Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
This is Roundtable and my name's Steve.
Today I'm with Yun -Chi and Yushan.
Coming up, a character at a tourism spot is way more than meets the eye.
These non -player characters, or NPCs, mean a lot to the companies they represent, present a lot to the people who enjoy them as well, and they just make things a lot more fun and engaging when people get out to have some fun.
We'll talk about that.
And then after that, you've had a long week, and I know what you're thinking.
Steve, I could really use a smile on my face to kickstart my weekend, you know?
Don't worry, we've got you covered.
Roundtable's happy place is guaranteed to do just that.
And speaking of which, how about you share your happy place with us, why not get in touch and tell us about something fun or cool or maybe romantic that happened to you recently?
We'd love to hear your summertime stories.
You can find us at Roundtable China on Apple Podcasts.
And please don't forget, we want to hear from you with those stories or any other thoughts that you may have on the things that we discuss here on the show.
Here's how you get in touch. Roundtable Podcast at QQ .com.
One more time, Roundtable Podcast at QQ .com.
And now. From film sets to ancient streets, a new travel trend that's turning tourists into storybook characters in China, real people acting as NPCs or non -player characters, just like the ones you see at Disneyland or Universal Studios.
But these are different in the sense that they're rooted in China's rich history and culture.
These live actors bring stories to life.
They make your visit unforgettable.
But are these NPCs just here for a short time?
Is it more of a viral thing than a game changer for tourism?
Let's chat about it.
These are fun, right?
And we see them here in China, these NPCs.
I feel bad using that term because we're talking about human beings here, right?
Yes. Yeah. So let's drop that term for the rest of our discussion.
But yes, that's exactly what they are.
They're non -player characters.
They're dressed up.
They're playing a role.
We see them here in China.
We see them at different spots around the world and they just make things a lot more engaging and they're becoming a hot thing now here.
We know that sometimes non -player characters, they refer to, well, that's where it's originated from, isn't it?
It referred to gaming sets where you go and talk to such an NPC character in the game, in the video game, and get a quest, finish it, and go back and deliver the quest and get some very nice equipments from them.
But here we're talking about the real person, the actors who take on roles such as an animated figure or it can be just very localized just people or say roles that can bring you immersively into where you're traveling to or sometimes historic figures like warriors imagine that in terracotta I didn't see any NPCs there not yet but yeah sometimes even mythical beings like the monkey kiki king but unlike um a quick selfie with characters like elsa or spider -man these um non -player characters they chat with you they act out scenes who are invite you into the plot it's all about turning a stroll into
a live theater sometimes the mbc they don't talk to you they just be there yeah and drag you into that scene i was gonna say sometimes they chat with you but sometimes they don't right depending on the role that the actor is playing and yeah Yeah, these are kind of like the costumed Disney characters or the Marvel characters that you'll see in theme parks.
But maybe these are more about the storytelling and the interaction.
What do you think, Yoon Chi?
Have you seen these characters out and about during your travels?
I'm the kind of person that when I visit the theme parks, I'm always there for the rides, for the roller coasters.
But I know there are actually a lot of people that actually go to these theme parks just to take a photo with these NPCs, because when I was in Disneyland about a few months back this year, and when I was looking at the Disneyland app, looking for the rides with the shortest waiting time and queue, and then I could see that somewhere...
Those don't exist. Well, you can always look for the best place to go But at the same time I can also see on the other corner of the park There are people waiting for over two hours Just to take a photo with Squirrel like character Squirrels are the best What's a squirrel Disney character?
I think it's from Cinderella I only remember the Chinese name of their character Is Linna Beyer That's not a squirrel Spurl, that's a pink fox.
And that only explains that I'm not that type of people, right?
But now these days that these NPCs, you can probably say that they kind of started from these Western IPs, right?
Disneyland, Universal Studios.
But now they are also starting to appear in the local domestic theme parks.
For example, where?
My example comes not really in the theme park, But when thinking about theme parks, I can think of the Universal Resort in eastern Beijing, where I met just cats in the boots.
Yeah, that's my favorite character.
He actually waved at me when just like doing like a...
