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Chinese have keen interest in American culture
October 27, 1997
Web posted at: 4:16 p.m. EST (2116 GMT)From Beijing Bureau Chief Andrea Koppel
BEIJING (CNN) -- Mosey on down to one of Beijing's Kenny Rogers' restaurants on almost any weekend night, and you'll find a setup guaranteed to make most Texans feel at home.
There's country music, Western food and even a genuine mechanical bull -- all of it designed to give curious Chinese customers a little taste of American culture.
In the fall of 1993, Chinese television tapped into the tremendous appeal of the United States when it launched its largest TV production ever and took a record number of viewers to New York City.
But in the series, titled "A Native of Beijing in New York," the stars weren't living on Park Avenue, and they certainly weren't getting rich.
While the husband worked as kitchen help, his wife slaved away in a sweatshop.
"At that time in China, there was this wave of people wanting to go abroad," explains actor Jiang Wen. "They had a lot of dreams. When we began making this show, people began finding out a lot of things weren't the way they had expected."
But even if viewers' expectations of the United States were dampened, "A Native of Beijing in New York" was still a huge hit in China. And, according to a recent survey of urban Chinese, the United States is still the most desirable country in which to study or travel.
In the almost 20 years since China relaxed its regulations on study abroad, allowing students to travel to the United States, an estimated 250,000 have earned degrees from U.S. colleges and universities.
"People in my generation, as well as older generations, actually have very warm feeling, generally, toward America and American people," said Liu Changfeng, one of those who studied in the United States.
Now 35, Liu works for an American company and splits his time between Hong Kong and his hometown, Beijing. He's among a growing number of U.S.-educated Chinese who have returned to China because the opportunities are better.
"To be a part of the taking off -- what you call the industrialization of the country -- I think it's very exciting," he said. "It's not only once in a lifetime opportunity, I think it's once in several generations."
As a member of China's next generation of leaders, both in business and politics, Liu sees himself as a bridge between East and West.
To him, it's not a clash of cultures, but rather a winning combination.
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