giant clams. It was found that a thousand years ago, the Earth also experienced a similar stage of climate warming as today. With its unique perspective, the program draws more attention on the global issue of climate warming.

"The Spirit of Zen" follows a visit to the Baoji Temple in east China's Jiangxi Province to see the residents' daily lives and presenting the spirit of Zen to the foreign audiences.

CGTN Digital's production "Painted Love: Our Story" depicts the 98-year-old Rao Pingru's lifelong love story that has endured as times changed in China by using his own hand-painted pictures, a large number of historical images and more artistic techniques of representing the reality.

The event was hosted by a slew of Asian celebrities including CGTN's very own Ji Xiaojun, Singaporean personalities Wallace Ang and Ase Wang, Filipino News Presenter Cathy Yang and Mark Neumann.

"This is my first time being in Manila, in the Philippines. First time attending and hosting the Asian Television Awards. We are super excited and incredibly honored to host on behalf of CGTN and this prestigious event," said Ji Xiaojun.

As a first time host of the ceremony, Filipino fans were delighted to welcome their favorite celebrities to their hometown.

"I am so excited that the Asian Television Awards show is here in my hometown. I'm supporting the actors from GMMTV from Thailand," said a group of fans waiting eagerly at the red carpet.

The Asian Television Awards was launched in 1996 as a platform to recognize excellence in programming, production and performances.

Other major awards were for the categories of Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Single Drama. William Hsieh won Best Actor for his work in First Love, Tisanart Sornsuek from Thailand won the Best Actress award for her performance in True Life of a Drama Queen and Philippine's popular series Mystified won for Best Single Drama.

Artists from all over the region gave show-stopping performances throughout the three-day event as well. The lineup was impressive starting with Chinese-British singer Tien Chong, legendary Singaporean singer-songwriter Dick Lee and a special performance by Indonesian-born artist Anggun.

Filipino artists that performed included the Prince of R&B, Kris Lawrence, Kiana Valenciano, Jona and former X Factor UK contestants, 4th Impact.

Throughout the years, the award show has given a platform to Asian artists and helped to highlight their talents, providing them with opportunities to reach global audiences.

(Silkina Ahluwalia contributed to the story.)