Antonio Banderas did the voice of that character, I believe, in the films. Apparently, I'm not the only fan here.
But yeah, it's their job to wave at people.
But here in China, the roles of NPCs, it can sometimes be a bit different.
For example, in the Shennongjia in Hubei province, that's in central China, this whole Shennongjia area is known for natural reserve, biodiversity and just decade old local myths about such a mysterious creature called the we call the the wild man, or sometimes it's compared as some Bigfoot or a Yeti in Western cultures.
So instead of finding a real wild man, this tourist site, they hired someone to dress up in all fur covered and perhaps leather -made dresses and vests, and just grunting through the woods and silently accepting the bananas if you are willing to offer it to him or her.
Oh, so there's an example of no chat, right?
Yeah, they're not allowed to talk.
Of course, because a Yeti can't talk.
Or I'm not sure if they're allowed to make noises.
yeah but yeah banana is kind of weird they're they're wild man not wild monkeys sure anyway that's just one interesting example of how nbcs are in china what about happy valley that's a popular place for people to go yeah yeah happy valley is more of a say a branded franchise is in beijing apparently there's one in tianjin too tianjin is um it's very close to beijing it's another city but in the happy valley in tianjin they are dressed as humorous imperial imperial palace characters I would imagine that's from the Qing dynasty long robes and everything looks so noble and expensive pricey in a way
and they have powdered face elaborate costumes and all the exaggerated charm of a palace comedy so that's what NPCs are doing that's I will say Happy Valley is not really a theme park it's more of an amusement park but they're featuring such roles just so that the visitors can have a bit more fun understood why do you think people i mean this is a big hit these days why do you think people are enjoying these characters so much that's what you should just set there just put there to for people to have more fun i think this is kind of like a evolvement of business model that in the past we have amusement
parks that people could just have enough fun just taking a ride on the roller coaster but now Now, the theme parks, they are aiming for more immersive experience.
And by introducing these non -player characters, they create a more, I don't know, a strong atmosphere that puts you like you're in one of those children's storybooks or in an adventure movie or maybe in the world of Warcraft or I don't know.
So it creates a more immersive experience.
And a lot of these non -player characters, they're also taking these Chinese characteristics.
We don't have an evil queen.
We don't have the seven dwarves here in the Chinese theme parks.
But instead, we have people dressing up as a yeti, as an imperial emperor.
That's more fit into the Chinese mythology and histories.
You know what this reminds me of?
I think it's more of a combination of subcultures like cosplaying and also niche entertainment ways such as the LARP, the live action role playing games.
So combined together now a lot of scenic spots there, just having such NPC roles, having actors to play certain characters in order for the, say, the scenic spot to gain more traction.
It comes alive. Yeah, exactly.
Exactly, to make it come alive and also just attracting tourists not only for their natural beauty, but also the interactiveness of such scenic spots.
For example, in Hebei's Wuzhishan, that's the Five Finger Mountain, it features a performer that plays Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.
Because Wuzhishan, back in the literature in Journey to the West, that's where the Monkey King was held captive for 500 years.
It's like, you're arriving in Wuzhishan, so here's your Moonpic King!
That's an easy job.
He doesn't, the actor doesn't even have to stand up.
He just needs to lie there and then get paid...
Just get under a bunch of mountains.
Maybe some characters are easier than others.
Who is this famous Song Dynasty poet?
Su Shi, am I saying that?
Su Shi? Su Shi. Su Shi.
Um, Su Shi. That character recites verses under a willow tree, so that requires...
That's a more demanding job.
Yeah, a little bit.
But at least in that character, you get to show off your acting skills a little bit more.
I think it creates more of an emotional connection for the people who were there, right?
We were in Tianjin.
We weren't at Happy Valley.
But we were next to the Porcelain House on the same street.
The Porcelain House is beautiful.
It's a really cool thing if you haven't seen it before.
Yeah, it's really awesome, right?
Right. Anyway, just down the street, maybe you remember, Yunqi, there's kind of an old mansion there.
And I forget who used to live there.
I read the sign, but it escapes my memory right now.
But somebody important used to live in that mansion.
And they have these characters.
There's a balcony on the mansion.
