A daily news publication will debut in Beijing Tuesday – the first giveaway paper distributed at the city's massive public transportation stations.

The metro daily was developed from an earlier entertainment paper, the Star Daily. This 16- to 32-page daily will be distributed to subway passengers for free from Monday through Friday, according to the Beijing Evening News.

Subway papers have grown in importance in Western countries over the past several years. However, they weren't introduced into China until 2003 when the first metro paper appeared in Shanghai.

"We believe the subway newspaper will become a new culture. As the development of subway is speeding up, more and more people will come to like our publication," said Mei Ninghua, president of Beijing Daily Newspaper Group.

As one of the titles under the Beijing Daily Newspaper Group, the subway daily has a circulation of 200,000 to 300,000. Prior to the Beijing Olympic Games next August, it expects to expand further by the Beijing Olympic Games next August, CCTV reported.