China General

Big in China

Last night I co-hosted the company annual dinner (as the token foreigner). Like the previous one, it was a pretty big occasion with over 500 employees crammed into a massive banquet hall to enjoy three hours of variety shows,  eating and drinking. Talking in front of such a large crowd for the first time was pretty nerve-wracking but it seemed to go OK and the audience got a laugh out of my pigeon-Mandarin attempts.

Company Annual Dinner

I hadn’t noticed until yesterday just how much taller I am compared to the average Chinese person here! You can guess which I am in the top picture but at 5’10” (178cm) I’m not exactly a giant either. Surprisingly the average Chinese male is 5’8″ (172cm) compared to the average US male who is 5’9″ (175cm) – not a huge difference and apparently the gap is fast closing.

In case you’re wondering the strange looking face masks are to protect the identity of the innocent, Laughing Man style!

11 Comments Add New Comment

  1. echo says:

    Others couldn’t notice that it was your first time to speak in front of so many people, because you really did a great job last night.Fantastic!

  2. David says:

    Yeah, you’re definitely not anthropomorphically designed for China!

    Where I work there’s a sign on the stairs which reads “Meet Carefully” – what it should have actually said is “Low Ceiling – Mind Your Head” but by the time you’ve worked out what it means it’s too late!

    Still, better tall than short…

  3. clarke says:

    which you can understand why I have an aching back whenever I’m in China, as I’m 6’4″. Though it does make it quite easy to move through the crowds.

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