Yang Lan Confident Cultural Envoy

About Yang Lan

Born in 1968 in Beijing, she graduated from the Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1990. From 1990–94, she was the host of the Zheng Da Variety Show on China Central Television. After she received a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, she worked at Phoenix TV from 1998–99.

In 1999, with her husband, Bruno Wu Zheng, she started her own media company, Sun Television Cyber Networks (Sun TV). Now she hosts television programmes related to Olympic Games.

 

When Yang Lan was serving as a bidding ambassador for the Olympic Games, her main task was to introduce new Beijing and its culture. Now she focuses on promoting Olympic culture in China, producing and hosting Olympic programmes on TV.

 

Beijing 2008: You participated in Beijing’s two bids in 1993 and 2001. How did you feel on the evening when everyone was celebrating the one-year countdown to the 2008 Games?

Yang Lan: How time flies! I feel quite lucky that I took part in the two bids. They were important experiences in my life. Now I’m more confident in introducing Beijing to the whole world.

There were two completely different scenes in 1993 and 2001, when China lost and then won the bid. What are your unforgettable memories of the two bids?

It was quite shocking to me when we lost the bid in 1993 for hosting the 2000 Games. There were many misunderstandings about China in foreign countries, and we knew too little about them. Many foreigners thought that China’s bid was only a governmental move, instead of representing a wish of Chinese people. And the government then thought misunderstandings could be cleared if many people were mobilized to express our passion. However, our communication was not effective.

The successful bid in 2001 was a national honour, and I felt extremely excited and proud. People were jubilant and cheering: nobody noticed that I made a mistake in saying a person’s name when hosting the celebration party.

When you took part in the second bid, your younger daughter was only three months old, and you had to leave her at home. Have you ever told her about this?

She is in primary school now. Her grandmother and I told her about this, and she laughed, “Oh, I had made contributions to the Beijing Olympic Games.” But I still feel sorry for her.

Now she and my other children are all interested in sports. In my spare time, I like to play tennis with them and watch cartoons such as Tennis Prince with them. I really hope that I can take them to see next year’s Games.

You were responsible for the statement on ‘Olympism and Culture,’ about how China promotes Olympic culture and how Chinese culture enriches Olympism. How did you make your preparations?

My statement used ideas from many experts, including He Zhenliang and PR consultants from Australia. We discussed how to express our ideas in a way that would be more easily accepted by foreign judges. 

At the beginning, I wanted to talk about The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as the introduction, because tiger and dragon are powerful creatures in China. But Mr. He and the Australian consultants disagreed, saying the two creatures were sometimes considered evil in the West. Later we used the example of cuju, a football game in ancient China.

I feel that the biggest change comes from China’s economic development. We feel more confident and have more effective ways to communicate with foreigners.

What do you gain from the bidding work? How does this experience influence your life?

I feel quite honoured that the Olympic Games is to be held in China, especially while I’m in the prime of life. Everyone is looking for their value and happiness. The 2008 Olympic Games helps me find my value.

I’ve done a lot of work on the Olympic Games. Cooperating with BOCOG and BTV, the Sun Media Group is hosting a programme on soliciting Olympic songs. And I’ve hosted many Olympic-related programmes. I’m also a judge of music for victory ceremonies and entry of athletes.

You were one of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games torchbearers in Beijing. How did you feel? Do you want to be a torch bearer for the 2008 Olympics? If possible, which route do you expect to run?

It was quite exciting. I did exercises to prepare for the torch relay although I only ran a very short distance. If I have the chance, it doesn’t matter which route I will run in 2008.

What do you think of Beijing’s preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games? What are your suggestions for improvement?

I’ve written in my blog that the 2008 Olympic Games has gained wide support from the government and the public. I believe there will be no problems in terms of hygiene, traffic and venue construction. I hope people will pay more attention to their manners and to cultural traditions. What we’ve done today is not just for the Olympic Games, but more for ourselves and descendants.

In your opinion, what kind of impression will the Beijing Olympic Games leave on athletes, officials, and spectators from around the world?

I think the most important things to do to leave a good impression is to have professional organization of competitions, good services, and a comfortable environment in terms of infrastructure and culture.

There will be tens of thousands of overseas athletes, officials and tourists. It will be a good opportunity to introduce China to the whole world, but there are possibilities that our shortcomings will be seen. I think there will be praise and criticism, both of which we should be happy to accept. We should exhibit the real China, which will be more helpful.

You are a woman with successful career and happy family life. How do you plan your time?

It’s indeed a difficult question. Recently I’ve read an American book Secret, in which people like psychologists and writers all believe that a strong desire can become a reality. I agree. As when people have the will, they make their best efforts to realize it. Often, one tells their family members or friends about this, and they get help from them.

When one has a strong desire to do something, the second important thing is to plan the time. I ask my secretary to help schedule different sections of time for different people. For example, every day I have special periods of time for my children. I try to dine with friends and customers at lunch time. Dinner time belongs to my children and me. If meetings have to be held late, I prefer them to take place after 9 p.m., as I can accompany children watch cartoons and make handcrafts. I try to limit my business travel time within one week every month. I find that it won’t be so difficult to manage the time if one plans well. I believe there can be a balance between family life and work.