Li Jing on Chinese New Year traditions

January 31, 2011 Admin 0 Comments

Li Jing is an award winning TV Host/Journalist/Blogger with experience at NBC, CBS, UN & the largest Chinese TV service. She has appeared on MSNBC, Tyra & interviewed Angelina Jolie & Michael Phelps.

ASIANCE: What are you working on now?

Li Jing: After the super successful Dare To Dream celebrity media party on Jan 26, I received so many media and business requests from US and China! I am busy with reporting, setting up exciting business and media projects and help an upcoming Charity event!

I am meeting with investors, advisors about business development for Cultureli.com. We want to build a global online and TV portal for anything fun, international and inspirational, starting with China and US. It’s like a global “Oprah,” with more fashion, culture and business content that’s practical and unique for our audience.

I am also reporting news for the largest TV wire service in China called Xinhua (chinaview.com) based in New York. It airs to 200 stations in China and has 120 bureaus around the world. Its website has more than 800 million hits a day so it’s really exciting to share stories from New York with millions of viewers in China. It also helps me to build a great relationship with the largest media service in China and understands better about the needs of Chinese audience.

Helping Asian culture and our community is also my top priority because I know what’s like to be without category_idance and help. I want to be the voice for those in need of help. I am helping organize and am invited to host the China ShenZhen Golden Bell Youth Choir Concert at Lincoln Center on Feb 4 which will be a phenomenal performance. (http://www.cssany.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69%3A-24&catid=37%3Acommunity-events&Itemid=62) On Feb 5, I will speak at Animal Care & Control Fundraiser to help raise money for NYC’s Shelter Animals. (http://love4animals-rss.eventbrite.com/)

ASIANCE: What are some Chinese New Year traditions that you and your family celebrate?

Li Jing: DUMPLINGS!!! And our whole family makes them together from making the wraps, preparing the vegetables to boiling it! It was one of the most fun, fulfilling and heart warming experience I had. I not only learned to make something from the scratch, but also learn about teamwork and sharing. It tastes super good when you know you made it!

I also love to watch the CCTV New Year’s Gala which is one of the most watched programs in China with an estimated 700 million audience based on wikipedia. One tradition I love and am bit scared of is, the firecrackers at midnight–it’s like a storm and it was amazing to see the whole sky lighted up, but it was also scary because it’s everywhere and can injury you.

ASIANCE: what is your favorite part about Chinese New Year?

Li Jing: My favorite part about Chinese New Year is to be with my family and everyone would make a New Year’s wish. I also love the tradition of visiting friends and relatives on the days following thew New Year. It was fun to pick out gifts and meet your loved ones, there are always lots of nuts, desserts and candies =) It’s such a bounding experience!!

ASIANCE: What are your favorite chinese new year dishes?

Li Jing: DUMPLINGS!! or in Chinese “Jiaozi.” We have a Chinese saying that “There is nothing better than dumplings.” Many people didn’t know that dumplings were also used as a medicine in ancient China so it’s easier to boil the herbs. But now we have all the delicious ingredients! Some history book says the name “Jiaozi” is from the ancient time counting method in China. People eat dumplings stuffed with meat and vegetables between 11 pm and 1 am to celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of the New Year.

ASIANCE: Who is the best cook in your family?

Li Jing: My mom! She can make five amazing dishes easily all by herself. I remember I would go to supermarkets and farms with her to see her pick up all the ingredients and vegetables, then half an hour later, you got five delicious food. She just knows what she wants and gets things done, especially in the kitchen!

ASIANCE: Do you believe in the zodiac? What are some of your predictions and hopes for the coming year?

Li Jing: I love to read about zodiac and believe there are many good reasons in it. My birthday is Jan 18 which is on the cusp of both American and Chinese zodiac signs. Many of the characteristics fit me well. For Chinese zodiac, the character of the animal represent the character of people who were born under that sign, and it has thousands of years of history, so I think it’s worth reading, but I am a big believer in making your destiny with your own hands =)

Because I am a Capricorn, I am very ambitious and have many goals.

My biggest hope (s) for the coming year are
1 Win Paradise Hunter global TV Host contest and host a fantastic show that airs in US, China, Canada and many countries globally such as Travel Channel, OWN, STYLE, National Geographic, MSNBC, CNN International and China’s CCTV and Phoenix TV.

2 Bring my website Cultureli.com to another level globally and collaborate with some of the largest websites in China to create a very unique and first class content for them. I am a celebrity VIP twitter for the largest blog site in China called sina.com. I want to share my Paradise Hunter and life adventure and learnings with hundreds of millions of people in US, China and around the world.

3 I want to write a book on my life and lessons learned as an immigrant breaking into a hard to enter media industry in the US and my social media tips learned from participating Paradise Hunter contest. It totally changed my life and I want to share these lessons with people to help them, especially in this tough economy.

4 I want to raise at least 4 million dollars for the new business over the next 2 years.

5 Ultimately, I would love to be the first native Chinese speaker to host a show on Oprah’s OWN channel about culture and immigrants because America is made of immigrants but people don’t know much about other cultures. In a world that’s more and more global and the rise of China, we need it urgently. I am multi lingual so I will not only bring the show to China but also teach Americans about authentic Chinese culture along with other cultures!

ASIANCE: Anything you’d like to have accomplished by next Chinese New Year?

Li Jing: Travel around the world for Paradise Hunter, raise $2 million dollars for the new business, sign a TV show deal with Oprah and bring the show to China and air globally.