And the characters come out in this 1920s style of fashion.
I think the guy had a cool mustache and the top hat and stuff.
And he's there waving at the crowd.
And you might think, oh, well, that's, you know, so what?
Why is that fun? but people were lined up to take pictures there and they weren't even on the ground floor they were just up above but people were taking pictures for their socials so it does make a big difference I think it does and I think nowadays a lot of viewers or visitors they're divided into two groups one is are those who are waiting to line up and take pictures the other one might be just feeling like um that's a little bit awkward but hey come on this that's what the cynics boss are are doing nowadays to attract more people.
Yeah, exactly. So the characters can have some fun.
The audiences obviously have fun.
So it's great for the audiences, great for the characters.
And it's great for the parks or wherever these characters are representing.
But speaking of representation, these characters sometimes have representation themselves.
Yeah. Sometimes they are not just working individually because behind all of these individuals are actually organizations, such as the MCN agencies, including the Huan Yin Guo Ji, which is a Chinese entertainment company, which now partner with parks such as the Happy Valley, we just mentioned, in order to recruit, recruit and train and manage such NPC talents.
So back in 2024 alone, it already provided over 300 NPCs to various parks.
And these agencies, they see NPCs as powerful assets they bring them food traffic create viral just content and help to train them to how to present themselves more comfortably and more naturally to suit um their their roles their figures so one of the agency actually had even um they even described happy valley as the star making factory nice yeah a stepping stone to uh to a further career perhaps yeah and i think some of these um npcs after they become really popular in some theme parks they actually attract a lot of fan base online right definitely with their socials yeah people are just waiting
in line just to see him or her instead of the whole crew and that's another reason to attract people to go to such scenic spots sometimes so can they last then is this a summertime fad or is this something that can really um hold on from season to season from year to year i would say that currently it's probably hard for some scenic spots to run it all year round because some places in for example winter time it gets weather condition that's really harsh for people to get go out so perhaps it's not really a good time for people for them to have npc standing out there 24 7 to attract not 24 7 but yeah
every day to attract visitors so yeah there are still some concerns Some attractions, they're also chasing hype over substance.
Like NPCs, they're sometimes reduced to just photo props instead of really giving interactions with people.
So that's something that we can think about that can perhaps enhance their work quality.
Well, I think it will definitely last because as I said earlier, it's just a better business model.
And I'm looking at these numbers from this Wanshui Shan from the city of Kaifeng that a basic ticket to this place only costs 80 yuan, about $11 U .S. But each visitor's full day spending can reach 850 yuan.
That's more than 10 times than just the basic entrance ticket into this park.
And that's a lot of thanks goes to these non -player characters -led experiences.
audiences and so it create it opens more door for people that have done acting degree you don't have to be in christopher christopher nolan movie to be famous you can also attract fame traffic followers by being in a non -playable characters and also it creates benefits for the local parks as well as the governments as well lots of fun to be had when these characters are out interacting interacting with the audiences at these hot tourist destinations.
You're listening to Roundtable.
I'm Steve today with Yushan and Yunqi.
Stay with us. We've got Roundtable's Happy Place coming up next.
Delivery. Delivery.
Delivery. What is it?
Happiness from Roundtable.
I might steal the entire Happy Place time today, if that's OK.
okay with the both no complaints what's your happy place it's making me so happy now this is going to seem like it doesn't make sense in the beginning but just bear with me for a minute my happy place is that i'm starting to get annoyed at people in beijing who are doing the wrong thing now what does that mean so we've been bicycling a lot recently right so the bicycle Bicycle lanes, I've talked about it on Roundtable before, are separated from the main traffic.
Sometimes there's a separate lane right near the traffic, but sometimes they're separated by a beautiful row of trees or something.
On the way to Waukesha.
It's so picturesque.
So these bicycle streets are one way, right?
The bike traffic goes in one direction.
But sometimes people will go in the opposite direction on their bicycle or their scooter.
They're going the wrong way on a one -way street.
Now, when we started bicycling many months ago in Beijing, I felt like I was a tourist here, almost. Even though I was living here, I still felt like, hmm, I'm not going to say anything to anybody, even though they're going the wrong way.
