Featured App: Wen Zhao Member App
The Wen Zhao Tan Gu Lun Jin Member App “facilitates members to read the content of this website and leave messages on mobile devices such as mobile phones, and to receive timely notifications of new program releases.” It is the mobile companion to 『文昭談古論今』 (Wen Zhao Tan Gu Lun Jin), a Mandarin language commentary program with more than 1.5 million YouTube subscribers.
The app is built with AppPresser and powered by the program’s WordPress membership website, and it has been installed more than 5,000 times on Google Play.
In this featured app spotlight, we take a closer look at the team behind Wen Zhao Member App, what the app does, who it serves, and why it is such a strong example of what happens when a WordPress site and a mobile app work together.
Who Is Behind Wen Zhao Tan Gu Lun Jin
Wen Zhao Tan Gu Lun Jin, which loosely translates as “Wen Zhao on Past and Present,” is a Mandarin language program hosted by Wen Zhao, a commentator based in Toronto, Canada. He launched his YouTube channel in 2017, offering long form commentary on current affairs, history, politics, economics and philosophy. In a 2019 profile, The Economist described him as “bookish and soft-spoken” and reported that his videos had already drawn about 175 million views, with an audience made up mainly of ethnic Chinese living outside China.
The program has grown dramatically since then. According to figures published on the website as of February 2025, the YouTube channel had passed 1.5 million subscribers, more than 1,500 episodes and nearly 770 million total views, with the most popular single episode reaching 2.3 million views. New episodes continue to be numbered and published regularly, and the archive on the website now holds well over a thousand posts.
To support the program and give its most dedicated viewers more, the team built a membership website at wenzhao.ca. Members get audio, video and written transcripts of the YouTube episodes, along with member exclusive programs published only on the site and updated every week, and discounts on recommended cultural products. A monthly membership is CAD$9.90. The Wen Zhao Member App brings that membership experience to the phone.
What the Wen Zhao Member App Does
The Wen Zhao Member App is designed specifically for paid members of the program. Members sign in with their wenzhao.ca account and get the full library of episodes, transcripts and member programs in a clean, mobile friendly layout, entirely in Chinese.
Here are the main areas the app covers:
- An article library listing the latest episodes and commentaries, each with a thumbnail, title and date.
- Program sections in a tidy grid, including the YouTube program, member programs and series such as 道理, 譚今 and 倫古, plus other hosts like 硅谷尹公 and 驚風堂.
- Article pages with the episode artwork, an embedded audio player, an audio download and the full written transcript.
- Notifications of new program releases, so members know when a new episode is out.
- Comments, so members can leave messages on the content they read.
- Article search, for finding a past episode or topic in a large archive.
- A member menu with My Account, a user guide, frequently asked questions, contact options, cultural products and links to the YouTube channel.
- A built in guide explaining how to sign in, which Android and iOS versions are supported, and how to listen offline by downloading audio.
What makes the app distinctive is how it serves a large, loyal audience that wants more than videos. Many members want to read the full text of an episode, listen to it as audio, or go back to a commentary from years ago. The app puts all of that, plus the member only programs, in one place, and new release notifications mean members never have to check whether something new has been posted.
App Screenshots
Here is a look at the app. Use the arrows or the numbered buttons to move through the screenshots.
Test Drive the App
The best way to understand the app is to try it. If you are a member, download it, sign in with your wenzhao.ca membership, and open the latest episode to read the transcript while you listen.
Key Features That Stand Out
Article Library
The home screen is a long, scrollable list of the latest content, with each entry showing a small image, the title and the date it was published. Members can scroll back through weeks of episodes in seconds. It turns a very large archive into something easy to browse on a phone.
Member Menu
The side menu greets each member by name and leads to the home page, the user guide, frequently asked questions, contact options, My Account, cultural products and the program’s YouTube and member channels. A clear logout button sits at the bottom. Everything a member needs to manage their account and find content is one tap away.
Program Sections
The program sections are laid out as a grid of large buttons with photos and labels, covering the YouTube program, member programs, the 道理 and 倫古 series, other hosts, and member submissions. Members can jump straight to the kind of content they enjoy most. It is a simple way to organize many different series.
