The third floor of the fashionable coffee shop is empty, so when
Li Yong reaches the top of the staircase and steps onto the
landing, his entrance is greeted with silence. But Mr. Li, a
popular television host known for his flamboyant style, makes an
entrance, nonetheless.
He is dressed in a black leather jacket with studded metal
shoulders matched by studded leather pants. His white boots are
faux alligator skin. His fingernails shimmer with translucent white
polish. His famously flowing mane of brown hair is streaked with
gold highlights. He is not your typical Beijing coffee shop
patron.
"I've just come from a fitting," he offered by way of
explanation as he dropped into a large red chair, seeming a bit
tired.
In recent days, Mr. Li, 37, has juggled rehearsals, fittings and
other demands as he prepares for the annual Spring Festival Gala,
the four-hour-plus variety show to be broadcast next Saturday. The
program, perennially one of the world's most-watched shows, falls
on the eve of the Lunar New Year holiday, when Chinese families get
together to eat dumplings and, not always gleefully, watch the
gala.
There are more than 500 hosts and hostesses on CCTV," he said.
"Each of them wants to be part of the gala. I'm very honored to be
chosen."
Known for his theatrical gestures, his exuberant style and his
slightly unorthodox looks, Mr. Li is considered one of the most
popular and bankable stars among a stable of more subdued
personalities at China Central Television, or CCTV, the central
government's television network. One study publicized by state
media - though not independently verified - declared that Mr. Li
was the most valuable host in China, with a projected annual value
of $50.8 million to CCTV.
Mr Li uses a trademark punching gesture on one game show while
on another he has taken to flicking away question cards in
Lettermanesque fashion. He sometimes speaks with bits of slang even
though censors forbid hosts from using the Hong Kong or Taiwanese
accents that are popular with Chinese youth.
"I don't talk in slogans," he said. "I don't distinguish the
stage from life. My habits and flaws come out on the stage."
His big break came in 1998 when he was host of a game show
called "Lucky 52." He had never imagined himself a television
celebrity, growing up in the remote western region of Xinjiang. His
parents had moved there to heed the "patriotic call" from the party
to develop the west. Mr. Li said his fondest childhood wish was to
get away. "I just wanted to get away from parents and family, have
an independent life and do as I pleased," he recalled.
His chance came when he enrolled at the Communication University
of China in Beijing. He graduated in the early 1990's, when the
competition for jobs was less fierce than it has become, and was
assigned a job at CCTV. He worked on the news side as a reporter
and producer, but it was his shift to entertainment that made him
famous.
He said his style on "Lucky 52" - his sweeping hair, his
stylized attire and his loose on-air demeanor - was so unorthodox
that scholars invited him to attend a conference to discuss whether
he should be encouraged or if the show should be canceled. But
these days, many commentators have come to see his style as far
preferable to that of hosts who seem to be stiffly reciting
memorized lines.
"The concept of hosting has changed," said Wang Xiaofang, a
prominent journalist who covers the entertainment industry. "Now
the audience expects to see brains, technique and charm."
Mr. Li is still the host of "Lucky 52," as well as two other
programs. He said he had sometimes studied British game shows but
did not actually watch much television. He lives in one of the
fashionable apartment developments in downtown Beijing with his
wife and their 3-year-old daughter. His wife, a college sweetheart,
is a CCTV producer who is often credited in helping her husband's
rise.
The foibles of China's television and movie stars feed the
growing corps of paparazzi, but Mr. Li and other CCTV stars are
expected to keep a relatively low profile. He reportedly bristled
over articles about his Porsche. He was also once scolded in the
news media after he was photographed smoking in public, a habit
shared by most men in China.
This will be the fifth consecutive year that Mr. Li has been a
host for the Spring Festival Gala. When it started in 1983, the
show attracted almost every person with a television set. But with
growing competition and changing public tastes, it has steadily
lost viewers, even though it still is believed to have an audience
of a few hundred million people. Often, the show is playing in
Chinese households, even if no one is watching.
Producers, eager to attract younger viewers, have signed up
popular singers in recent years. But Mr. Li emphasized that the
show also had political, social and cultural "responsibilities,"
given that it is expected to announce the government's theme for
the year. For 2006, it is harmony, a reflection of President Hu
Jintao's call for a "harmonious society."
Mr. Li said his role on the program was that of a tailor,
stitching one performance to another. By comparison, "on my own
programs, I am a king," he said, laughing at his own joke.
He said he had tried out a new gesture to match his trademark
punch -- blowing kisses.
(China Daily January 23, 2006)
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