beijing opera singing delivery guy in new york city

spotted: gossip girl in china

(gossipx.cn is a popular Chinese gossip girl fan site with spoilers, lookbooks, and show gossip)

I never would have guessed that Gossip Girl would be a huge hit in China. But I'm here and it is. Everybody talks about Serena and Nate and the headband Blair wore last week. Perhaps the most interesting thing I've heard/read about Gossip Girl here came from an interview The China Business Network did with Tom Melcher, the founder of Kemeixin (www.kemeixin.com), an American-owned education counseling service in Beijing. I've pasted an excerpt of the interview (see below) where Tom talks about how Gossip Girl (and movies like Animal House) affect the perceptions and expectations that Chinese parents and students have about studying abroad in America.

[TCBN interview excerpt]

TCBN: As a way to conclude our conversation today, when we talk about schools or your own counselors’ ability to convey a sense what the reality will be like on the ground for students in the U.S., conveying an understanding of America, American life for them, what is cliché these days and what are you finding most impactful, that really you can see it registering in their minds, like I’m getting a sense of what I am going to encounter when I get over there?

Melcher: Well, put it this way the number one TV show among young 17-24 year-old women in China is “Gossip Girl.” This is a show that is not available in China, it’s only available through pirated versions online. Truly it is the number one show in that demographic. If you ask any young, hip, urban Chinese woman, she could tell you exactly what’s going on in the lives of those “Gossip Girls.” Any society outside the United States sort of sees the U.S. through the prism of Hollywood, and that is a perfect example. And that is set in a school, so of course there expectations are it’s going to be like that. But there have been other movies, the most notorious is Animal House. There are many Chinese kids and families that come to me and said “is Animal House true?” And I always smile at the question. When I first came to China twenty-something years ago, there wasn’t even enough of global awareness to ask the question, they just assumed it was true. But now I am delighted by this question, because it shows that people are much more discriminating consumers, and they understand there is some real possibility in fact it may not be true. And they are coming to somebody who they are in a position to trust and asking for a real take. So these stereotypes exist, but it’s exciting to watch how quickly society is progressing and how much more discerning Chinese consumer are about education.
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I think students who come to the USA for high school with Gossip Girl expectations will be sorely disappointed. We had one exchange student in my Fairborn, Ohio high school. He was from Korea and I guarantee his prom wasn't a masquerade ball and his weekends didn't involve dancing at A-List clubs. Can anyone actually relate to Gossip Girl?

-mk

china institute: humanism in china photography exhibit

Photo from an exhibit at the China institute showing workers at a backyard furnace smelting metal

Last week I went to the China Institute to see a documentary photography exhibit titled Humanism in China: a Contemporary Record of Photography. The photos on display were taken by Chinese photographers during the 20th century and document the radical change the country underwent during this time. Most of the photos are of normal people in rural villages. They show a rare glimpse into what was going on in China during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. One particularly amazing photo (see above) shows men smelting metal in a "backyard furnace" in the countryside. I knew that during this mid-century time in China's history, country folk with no prior steel production experience were required to smelt metal. While other people who had never farmed before had to grow enough crops to feed many. But really seeing this in a photograph-- men climbing up a stone staircase with a basket on their back full of spoons, plates, and whatever else that they had in the village made of metal to drop in a precarious furnace-- really struck me. It's a look beyond a record of history, and into the faces and stories who wrote it.

If you're in town, check out the exhibit at the China Institute. Other amazing photos show, not tell, China's recent history. The exhibit goes until December 13th.  Below are a few photos I took from the exhibit.

-Nate 

This man and his wife's dream was to visit Tiananmen Square. She died before he could make the trip but he brought along her photo.

Photo of restaurant cook taking a break. 

  

Photo of a silk worm farmer carrying the worms in a basket on his head. 

nyc dumpling festival and eating contest highlights and recap

So, who knew the NYC Dumpling Fest was huge? I only heard about it last minute and we showed up to the Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Manhattan expecting 50-100 people and a dumpling cart or two. No. There had to be over a thousand people there even though it was raining and about ten stands selling dumplings from countries around the world (Mexican tomales, Italian gnocci, Chinese bao and potstickers, India dumplings, etc.). The festival was rockin-- Akon's album played over the speakers.

The lines for dumplings were insane. I stood in line for 45 minutes only to find out when I finally got to the front that I was not in the Chinese bao line like I wanted. I was in the whole wheat dumpling line. Who wants to wait in line for whole wheat dumplings? I don't anyway, but there was no way I was waiting in line again. It ended up being a good thing. They are actually really great. I think it's a new product-- Tang's frozen whole wheat potstickers available I know at least at Whole Foods. Try them and tell me what you think!

The largest whole wheat dumpling in the world weighing in at 786 lbs. was also on display at the festival.

Joe Menchetti (I've also seen it spelled Manchetti) won the dumpling eating contest for the fifth time in a row. I watched him stuff 53 dumpling in his mouth in 2 minutes. This was my first time to see an eating contest live and I found it kind of disgusting (see the short video we filmed below). I still can't get the image of the guy vomiting on stage out of my mind. The grand prize was $1000 for the men's and women's division. Here's a pic of the winner of the women's being interviewed. I can't remember how many she ate but I remember wondering how she could possibly fit them all in her stomach.

An interesting tidbit I picked up from the to star "athletes" who came in 1st and 2nd. Both of their scores were about 10 dumplings lower from years past. In their interviews, they attributed this to the fact that this was the first time that the dumpling were whole wheat and they were more difficult to eat. Good to know if you plan on stuffing your face.

-mary kate

nyc dumpling festival and dumpling eating contest

I just found out about the 6th Annual Chef One NYC Dumpling Festival tomorrow from 12-5pm! It's too late to register for the Dumpling Eating contest now which is a shame because I think I could have made a good run for the $1000 grand prize (or at least have beat Nate). Gentleman Joe (Joe Manchetti), the defending NYC Dumpling Eating Contest Champ, will be there to defend his title. He ate 66 dumplings in 2 minutes last year. Watch his ESPN interview on youtube. He refutes claims of performance enhancers (ha! not sure what those would be) and says that he's expecting a lot stiffer competition this year. It should be fun to see. Check out the festival deets here and maybe I'll see you there! 

-mary kate