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  • Recommended: Artist Ai Weiwei's answer to 81 days in China prison: Profanity-laced heavy metal
  • Recommended: Will China mediate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
  • Recommended: 'Get out': Over 1,000 take to the streets in China to protest oil refinery
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In Behind the Wall, NBC News correspondents and producers examine events and trends in China, both big and small.

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  • 5
    Feb
    2013
    10:05pm, EST

    'Friends' lives on at Beijing version of Central Perk

    Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    By Eun Kyung Kim, TODAY contributor
    Ross and Rachel and all their “Friends” went off the air nearly a decade ago, but the wildly popular sitcom remains a huge favorite with one Chinese fan, who runs a “Central Perk” café in Beijing.

    The coffee shop is modeled after the familiar set from the NBC series, right down to the instantly recognizable oversize orange couch. And while customers may not get to see Chandler, Joey or Phoebe, they will get served by “Rachel,” since all the servers go by that name.

    "I'm crazy about ‘Friends,’” the shop’s owner, Du Xin, told TODAY. How obsessed is he with the show? Du goes by the nickname Gunther, which was the name of the bleached-blond owner of the fictitious Central Perk who pined for Rachel (played by Jennifer Aniston) on the NBC sitcom.

    “Friends” aired from 1994 to 2004, and Du said he has watched all 236 episodes repeatedly. The show runs on a continual loop on his shop’s large-screen television and serves as a learning tool for people interested in mastering colloquial English.

    The café’s menu is inspired by items served on the show, including the infamous “stolen cheesecake” from season seven.

    “A lot of people know cheesecake from ‘Friends’ in China,” Du said.

    Many of the shop’s patrons may be too young to remember when the shows originally aired, but like a good cup of coffee, they savor the strong friendships forged in the series, and view the show’s characters as lifestyle guides.

    “We admire their lifestyle very much. We want to be like the characters in the show,” one patron explained to TODAY.

    There have even been five marriage proposals in the Beijing Central Perk, inspired by the episode in which Monica famously proposed to Chandler.

    The popularity of the café prompted Du to recently open a second Central Perk location in Shanghai.

     

    1 comment

    Can't decide if this is cool or weird...

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    Explore related topics: china, cafe, friends, today-show, ian-williams
  • 3
    Sep
    2012
    11:39pm, EDT

    Diving deep into the secrets of the Great Wall

    Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    By Ed Flanagan, NBC News

    BEIJING - The Great Wall of China is one of the world's most famous landmarks, but much of it is still being explored. NBC's Ian Williams joined noted Great Wall historian, William Lindesay and Steven Schwankert of SinoScuba to take a unique look at one hidden section of the wall, diving down into a vast lake that submerged the wall when an entire valley was flooded decades ago.

     

    2 comments

    The building of the Great Wall is one of the worst human tragedies because it was constructed by forced labor. Thousands died under the brutal conditions imposed on them by the Chinese rulers. Similarly with the building of St. Petersburg, Russia. An estimated twenty-five thousand serfs died from th …

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    Explore related topics: china, today-show, great-wall, ian-williams

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Behind The Wall

Behind the Wall provides a dynamic look at China by examining news events and trends – both big and small – from NBC News correspondents and producers. Learn about China's developing economy, politics and the cultural trends that move its 1.3 billion people.

Ed Flanagan

is a Beijing-based producer for NBC News. In China since 2005, he has been a part of the team's China as well as regional news coverage.

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