And it's really actually quite dangerous, in my opinion.
But I still didn't say anything.
thing but now i'm this is my happy place i'm starting to feel after living here for one year that this is my city too and i want people to follow the rules so i've started complaining to the people who are going the wrong way on the one -way bicycle streets for doing the wrong thing and breaking the law you get a fine for that by the way i think it's 20 yuan i asked a police police officer one day yeah wow um so i've started but my chinese is not very good so i'm just saying like boo how boo how and i'm ringing my little bicycle it's wrong can i have my bicycle bell sound please so here i am on the streets
of beijing yeah boo how boo how i'm saying no not good not good because i don't know what else to say right but here's my point i feel comfortable doing that now because i'm feeling like this is my home and my my wife and i are feeling like beijing is our home now so that's my happy place as a fellow beijinger there's nothing happier for me to hear that yeah you feel a sense of belonging in such way that um you are taking up responsibility for just correcting the city order yeah yeah yeah like traffic control i'm like a traffic police officer Judy in Zootopia yes Steve in Zootopia in Beijing have you
ever felt that that feeling before though Yunxi I know you lived in you lived in Florida and you lived in Scotland right right have you ever felt that feeling when you were living in a foreign city or a foreign land but it started to feel like home for you I think I never felt any place was my home I'm the kind of person that I can settle everywhere so on the contrary I wouldn't think of any place as my sweet sweet home i can go anywhere but i'm curious right definitely those uh scooter drivers or bicycle cyclers that drive in the opposite direction to the traffic they are not the reason for you
to feel like home there might be at the moment that you realize that i'm taking this place as my home but what are what have been the little moments that contribute to make this city beijing more home like for you curious too when we when we started bicycling around the city it made a huge difference for us, right?
Because when you take a taxi in Beijing, oftentimes you're on one of the major ring roads and you're stuck in traffic.
Beijing traffic's really bad during certain times of the day.
Even if you're not on one of the ring roads heading from the west side to the east side, you'll often find yourself in bad traffic.
And for us, we weren't really paying attention to the city when we're driving through in a taxi.
Or if you take the subway, which we we often do, then you go down into the subway and you pop up, you know, in the neighborhood that you're visiting.
But when you take the bicycle through the city, you start to see the city as a whole, right?
You start to see the little intricate parts of the city that you didn't know about before.
For example, you know, we were out, we parked our bicycles and we were walking along a river canal and we found some people swimming in the canals and we stopped and made a little video and um that was a really sweet moment and those little sweet moments are starting to add up right on top of each other one two three four five six seven eight nine ten as more months pass and that's why it's starting to feel more like home yeah i know earlier i said i'd never take any place as my home but then i started to think that i actually i think for me personally to take one place especially a new place
of arrival to think of it as my home or more friendly is that when I start to make connections with the people locally or maybe just to assimilate to the local lifestyle and that's probably a key moment for me that to feel home alike in new place and is that the same case for you Steve that you are studying to feel too like Beijing because of the friendly loving colleagues that you have like for example the ones you're talking to right right now like right now yeah no i think it's more the bike thing that's where this question is going that's called fishing for problems how about you yushan i
mean you lived in london for a period of time did you did you ever get to that feeling or not not really for me i kind of have this notion this whole time that yeah i'm going back home as in my home my genuine home where my family is For me, where the loved ones are is my home.
And back in 2018, 2019 in London, it's totally different.
I was experiencing, I was immersing into that full lifestyle, but I didn't really count myself as belonging into that environment.
So that's something that's worth discussing and reflecting a bit more.
But yeah, I'm just, again, really happy to hear about your happy place.
Yeah, we're happy about it too.
And we've started going to the library once a week to study Mandarin, which is a really challenging but yet fun thing to do as well.
So we're really, really starting to feel like we're members of the community, I guess.
And now you can see why that was my happy place.
The lead sentence was a little bit confusing.
All right, that will do it for Roundtable today.
today. I would like to thank both of my, what were the words, loving and caring coworkers.
Yes, we are. Yunchi and Yushan for being on the show.
Thank you, as always, for your time as well.
My name's Steve. Please do join us again next time.
