China's most popular blogger says he's shutting his freewheeling print magazine after just one issue because government officials appear to have blocked the printing of new editions.

Han Han, a novelist and race car driver, has amassed millions of regular readers with his sly online critiques of China's social problems and hoped to tap that audience with an arts and literature magazine, Party.

He wrote in a blog post Tuesday that Party had closed because the publisher refused to print its second issue. He said government departments were behind the closure but it wasn't clear who had halted printing or why.

China's media is tightly controlled by the government, which censors, fines or shuts publications seen to be treading on politically sensitive issues.

Wang Zi, the author of "Chorus," an article published in the first issue, speculated that lack of funds may have been the main reason for the move.

"There were so many staff members in the office, but the second issue continued to be put off. The failure to publish the magazine monthly meant daily operations were not sustainable," he said.

Many wondered how Han, whose popularity steadfastly rose along with the rise of the internet industry in China, had managed to bring out the first issue as it was regarded as a direct attempt to challenge the might of the state media, which is the only permitted source of information by the ruling Communist Party of China, (CPC).

Though Han blogged only in Chinese language, he became popular in the international media for his courage to speak up.

"His cheeky personal style, which flows throughout his books and blogs, as well as in real life, has helped him accumulate more than 306 million hits on his blog," the London Financial Times (FT) reported.

He is a professional race car driver and author, best known for tackling sensitive issues in China without getting into serious trouble with the authorities, the Global Times said in its report today.

"His magazine, whose Chinese name means 'a chorus of solos,' was first printed on July 6, 15 months after Han started planning for the monthly publication," it said.

Han was nominated among the 100 most influential persons of the world by Time magazine along with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actress Sandra Bullock and singer Lady Gaga.

"An avid rally car driver, he writes a mega-popular blog that pokes fun at prominent cultural figures and incompetent officials," Time said in its commentary on him.

Han told The New York Times earlier this year that "the government wants China to become a great cultural nation, but our leaders are so uncultured."

"If things continue like this, China will only be known for tea and pandas," he said.

Asked what he would do if his writings were banned by the authorities, Han told the NYT, "I'll just become a better driver."

Xu Zhiyuan, a columnist in China, said in an article earlier this year that Han's criticisms and mockery of the government allowed people to feel that they can play a role in challenging and changing the society.

"In reality, though, the sarcasm Han uses is a sugar-coated form of criticism and serves only to anesthetise the readers," Xu said.

Zhang Xiaobo, a publisher said although he may not agree with many of Han's opinions, he felt sorry for disappearance of the Party magazine, calling it a loss to China's publishing industry.