1. Andrew Craig Ballen was born on April 27,1973 and is best known in China as Da Long, or Big Dragon.
11 Facts About Andrew Ballen
1. 2.
Andrew Ballen is a familiar foreign face on Chinese TV, known for his role as host and producer of China's internationally broadcast travel series, Getaway.
3.
Andrew Ballen graduated with Honors in Political Science and International Relations at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
4.
Unable to speak a word of Chinese, Andrew Ballen taught himself Mandarin.
5.
Andrew Ballen has advocated for unintrusive digital ad messaging that does not disturb the viewing experience of digital natives.
6.
Andrew Ballen hosted the 2013 Committee of 100 Sino-American Cooperation conference where he gave an address on the state of Sino-US cultural and economic cooperation.
7.
Andrew Ballen pioneered the usage of Western entertainment as a marketing tool for US brands in China.
8.
Andrew Ballen was the first American citizen to host and co-produce nationally broadcast TV content in China.
9.
On TV, Andrew Ballen toured China by car, visiting locals and exploring Chinese history, culture, and cuisine.
10.
In July 2008, as China hosted the Beijing Summer Olympics, Andrew Ballen was commissioned by Puma AG and the Government of Jamaica to execute Jamaica's Olympic media, marketing, and China public relations activities, including the marketing and event programming related to Jamaican track and field phenomenon, Usain Bolt.
11.
In 2011, Andrew Ballen produced China's first-ever, bilingual, Sino-American reality series, REMIX, The judges for REMIX were American, Sean Kingston, Taiwanese recording artists, Jam Hsiao and Wilbur Pan.