Britain's Prince William wished everyone happy Chinese New Year in Mandarin, in a video message ahead of his first visit to China.

He starts the minute-long clip, posted on Feb 18 on the YouTube channel of the British monarchy, by saying hello to viewers in Mandarin.

He then speaks in English about cultural exchange between Britain and China, before ending with Chinese New Year well-wishes in Mandarin again.

The message was broadcast on China Central Television's (CCTV) national evening news, ahead of the country's annual televised New Year gala, which was watched by 704 million people in 2014.

The Telegraph reported that Chinese netizens praised Prince William's Mandarin, and it embedded a post from one writing on Weibo: "People always go on about his hairline, but his Chinese is great."