What Is The Chairman's Bao?

The Chairman's Bao (thechairmansbao.com) is a news-based graded reader for Mandarin Chinese learners. It turns authentic news articles into lessons graded by HSK level, so you read real-world Chinese at a difficulty you can actually handle. It is aimed at students who want daily reading practice beyond textbook dialogues, and at teachers who want ready-made materials for class. You can use it on the website, iOS, and Android apps, and you can try sample lessons for free before deciding whether to pay for a plan.

How the graded reader works

Each lesson starts from a real news story and is rewritten or leveled to match one of six HSK bands. The site lists lessons under Level 1 through Level 6, so you pick the band that matches your current reading ability rather than guessing.

The catalog is large and refreshed continuously. The site reports 11,079 lessons and says new articles are added daily, which matters if reading the same few texts repeatedly is what usually kills your study habit.

A typical lesson page combines several tools:

• The graded article itself — your main reading input.
• Reading and listening exercises — comprehension questions that check whether you actually understood the text, not just recognized characters.
• One-tap dictionary — look up a word's meaning while reading and save it to your learning hub.
• Flashcards — review saved words for longer-term memorization.

The listening component is worth noting: many learners can read a character but freeze when they hear it. Pairing the same text with audio exercises targets that gap directly.

What the levels mean for you

The HSK grading is the main decision tool. Use it like this:

If a level feels too easy, move up; if you are looking up more than a few words per sentence, move down. The point of a graded reader is to keep you in the zone where you understand most of the text.

Cross-platform study

The platform runs across desktop, laptop, mobile, and tablet, with dedicated iOS and Android apps. The practical benefit is continuity: you can read a lesson on your phone during a commute and review the same saved vocabulary on a laptop later. The site frames this as "never miss another study session," and the cross-platform integration is listed as a core feature rather than an add-on.

Free samples vs. paid plans

You can register and access sample lessons for free, and the sample lessons are marked across all six levels, so you can test the difficulty range before committing. The site also references premium access and links to Student Plans, which indicates that full access sits behind a paid tier. The available information does not specify prices, so check the plans page directly for current terms.

A sensible approach: work through a few free samples at your estimated level, confirm the format suits how you like to study, then decide on a plan.

Who it suits — and who it doesn't

Good fit if you:

• Want to read real news rather than textbook content.
• Need material graded to your exact level so you are not overwhelmed.
• Study across multiple devices and want your vocabulary to follow you.
• Are a teacher looking for current, leveled reading materials.

Probably not the right tool if you:

• Are an absolute beginner with no character recognition — you would need a foundation first.
• Want a structured course with grammar instruction; this is a reading and listening practice platform, not a full curriculum.
• Prefer free resources only and are unwilling to pay for full access.

Getting started

1. Go to thechairmansbao.com and register.
2. Open the sample lessons and try one at your estimated HSK level.
3. Adjust up or down until the text feels challenging but readable.
4. Use the one-tap dictionary as you read, and save unfamiliar words.
5. Complete the reading and listening exercises to confirm comprehension.
6. Review saved words with flashcards.
7. If the format works for you, compare Student Plans for full access.

The core idea is simple: consistent daily reading of level-appropriate real Chinese, with built-in tools to catch and retain what you don't yet know.