Wan was born in a village in Wuhua County, Guangdong to a family of farmers, the second of two children; his sister was eight years his senior and used her savings to support his education. Wan took the surname of his mother. Wan walked five kilometers to a neighbouring town to attend high school. He did poorly on his first attempt at the gaokao exam and continued informal schooling, eventually earning an admission to Jiaying Teacher's College. In college Wan edited various campus magazines. After graduation Wan stayed at his alma mater as a lecturer. He met his wife at the college and they had a son. In 1986, he entered the party propaganda department in Meizhou, beginning his career in politics. In 1998 he became party chief of Jiaoling County. In 2000, he was promoted to head the provincial Communist Youth League organization. In 2008, he was Vice Governor of Guangdong Province and was part of a group working to convert the Pearl River Delta region into a "core region of modern manufacturing" to replace older factories that had been closing. He signed an agreement with ASEAN, which CCTV.com said was designed to "explore and facilitate cooperation activities in various areas including agriculture, information and communication technology, trade and investment, tourism promotion, energy and environment, education and public health." Representing Guangdong province, he signed an agreement to expand University of Macao on Guangdong's Hengqin Island, but under the jurisdiction of the Macao Special Administrative Region. He was head of Guangdong province's participation in the 2010 World Expo. In November 2010, Wan was elected as vice president of the United Cities and Local Governments. In 2011, Wan told the media that he "after working for twenty years, I have yet to buy a home. I pay rent of 600 yuan a month for a 130 square meter flat in the Zhujiang Jingdi community." Wan was widely ridiculed for this incident, as it was later revealed that a similar sized home in that very neighbourhood cost at least 4,000 yuan a month to rent. The incident earned Wan the nickname "emperor of the six hundred" online.
Investigation
In 2013, a large number of Wan's associates and subordinates were detained for investigation, including vice-mayor Cao Jianliao. On June 26, 2014, Wan appeared in a "mass line" discussion conference, emphasizing, "when you engage in self-criticism, be daring, criticize yourself, criticize each other, don't be afraid." On June 27, Wan was attending a meeting at the provincial government when he was suddenly taken away by investigators. Plans for his scheduled visit to Guangzhou University were scrapped. Wan was the third alternate member of Central Committee to be investigated for abuses since the 18th Party Congress. On June 30, Wan was dismissed from his posts as a member of the provincial Party Standing Committee and party chief of Guangzhou. On October 9, 2014, Wan was expelled from the Communist Party of China following an internal investigation. The investigations led to criminal charges of bribery. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said that Wan sought benefits for others through abuse of power, solicited and accepted large bribes, violated the "Eight-point Regulation", and often frequented private clubs. It was reported that the club he frequented in the Baiyun Mountain was closed by the authorities. At the fourth plenum of the 18th Central Committee held on October 23, the full Central Committee ratified Wan's expulsion from the body and the party itself. Wan was put on trial in Nanning in neighbouring Guangxi. During the trial, the prosecution accused Wan of taking some 111.25 million yuan in bribes personally or through an associate, in exchange for political favours or promotions. Wan Qingliang was sentenced to life in prison on September 30, 2016.
