Dr. Chris Brown, one of the stars of Bondi Vet, was recently in Beijing to film segments for his show at the International Center for Veterinary Services (ICVS). Bondi Vet follows Dr. Chris and his colleague Dr. Lisa Chimes as they treat animals both out of veterinary practice in Sydney’s Bondi Beach and across Australia. Before coming to Beijing, Dr. Chris traveled to Chengdu to meet pandas. Over the weekend, we spoke to him between takes about his time at ICVS and pet culture in China.

Tell us briefly what you’ve been up to in the past few days.
I’ve had a couple of days that have been very much out of the ordinary for me. I normally work as a vet in Sydney by the beach in Bondi, and treat dogs, cats, cows, horses, kangaroos, koalas, and all sorts of Australian animals. The last few days, I’ve been working in a vet clinic in Beijing treating everything from hamsters to snails to turtles – all sorts of very Chinese pets that have absolutely had my head spinning. But I’ve loved every second.

Snails? Seriously?
Absolutely, yeah. A lovely couple were very concerned about their son’s snails that had shells that were cracking. We were able to diagnose a calcium deficiency in the snails and turned those little snails’ lives around.

I think that’s the cutest thing I’ve heard all weekend.
You don’t get told about that in vet school, so for me to be able to encounter that situation and try to make it better – it really reminds me of the fact that no matter what the pet looks like, to someone it is everything. So if you can make that everything somehow better, then it means the world to these people. It’s great.

Why did Bondi Vet want to come to China?
We’re always looking for different challenges and to be able to show people what pets people have all around the world. The idea of coming to China was floated and I had the opportunity to do some work with some pandas. So really, it was very easy to say “yes” in the end because those are not opportunities that come along very often.

Did Mary [Peng from ICVS] find you guys directly?
We actually had a researcher who was looking for vet clinics to be based out of. We spoke to a few people and everyone kept saying that ICVS were the go-to guys in Beijing when it came to pets. It was a very beautiful thing – very collaborative – and we were looking to help each other out. I learned about Chinese pets and I was able to teach them a few things about the animals we have in Australia.

What have you enjoyed the most so far?
Just the cultural moments where you understand something about their world and they learn something about yours. I was able to come across all these animals that I was never able to treat before. In Australia, you’re not even allowed to have hamsters so I got to see my first hamster. People come to China to see pandas; I was just excited to see a hamster.

What have you learned that surprised you?
Probably a lot more Mandarin than I ever knew before. [Laughs] I think the fact that, even though Beijing is such a big city that has 20 million people, even in amongst all the congestion, there are pets there – and there’s lots of them. I think China has the biggest pet population in the world, so there’s a lot of animals and there’s an interest in having all sorts of new animals. For me to be able to come in and help out all sorts of creatures, that’s been a real honor for me.

I imagine you and Mary have been talking about the stray problem here and how the municipal government tries to counter that by having dogs registered.
Absolutely. In Australia, many of us have big dogs; in Beijing there are restrictions around what size dog you can have and where you can have them. I’ve been able to see the capture and release program they have here with stray cats, which is fascinating and very different from what we have back home. There’s often no right or wrong way, just a matter of seeing what works in a particular area.

What differences have you observed in pet culture compared to Australia?
To be honest, not as many as I thought. In Australia the types of pets are very different, but that’s determined by the location, situation, and culture. But all the pets have a name and brighten up someone’s life, and all the owners call concerned when they’re not well. The vets step in and try to make that situation better.

You’ve already told us the snail story. Can you share another experience that you found particularly interesting here?
We had an Australian who just moved to Beijing with a big bull mastiff, around 50 kilos. The funny thing is that he noticed that his dog – who’s called Baby Girl – was scaring a lot of Chinese people. When they see his dog on the street they’ll run away or try to get away from it. This was causing a lot of distress to him but also to the dog, who was starting to get a complex about this. It was starting to create this fear that she’d never felt before.

