CDEL Wins Fifty-Seven Awards at Industry Ceremonies; Chairman and CEO Named Among the 'Leaders in the Education Industry'

BEIJING, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL" or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, is pleased to announced that it has received a total of 57 awards presented at various education industry ceremonies, a strong endorsement of the Company's performance in 2010 and its leading position in China's online education market.

Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, the Chairman and CEO of CDEL, was named one of the "Leaders in the Education Industry" at the Tencent 2010 Chinese Education Industry Review. Mr. Zhu was also named one of the "Top Ten Most Influential Figures in the Education Industry" at the NetEase 2010 Chinese Education Industry Review and was named among the "2010 China Leading Figures in the Education Industry" at the Sina 2010 China Education Ceremony, in addition to receiving six other awards for his achievements at prestigious education industry events.

CDEL was named as the "Most Powerful Education Company" at the Tencent 2010 Education Industry Review. CDEL was also named a "Top Ten Education Brand" at the NetEase 2010 Chinese Education Industry Review, a "2010 Leading Education Company of China" awarded at the Sina 2010 China Education Ceremony, and a "2010 Trustworthy Education Company of China" at the Seventh Educationist of the General Assembly. Furthermore, CDEL won five additional outstanding awards at other industry events.

Moreover, ten of CDEL's affiliated distance learning websites and schools won a total of 39 industry awards, including awards received by the Company's new verticals, such as its self-taught higher education division, GaoKao retake and business start-up training divisions.  

Mr. Zhu commented, "It is my great honor to be named alongside other outstanding educators in China, and I am also very pleased to see CDEL again recognized by various media organizations and industry associations. The honors are a reflection of CDEL's leading position in the online education market in China, while also demonstrating that our new initiatives are gaining momentum and industry recognition. Looking forward, we are confident that both our core online education services and new verticals will continue to gain traction in China, which we believe will lead to increasing long-term shareholder value."

To view the full list of awards, and for further information on China Distance Education, please visit http://ir.cdeledu.com .

Selected Awards Received by Mr. Zhengdong Zhu:

• "Leaders in the Education Industry" awarded at the Tencent 2010 Chinese Education Industry Review
• "Top Ten Most Influential Figures in the Education Industry" awarded at the NetEase 2010 Chinese Education Industry Review
• "2010 China Leading Figures in the Education Industry" awarded at the Sina 2010 China Education Ceremony
• "Outstanding Figures of the Year for their Contribution to the Education Industry" awarded at the Sohu 2010 Annual Education Ranking
• "2010 Top Ten Leaders in China's Education Industry" awarded at the Xinhuanet 2010 Education Forum
• "2010 Outstanding Figure of Education Management in China" awarded at the Seventh Educationist of the General Assembly
• "2010 Top Ten Persons of the Year in the Education Industry" awarded at the EOL Education Festival

Selected Awards Received by CDEL:

• "Most Powerful Education Company" awarded at the Tencent 2010 Education Industry Review
• "Top Ten Education Brand" awarded at the NetEase 2010 Chinese Education Industry Review
• "2010 Leading Education Company of China" awarded at the Sina 2010 China Education Ceremony
• "2010 Top 20 Education Brands in China" awarded at the Sohu 2010 Annual Education Ranking
• "Most Socially Responsible Education Group" awarded at the Xinhuanet 2010 Education Forum
• "2010 Trustworthy Education Company of China" awarded at the Seventh Educationist of the General Assembly
• "2010 Top Ten Education Company" awarded at the EOL Education Festival

Selected Awards Received by CDEL's Affiliated Websites and Schools:

• www.chinaacc.com: "2010 Ten Best Online Education Companies" by Tencent
• www.med66.com: "2010 Top Ten Online Education Companies" by Sina
• www.jianshe99.com: "2010 Top Ten Online Education Brands" by Sohu
• www.zikao365.com: "2010 Ten Best Online Education Companies" by EOL
• www.chinalawedu.com: "2010 Ten Best Online Education Companies" by EOL
• www.g12e.com: "2010 Ten Best After School Tutoring Companies" by EOL
• Hangzhou XinLiXiang: "2010 Ten Best Gaokao Retake School" by EOL
• Zhengbao Yucai: "Best Innovative Player in Education Industry" by Sohu

About China Distance Education Holdings Limited

China Distance Education Holdings Limited is a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education. The courses offered by the Company through its websites are designed to help professionals and other course participants obtain and maintain the skills, licenses and certifications necessary to pursue careers in China in the areas of accounting, law, healthcare, construction engineering, information technology and other industries. The Company also offers online test preparation courses to self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees and to secondary school and college students preparing for various academic and entrance exams. In addition, the Company offers online foreign language courses, offline GaoKao retake courses and offline business start-up training courses. For further information please visit http://ir.cdeledu.com.

SOURCE China Distance Education Holdings Limited