Dashan Online is primarily targeted at a Chinese-speaking audience. This English section merely provides a general introduction.
Who is Dashan?
Dashan, AKA Mark Rowswell, has been called “the most famous foreigner in China”, where he has worked as performer, television host and cultural ambassador for over 20 years.
Born and raised in Canada, Rowswell became interested in Chinese performing arts, particularly xiangsheng 相声, a popular form of comic dialogue, while studying at Beijing University. A chance opportunity to appear on television suddenly gave Rowswell national exposure under the stage name “Dashan”, and repeated appearances on programs with audiences in the hundreds of millions turned “Dashan” into a household name across China. …more
What Does He Do?
Dashan is one of the leading freelance emcees in China, both for television and live events, especially for programs and events with an international theme. Dashan also works as a freelance performer in drama and comedy and has produced and hosted numerous educational programs, both to teach English and Chinese. In addition, Dashan does promotional work for both commercial clients and charitable causes.
Dashan is also active in public speaking, sharing his experiences in learning Chinese, on cross-cultural issues and on his personal experience as a media figure in China. Dashan also maintains two popular micro-blogs in China that explore cross-cultural topics and are followed daily by over 2 million subscribers. Follow these at Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo, or simply on the “Kan Dashan” blog on this site.
Dashan was Team Attaché for the Canadian Olympic team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. During Expo 2010 in Shanghai, Dashan served as Commissioner General for Canada. In 2012, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper named Dashan as Canada’s Goodwill Ambassador to China.
