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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Shenzhen
British-South African telling people ‘how China is’
     2012-June-8  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

    Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    WINSTON STERZEL, a British-South African, has always been a warm-hearted person who likes to help others. After living in Shenzhen for about six years, the 31-year-old is finding a new way to give that help — online videos that show newcomers what Sterzel calls the real China.

    Without any advanced equipment or complicated plots, Sterzel, a medical training manager and self-employed businessman, uses his mobile phone and years of rich experience in China to help foreigners visit or learn about the country.

    So far, he has made 12 episodes for his popular video series, “China: How It Is.” The series detailing Chinese lifestyles, customs and culture has generated about 900,000 views on YouTube, with more than 1,800 subscribers.

    “It’s normally some basic knowledge about life in China, such as transportation, cost of living and food. Many people living outside China who may come to China for a trip or business, or who really want to know about real China, will send me questions and I’ll make (an episode) to help everybody have a better understanding,” Sterzel said.

    To Sterzel’s surprise, some of his videos were translated by a Chinese Web site without his knowledge and the Web site, for translation lovers, then posted his videos on youku.com and tudou.com, two of China’s largest video-sharing sites.

    Unexpectedly, Sterzel’s videos have generated wide attention among Chinese netizens. There are at least 20,000 views of each episode.

    “Most of the Chinese netizens are very positive about my videos, saying I am very objective. I don’t take a side when making these videos, I just record real China from my point of view,” Sterzel said. “Some (netizens) even said they used my videos to learn English.”

    Some netizens say his videos are surprisingly realistic.

    “It is very interesting to see how foreigners think about China and us. He knows so much and is very objective. I particularly like one of his most popular episodes, ‘Are Chinese girls easy?’ It is so fun and so true,” one of the netizens, identified as “Nulixuexi,” said.

    Of course, there also have been nationalists who criticized some of the negative views Sterzel shares, but Sterzel largely was unfazed.

    “Luckily, there are many Chinese netizens to back me up,” he said. “I like reading comments on Chinese Web sites. They are very funny.”

    Sterzel first started making small videos several years ago.

    “When I first came to Shenzhen, I knew nobody and nothing about this country, so I started making these videos myself just to record experiences,” he said.

    He started traveling around the country on motorcycles nearly two years ago.

    “When I went to Fujian Province last year, I started taping videos about my trip, recording a real Chinese journey in my eyes,” Sterzel said.

    When he came back, he posted the videos on YouTube, where they became very popular.

    “Many foreigners living in other countries like my videos because I introduce a real China, with things that could be difficult for people to find out by themselves,” he said. “This has encouraged me.”

  

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Shenzhen Daily E-mail:szdaily@szszd.com.cn