Real face of China better on the box

African viewers get clearer picture of Chinese life through imported TV dramas

Hollywood has had a huge influence on people around the globe, and indeed is one of the strongest ties that connect them to the United States.

Trade and economic ties between China and Africa are making great strides but sometimes misunderstandings between the two distinct cultures hamper relations.

Similar to what the US and Hollywood have done, China hopes its films and TV shows can bridge those cultural gaps and further develop collaboration with Africa.

Two Chinese hit TV shows dubbed into Swahili, the national language of Tanzania, are due to be aired at prime time in the country next month. Father's Wishes and Mother's Glorious Days are stories about the everyday life of ordinary people who have experienced the great changes in China over the past few decades.

This is the second time that China has introduced its TV shows to Africa. The first was in 2011 when the soap opera Mao Doudou and Her Sweet Days made a successful debut in various Swahili-speaking countries in eastern Africa.

Rather than calling this the spread of soft power, as described by Harvard professor Joseph Nye, China is more likely to see the broadcasting of its TV shows in Africa as a way for African audiences to learn more about contemporary China, and how it is changing.

Liu Dong, cultural counselor to the Chinese embassy in Tanzania, says the Tanzanian people will learn much more about modern China through the TV series.

"They will better understand the developments of China in recent years, as well as the lives of Chinese people. It will deepen the friendship between the two countries," he says, echoing a statement made by Tanzanian Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda during a visit to Beijing last week.

Chinese TV shows are a latecomer to African screens - soap series from South Korea, the Middle East, America, India and Europe are more familiar - but they are already gaining fans.

"I've been hearing about the achievements that China has made and how huge the changes have been in the country over the past 30 years, and I've seen some pictures on the Internet," says Paul Udoto, a 36-year-old Tanzanian. "But the TV series, which tell stories of ordinary people, with normal street scenes in China, are more vivid and convincing."

He says he cannot completely understand the background to the shows' storylines as that requires specific knowledge of Chinese culture, but most of the stories resonate with his own feelings, even in an African setting.

"For instance, in the Mao Doudou shows, Africans have the same tensions between a wife and a mother-in-law as Mao does," he says.

Also, because the show is dubbed into his mother tongue, the scenarios feel more natural, familiar and interesting to him.

Wang Gengnian, director-general of China Radio International, which is responsible for the dubbing work, says the dissemination of information and culture would not be effective unless it was close and respectful to indigenous culture.

More Chinese TV shows, movies and cartoons will be dubbed in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili, and Hausa to be aired by African TV stations later this year.

This is not only a chance to show the real lives of Chinese people or the changes in their country, but also a great opportunity to improve the technological collaboration between African and Chinese broadcasters.

Clement Mshana, chief executive officer of the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, says communication and exchanges in this field should be further strengthened to involve more professionals from both sides.

"We are thinking about how to bring them to Tanzania and produce them here," he says.

The author is China Daily's correspondent based in Nairobi. Contact the writer at lilianxing@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/25/2013 page9)