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If you have Chinese in your family you probably have Jin Xing in your living room. For the past year my TV and its iTalkBB streaming service have been playing her talk shows round the clock. (iTalkBB has a referral program, if you use my link, I will get a hot pot for two that sign up!)
The FT recently profiled her and her Shanghai residence.
Her biography stretches back to her dance career, rank as an army colonel, first person to be approved by the Chinese government for sex change to a women, and more. Several years ago she had an edgy talk show that the government authorities tired of. Her latest show is a huge phenomenon in China, trouncing all other talk shows. Her wit is sharp and clever.
This segment from a year ago plays on two themes. First is the often better service treatment foreigners (at least white foreigners) get in China. Second is the coarse voice and language that is emitted from many Beijing/Northern Chinese women which jars in contrast to their beauty and demeanor.
We could not locate a version with English subtitles, though I think you can follow along.
Jin Xing opens discussing the Air China flight attendants of statuesque beauty asking customers in excellent English their drink orders.
Then it changes to abrupt, curt Mandarin, something like, “Whatta you have?”
She has the aha moment that the difference is treatment of foreigners versus Chinese, so when she gets the same brusque query, feigns to not speak Chinese.
The punchline is that when she gets the flight attendant to switch to English, she shouts back in thick Beijing accent, “orange juice!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofGx1Vb4E_Q
Here are several celebrities riffing on the Air China orange juice skit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa3WTBlvhSQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxIcvifgnJM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unOaUHaP-x8
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agree with Pablo that title is improper and need to more sophisticated… “The (only) China trans-sexual tv Host Air China Skit That Went Viral”
@Shannon – an ‘Eats, Shoots &, Leaves’ dilemma how to word it.
and don’t you know all Chinese TV stations are free streaming online and you can send a VOIP device to your family in China?
@Shannon – that all depends on family on both sides of the Pacific going to a little more effort, and my mother-in-law not obsessively turning off all electricity all the time and shutting off the internet. They are happy paying the fee for what both see as convenience with phone and TV and replaces our home phone.
I have to say iTalkBB is a terrible product. Returned in two weeks and never again.
[…] and notes from around the interweb: The China Sex Change Talk Show Host Air China Skit That Went Viral. Air China as an allegory for how East Meets West in modern […]
This blog remains one of the best worldly reads for any traveler – thanks. The skit is very reflective of similar scenes I’ve seen when traveling in that region. Did not know of this person, now I do.
@Pablo – I tried different ways to word the title without getting too long, the intention was not to say the talk show is about sex change rather that the sex change is a key part of the host’s identify, I will think of another way to phrase it.
I have been meaning to post this one for some time, while not timely in China, for the travelers outside China this is probably new so thought I would share.
This went viral for a little over a year ago. She is fabulous! But I am not comfortable with you referring to Jin Xing, this brave transgender woman’s talk show as a “sex change show”, as the talk show is about entertainment & social issues but not sex change.