Read and Listen
Each article page opens with the episode artwork and title, then an embedded audio player and an audio download link, followed by the full transcript. Members can read along while they listen, or save the audio to listen later. It gives every episode three formats in one place: video on YouTube, audio and text.
At a Glance
- The member app for 『文昭談古論今』, a Mandarin commentary program hosted from Toronto.
- Built for paid members, who sign in with their wenzhao.ca account.
- Episode library, program sections, search and comments.
- Audio player, audio downloads and full transcripts on every episode page.
- Notifications of new program releases.
- More than 5,000 installs on Google Play, first released in September 2020.
- Powered by the program’s WordPress membership site through AppPresser.
Who Wen Zhao Member App Serves
The Wen Zhao Member App is built first for the program’s paying members. They already support the show through a monthly membership, and the app gives them the easiest way to use what they pay for: member exclusive programs, transcripts and audio, all on their phone.
It also serves Chinese speaking viewers around the world who prefer to read or listen rather than watch. Long commentary episodes are not always easy to watch on a small screen, and the transcripts and audio downloads let members follow a program wherever watching a video is not practical.
Finally, it serves readers who never want to miss a new episode. With regular new releases and a large archive, notifications and search make it simple to keep up with the latest program and to find older ones when a topic comes back into the news.
Technology Behind the App
The Wen Zhao Member App is powered by its own WordPress site, wenzhao.ca.
The app is built from WordPress, and WordPress drives it. Articles and member accounts live on the WordPress site, and AppPresser carries that content straight into the app, so updates made on the site show up in the app without a separate system to manage.
Looking at the site itself, these are the platforms behind the experience:
WordPress, the foundation for the website. WordPress is the open source content management system that powers more websites than any other platform.
Restrict Content Pro, for memberships. Restrict Content Pro is a WordPress membership plugin.
OnePress, for design. OnePress is a WordPress theme.
Contact Form 7, for forms. Contact Form 7 is a widely used free WordPress form plugin.
WP Dark Mode, for a dark reading mode. WP Dark Mode is a WordPress plugin.
AppPresser, which turns the WordPress site into the mobile app. AppPresser is a mobile app builder that creates native iOS and Android apps from a WordPress site.
What Wen Zhao Member App Shows About AppPresser
Wen Zhao Tan Gu Lun Jin runs its membership website on WordPress, with a membership plugin controlling who can see member content. The app shows how AppPresser can bring a paid WordPress membership site to mobile, so members sign in once and see exactly the content their membership includes.
It also shows that AppPresser works in any language. The app is entirely in Chinese, from its menus to its long form transcripts, and the layout handles it cleanly. For creators who serve audiences in languages other than English, that flexibility matters.
And it shows how creators can build on a large audience. A YouTube channel can reach millions of people, but a WordPress membership site and an AppPresser app give the creator a direct relationship with their most loyal viewers, with their own content, their own notifications and their own platform.
Wen Zhao Member App in the Press
Wen Zhao’s work has drawn international attention. In December 2019, The Economist profiled him in an article about Chinese language video bloggers who were attracting large audiences among overseas Chinese, describing his Mandarin commentary on current affairs, his home in Toronto and his website, wenzhao.ca.
Congratulations to Wen Zhao and the Wen Zhao Tan Gu Lun Jin team on building a member app with more than 5,000 installs. We are proud to have AppPresser behind it.
Do You Want Your Own App?
If your organization already runs on WordPress, launching your app with AppPresser is simple. Your app pulls directly from the website you already manage, so every update you make to your site appears in your app automatically. Ready to get started on your app right now? Check out our pricing page.
Not on WordPress yet? AppPresser can still help. Our team can move your website onto WordPress and then set up your app, so everything works together from the start. And if you need something more tailored, from custom features to a completely custom app, our custom development services have you covered.
If you need help or have any questions, tell us about your organization and what you’d like your app to do, and we’ll get back to you with a clear answer on costs and next steps.