Normally, I deal with animal behavior situations but this was more of a human behavior situation we were trying to fix. The solution we came up with – and this was incredibly successful – was to get an outfit for this bull mastiff and dress her up like a panda. All of a sudden this dog is the absolute center of everyone’s universe. When it walked in the street, everyone wanted to get to know it.

From what you’ve seen so far, what conclusions can you draw about the state of animal welfare here?
There are obviously still some challenges, but we’re talking about a culture that is rapidly maturing and developing, and a country that is growing at an incredible rate. The pets aren’t getting left behind; in fact, people seem to be embracing animals more and more as time goes on. Sure, there are things that do need to improve, but as people realize the joy that pets can bring, the idea of looking after a pet and giving it the love it needs, I think that’s only going to become a bigger part of Chinese culture.

This interview has been edited for length.

Photos: Ken

Opened on May 29, with a hyped-up ribbon cutting ceremony featuring Carina Lau (Beijing Love Story, 2046), there was undoubtedly a generous amount of excitement being shared for Madame Tussauds’ newest location. With over 170 years in the business, how is it that these meticulously crafted (and somewhat creepy) effigies of famous people are still an attraction in a world that has begun to so ruthlessly do away anything not on the cutting edge?

Perhaps what distinguishes Madame Tussauds from other wax museums set up in diorama fashion is your ability to touch or even kiss the celebrities on display. Imagine giving the finger to Vladimir Putin or striking a pose with Vogue-era Madonna. The devil is in the detail and Tussauds is famous for creating relevant lifelike personalities and promoting this sort of interactivity and fun with their sculptures.

Craig Dunkerley, head of openings for Asia and Europe, explained that you don’t just roll out a Madame Tussauds. Before they lay down the red carpet, representatives question locals about who from their country would best represent their history and culture. Beyond the big names of widely known celebs, like Lady Gaga, Brad Pitt or Kate Winslet, these people have an even bigger draw locally and won’t be found at any of the other locations. Some of these include the CEOs of Baidu (Robin Li) and Soho China (Pan Shiyi), musician Cui Jian, and film director Zhang Yimou.  

Even though the price to play isn’t cheap (RMB 170 adults, RMB 110 children), there will still undoubtedly be a steady flow of visitors due to its convenient location in the bustling tourist zone of Qianmen. Expect to spend about an hour or two engaging with these anatomically correct figures, but please refrain from removing the clothing because both you and the management would probably be a tad disappointed. This doesn’t come from experience.

Madame Tussauds
Daily 10am-9pm. 8 Qianmen Dajie, Dongcheng District (8755 9688)
东城区前门大街8号
[300m south of Qianmen station (Line 2)]

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on June 26, 2014.

Photos courtesy of thebeijinger.com

In many ways, 11-year-old Arman Darbo is like other kids his age. Born in Paris and raised in Beijing, he attended the Lycée Français, speaks fluent Mandarin, and enjoys playing football in his spare time. However, not many 11-year-olds can say they’ve met Keanu Reeves and starred in a film with rising Chinese action star Tiger Chen (陈虎). The kicker? Arman was only 8 years old at the time.

He plays one of the central characters in Kung Fu Man, a Keanu Reeves-produced film about a kidnapped American boy who gets rescued by a Chinese man. The film is slated for release across China on July 19 and co-stars Vanessa Branch (Pirates of the Caribbean), Jiang Mengjie (Dream of Red Mansions), and Chyna McCoy (Lawrence Fishburne’s stunt double in The Matrix). Kung Fu Man was shot on location in Dali, Hong Kong, and even a cruise ship to Taiwan.

The Darbos have been living in Beijing for eight years. Arman attended the French School until last year, but the family has been away from China for the past eight months and has recently just returned to Beijing. Arman’s experience with Kung Fu Man led him to take up Shaolin wushu. This summer, he will attend the Lee Strasberg Young Actors Institute in Los Angeles. beijingkids caught up with Arman and his dad, Igor, to find out what it was like to star in Kung Fu Man.

