A total of 26 Bangladeshi journalists were honoured at the Golden Silk Road Media Awards Bangladesh 2026, held for the second time in the country to encourage quality journalism on China-Bangladesh bilateral relations, development cooperation and friendship between the two nations.

The awards were presented at a ceremony at the International Mother Language Institute auditorium in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Organised jointly by 12 leading journalist associations and clubs in Bangladesh under the patronage of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, the awards recognised journalists, photographers, documentary filmmakers and multimedia content creators working for various media outlets in four categories.

In each category, the first prize carried Tk 100,000, the second prize of Tk 50,000 each was awarded to two recipients, and the third prize of Tk 30,000 each went to three recipients, along with crests and certificates.

Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury attended the ceremony as the chief guest, while Press Secretary to President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Md Sarwar Alam, Chinese Embassy Charge d'Affaires Dr Liu Yuyin and Bangladesh Betar Director General A S M Zahid were present as special guests.

Also present were Chinese Embassy Cultural Counsellor Li Shaofeng, China Media Group's Bangla Service Director Yu Guangyue Anandi, Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh President Han Kun and Apon Friendship Exchange Centre President Chuang Lifeng.

MP AKM Fazlul Haque Milon, Press Institute Bangladesh Director General Faruk Wasif, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Editor and Managing Director Muhammad Kader Gani Chowdhury, and representatives of various media outlets and journalist organisations also attended the event.

In his address, Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury said the awards would further strengthen the friendly relations between Bangladesh and China.

"I believe responsible media can play a significant role in advancing trade and cultural relations between the two countries," he said.

In a special video message, CGTN Editor-in-Chief An Xiaoyu expressed his pleasure at joining the inauguration ceremony virtually and extended greetings to the distinguished guests and congratulations to the Bangladeshi media professionals who received the awards.

He also acknowledged the contributions of the co-organisers, including Bangladesh China Apon Media Club, the National Press Club of Bangladesh and Dhaka Reporters Unity.

Award recipients

A total of 26 journalists were honoured across four categories, with two recipients jointly winning the special Top View category.

In the Technology, Health and Education category, Arshad Ali of Bangla Tribune received the first prize. Md Touhidul Islam of Independent Television and A N M Mohibub Uz Zaman of The Daily Sun jointly received the second prize.

Morsalin Ahmed of Daily Sabuj Bangla, Rafiqul Islam of The Daily Sun and Md Habibur Rahman of Kaler Kantho received the third prizes.

In the Photography and Multimedia category, Babul Talukder of Daily Dinkal won the first prize.

Md Imtiaz Ahmed of ETV and Waliul Biswas of Independent Television jointly received the second prize, while Md Mahmud Zaman of Daily Times of Bangladesh, Kaiyum Hasan Rishad of News24 and Md Ariful Islam of Dhaka Post received the third prizes.

In the Economy and Diplomacy category, Alamgir Swapan of Jamuna Television won the first prize.

FM Abdur Rahman Masum of Dhaka Post and Emdadul Haque Tuhin of Jago News24 received the second prizes.

Faruk Ahmed Arif of The Climate Watch, Md Ariful Islam of The Daily Sun and Md Iqbal Hossain of Bangladesh Television received the third prizes.

In the Sports, Entertainment, Travel and Others category, Farhana Haque Nila of Sarabangla received the first prize.

Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan of Rupali Bangladesh and A R Badal of RTV jointly received the second prize, while Mohammad Omar Faruk of Desh Rupantor, Shahadat Hossain of Dhaka Post and Zarif Faiaz of The Daily Star received the third prizes.

Besides, Channel 24 Special Correspondent Rezwan Uz Zaman and videographer Md Moktar Hossain jointly received a special award for the content that secured the highest number of views on social media among the competition entries.

The event was organised by CMG Dhaka Studio and Apon Friendship Exchange Centre.

It was supported by Bangladesh China Apon Media Club, National Press Club of Bangladesh, Dhaka Reporters Unity, Bangladesh Photojournalists Association, Bangladesh Cine-Journalists Association, Bangladesh Sports Press Association, Online Editors Alliance, Technology Media Guild Bangladesh, Bangladesh Health Reporters Forum, Diplomatic Correspondents Association Bangladesh and Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh.

The co-organisers included the Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh, International Mother Language Institute and Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh. The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Bangladesh provided overall support.