Performing in China: Confessions of a White Monkey
In China, the image of white skin still pays dividends. Especially dancing white people.
Promoters for real estate opening parties spend tens of thousands of RMB to set the stage for potential homeowners. Magicians and mini-skirt wearing violin players are commonplace, but none earn even close as much as the coveted Anglo-Saxon musician/clown. The “White Monkey,” as some call the foreign performer, is the ultimate showpiece for any Grand Opening, be it for a multi-billion RMB high-tech zone or an apartment villa in the cabbage-picking boondocks.
I admit sometimes I'm jealous. I speak decent Chinese and have a bunch of college degrees from UCLA/USC. That should open a lot of doors in China but because I am Chinese and can blend in (sometimes), I am not treated like a laowai, which limits opportunities for me in China.
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