Canadian Star on an Olympic Mission

“Beijing 2008”, Published by The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), Issue 06, April 2007.

He won’t swim or run a single metre at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but already he is the most popular Canadian you have probably ever heard of.

His face is everywhere in China and he is constantly seen on China’s nationwide TV networks.
He is Mark Rowswell, 42, better known throughout the world’s most populous nation as “Dashan”.
Born and raised in Canada, Rowswell began studying Chinese in the mid 1980s, first at the University of Toronto and later at Beijing University.  While in Beijing, Rowswell became interested in traditional Chinese performing arts, particularly xiangsheng, a popular form of comic dialogue. This blossomed into a career as one of China's best-known performers and television hosts.

And 20 years later, Dashan is still going strong.  Having diversified and developed into a multi-faceted performer and television host, Dashan is now considered a cultural ambassador between China and the West, having found common ground between the two cultures.  To many Chinese, Dashan is an international role model and a prominent bridge between “East and West”.

Apart from his career in television, Rowswell, who speaks fluent Mandarin, has also performed in several comedy and dramas, written children’s books, appeared on TV documentaries and promotions and participated in a wide variety of charity events.

Now, he has become the Team Attaché for Canada’s Olympic contingent to China next year.  Rowswell will be interfacing between the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and local groups and individuals in Beijing while assisting with Canada’s team operations during the 2008 Olympic Games.
“I think that many Canadians have at least some understanding of China and its culture but there remains a great deal of misunderstanding,” says Rowswell.

“Over the next two years, I’m looking forward to assisting members of the Canadian Olympic team to communicate more effectively with the Chinese in order to help them feel more at home in Beijing and more importantly, to help them prepare for success at the Games.”

“People in Canada may not know his name but Mark has achieved true celebrity status in China, where 8 out of 10 people recognize him as Dashan.  His stature in China will certainly open doors for the Canadian Olympic Team and help us with many of our high-performance needs prior to and during the 2008 Olympic Games,” says Chris Rudge, Chief Executive Officer of the COC.

In Canada, Rowswell will be instrumental in helping Canadian athletes, coaches and team leaders better understand China’s cultural customs by serving as a guest speaker at (among other events) the COC’s Beijing Olympic Excellence series.  The Excellence Series involves a number of high-performance workshops designed to better prepare Canada’s athletes for podium success at the Olympic Games.

Rowswell will also provide members of the Canadian media with a unique perspective on China and a better understanding of Chinese culture, as part of the COC’s Beijing Media Information Sessions, scheduled several months before the Games in 2008.

“As a popular, respected and trusted entertainer, Mark Rowswell will be instrumental in facilitating the Canadian Olympic Committee’s ongoing progress with the 2008 Olympic Games Organizing Committee,” says Sylvie Bernier, 2008 Chef de Mission and 1984 Diving Olympic Gold medalist.  “Marks’ profile within China is truly unique and his leadership will be key in helping our organization develop important relationships with members of Beijing’s community.”

Bernier discovered Dashan’s huge popularity when she was bargaining with Chinese retailers at Beijing’s silk market. She showed them the photograph of herself with Dashan and got an instant discount. Bernier shared the story with Canada’s top Olympic hopefuls when Rowswell spoke about China at the athletes’ gathering, noting how many Chinese lined up to take a photo with him.

Rowswell believes that the connection he has with the Chinese people transcends language.  It’s his image as a Canadian, a refreshing blend of honesty, integrity and a down-to-Earth, nice-guy friendliness that the Chinese revere.

“If all it took was being a tall, blond-haired guy who spoke decent Mandarin, there’d be 100 Dashans by now,” says Rowswell.  “I try to bring to the Chinese a new image of foreigners that flies in the face of the stereotypes most have grown up with.”

Today, Dashan is involved in a wide variety of activities, from hosting television programmed and live events, to dramatic acting, public speaking, publishing, education and celebrity endorsement.
Dashan played the lead role in a two-hour stage drama based on the landmark book “Red Star Over China” by American journalist Edgar Snow.  This major production, featuring a cast of over 60 people, was performed at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre.

In April 2007, “Red Star Over China” was selected as one of two plays from Shanghai chosen to participate in a national festival in Beijing marking “100 Years of Modern Chinese Drama”.
Dashan’s also played the lead role in a 24-episode TV drama, “Palace Artist”, broadcast across China through 2006 and 2007.

His star status has also been directed toward social activism.  Dashan currently appears in campaigns against smoking and suicide and he has urged Chinese citizens to reduce global warming through energy conservation.  One campaign included his recent visit to the elementary school on Beijing’s outskirts to promote a government pilot program to bring regular education to the children of migrant workers.

Ian Burchett, spokesman for the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, says: “Mark has done what few Westerners can: Make the Chinese people laugh at themselves using their own language.  His appeal is phenomenal.  It doesn’t matter what their station in life, from peasant to city-dweller, everybody wants a piece of Dashan.”

In 2004, Rowswell’s alter-ego of Dashan became the first foreigner to have been selected as one of 10 “Outstanding Youth of Beijing”, one of the highest honours granted by Beijing authorities.
“The human experience has become pretty universal,” says Mr. Burchett.  “And the main impact of Dashan is to show hundreds of millions of Chinese television viewers that, on a person-to-person level, we’re not that different after all.”