Igor, how did Arman get involved with Kung Fu Man?
The producers had started auditioning kids in Los Angeles, but could not find the right person for the role. Then, they got the idea to audition foreign kids living in Beijing. Since Arman had done commercials and TV series, a few agents introduced him to the casting director. Then he auditioned, got a call back, did another test with Tiger, and finally got the part!

What kind of projects has Arman done in the past?
Arman acted in various CCTV Kids youth series, such as “My DV Diary” and “3 Crazy Girls." After Kung Fu Man, he played the role of a Jewish refugee boy in 1942 Shanghai in a Sino-Australian coproduction entitled “Deep Sleep No More”.

When did filming begin?
We first arrived on set at the beginning of November 2009, right after Arman turned 8. We shot in Yunnan for about two months, then wrapped up principal photography in March 2010 with a week of shooting onboard a cruise ship from Hong Kong to Taiwan. Then began the long process of post-production and planning for the release date of the film [on July 19].

As a parent, what did you enjoy the most about the experience?
The intensity – seeing Arman getting into character and having a blast. We definitely got closer helping him, rehearsing, and discussing every aspect of the shoot. Being at the center of this big complicated machine and learning from actors from different backgrounds, Arman definitely gained a lot in maturity – and this was wonderful to see.

What did you worry about?
Safety was a big one, as Arman’s role was pretty physical and demanding. He found himself running and jumping on rooftops, in the middle of fierce kung fu fights, wire-cabled in the air … Fortunately, the stunt team was very professional and included He Jun, a coordinator who works with Jackie Chan on all his films. The [cast and crew]all became good friends with Arman, who was able to communicate with them thanks to his fluent Mandarin.

Arman, what was your favorite part of being in Kung Fu Man?
Flying with cables when I had to fall from high up!

What was your biggest challenge and the proudest accomplishment?
Crying for real in a car that was heading off a cliff. It was really hard because we filmed it in the very first days of the shooting, and I had to cry at the same time as the other actress.

Were you nervous before meeting Tiger for the first time?
I am never really nervous before I meet anyone. The best thing about Tiger is that he is very nice. He taught me not to complain and to believe in myself.

Do you want to continue acting?
Yes, that and becoming a professional soccer player! I hope I get more chances to play in good movies with Tiger and maybe other actors too. I like action and comedy.

Tell us about your time at the Lee Strasberg Young Actors Institute.
I took some acting classes in Los Angeles this winter at the TVI Actors Studio and really enjoyed it. This time, I signed up for an interview with Lee Strasberg Institute because they’re supposed to be the best. I was a bit nervous for the interview, but it went well and I got in. I am looking forward to the classes, especially the improv sessions and being back in Los Angeles. We’ve got yearly passes to Universal Studios and I can’t wait to go there again!

What advice do you have for other aspiring young actors?
I think that when you are a young actor, it is better to actually feel the emotions in real life instead of pretending to cry, feel mad, be extra happy, etc.

Photos courtesy of Igor Darbo

Following the emergence of online rumors on May 9 that Zhang Yimou fathered seven children in his two marriages and two relationships, state media confirmed that the authorities have started investigating the famous director. 

According to People’s Daily,Zhang Yimou may have to face a fine of RMB 160 million (USD 26 million) for breaking China’s one-child policy. The family planning policy states that all urban families must have no more than a child, with only a few exceptions. Whoever breaks the law must pay a “social compensation fee” based on their annual income.

While visiting ICVS, Jada and Willow Smith also fell in love with two stray kittens –Bonifacio and Efigenio – that were part of the animal hospital’s Trap-Neuter-Return program. They were found by the ambassador of Portugal and his wife on embassy grounds. The Smiths decided to adopt the kittens too, and returned to the US with three new family members.