Sorry sorry

Because Hangin' with the Huaren in the short period of this blogging project could not cover all of the Chinese Americans who have their careers or part of their careers in Greater China, we will list them here and one day in the near future give them the coverage that they ought to have:

Flora Chan -- Hong Kong actress from Boston

Jeff and Stanley Huang -- Taiwanese performers (L.A. Boyz, Machi) from Los Angeles

Justin Lo -- Cantopop pop singer from New York

Khalil Fong --  Hawaii-born soul singer based in Hong Kong

Joanna Wang -- Taipei-born folk singer raised in Los Angeles

Know any more? Leave a comment, and I'll add your suggestion to the list!

Updates

Hi, everyone!

Progress on this blog had to be postponed because of some personal issues, but now it is going to begin again! Probably very slowly, as I am presently in Mainland China and am on Blogger through UI's Virtual Private Network. Video links from now on will mostly be from Youku or Tudou, but I will definitely be looking for ways to access YouTube.

Life in China has been eventful and enriching; maybe this is cliché, but I am really learning a lot about Chinese people and about myself here. And, everything that we discussed in Chinese Pop Culture class I am able to experience and apply firsthand. It makes me feel knowledgeable, in touch with Chinese people, and not a total n00b.

Lots of surprises!

AND LOTS OF DANIEL WU AND LEEHOM WANG SIGHTINGS
WHICH MAKE ME REALLY HAPPY

More soon!

Salaam peace outtt <3


-- Allie

Wilber Pan

QUICK FACTS

• born in West Virginia
• moved to Taiwan when he was 7
• went to Taipei International School and then California State Polytechnic University to study mass communications
• entered a singing contest in 2000 and got attention from Andy Lau's manager
• began his career as a a Taiwan Channel V host and actor
• has of 2009 made a total of 10 albums, the latest being 007 (2009)
  
• did the voice of Po in the Mandarin version of Kung Fu Panda!
• latest dramas are Endless Love (2010) and Pandamen by Jay Chou
• known as Pan Weibo by his Chinese fans

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When he was young, Wilber Pan wanted to be a basketball player. His parents had run a grocery store while they were living in the U.S., then moved back to Taiwan in 1987, where Will started studying bopomofo and Chinese while attending Taipei International School. There, he began to participate in school plays and found that he really enjoyed performing.

Back in the States for college, Will tried out some singing contests but didn't really have any success. One of them, however, was hosted by Sony BMG in Los Angeles, and while he didn't place in the finals, that was where Andy Lau's manager discovered him.

Leehom Wang

QUICK FACTS

• born in Rochester, NY
• parents immigrated to NY from Taiwan
• attended Williams College and Berklee School of Music
• received a recording contract after entering a talent contest in Taiwan while visiting his grandma in 1995
• has since made 13 albums + one Japanese album
• was one of the torchbearers for the Beijing Olymic Games and performed at the closing ceremony
• began his acting career in a Hong Kong action movie and has since worked with Ang Lee and Jackie Chan
• latest projects are his directorial debut Love in Disguise and a new album, The Eighteen Martial Arts

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Leehom is everywhere in Greater China!





Visiting China since 2001, I'd always wondered why this one person was on every bottle of Wahaha mineral water. I just couldn't understand who would want to be Wahaha's human mascot and assumed that he was either a Taiwanese drama heartthrob or a popstar.

It turns out that Wahaha, the hugest Chinese water & beverages company of all time, was looking for a new young singer's face to represent them, and at the time, Leehom already had a solid fanbase in Taiwan and was looking to expand his audience to Mainland China.

Kaiser Kuo

QUICK FACTS

• born in New York
• graduate of U.C. Berkeley and University of Arizona
• was a part of the band Tang Dynasty from 1988-1999
• currently in the band Spring and Autumn and AC/DC tribute band, The Dirty Deeds
• has written for the Red Herring and has a column in the The Beijinger
• was director of digital strategy for Oglivy China
• is now Baidu's director of international communications
• lives in Beijing with his wife Fanfan and two kids

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Hotties.

Kaiser Kuo (Guo Yiguang) was born in 1966 in New York to immigrant parents and grew up listening to the Who, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and others that would totally influence his life as a musician and writer.