allDAY : Beijing

Running (Olympic) rings in Beijing

Danielle Brennan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:07:00 GMT

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole army to keep the TODAY show running smoothly in an Olympic village. And though viewers don't normally get to see them on camera, some of the most important troops in that army are the runners -- the intrepid young people who keep everything, well, running.

Runners do everything from making all-important Starbucks run to making sure the talent get to the set on time. Their work can from the gritty (cleaning up detritus) to the glamorous (chauffeuring the likes of Kobe Byrant and Venus and Serena Williams to and fro in golf carts) all in the space of a single exhausting, exhilarating day. They're the people the TODAY show couldn't have gone to Beijing without, even though viewers never get to see them. Never, that is, until now, when TODAY's faithful runners finally get a chance to tell all about their "crazy" "stressful," "laughable," "kind of surreal" and "busy, busy, busy, busy" lives.

WATCH VIDEO

Bargaining: Beijing’s other Olympic sport

Jen Brown — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:39:00 GMT

From Jenna Wolfe, Weekend TODAY anchor

In Beijing, you’ve got swimming, you’ve got gymnastics, you’ve got track…and you’ve got shopping. Shopping is practically an Olympic sport over here, requiring just as much energy, cunning and dedication as any event I’ve seen on the Olympic Green.

As I found out when I when I went to the Yashow market – I’m terrible at it.

I set out to buy a shirt for 50 RMB, that’s about $7.50 in the United States. I ended up with a scarf (for more than I would pay on a street corner in New York). That’s right, a scarf. In Beijing. In summer. The saleswoman was the most persuasive creature I have ever encountered. I would have bought long underwear from her.

Watch the video.

7 secrets of TODAY's catering trailer

Sarika Dani — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:08:00 GMT

From TODAY producer Josh Weiner

Between brewing coffee and roasting a panini, we caught up with Christina Cirulli, who runs TODAY's on-set catering operations at the Olympic green compound in Beijing.

Q: You have a long table with chairs and a seemingly endless supply of food in your trailer. Who comes through here?
A: Everyone from crew to guests to talent. I stock the green room trailer with food, but a lot of the athletes who are on the show find their way in here anyway looking for snacks.

Q: What are the most popular items for the anchors?
A: Well Matt (Lauer) and Al (Roker) really like to put peanut butter on plain Saltine-like crackers. The only time Meredith came in she wanted some roasted vegetables.

Q: What other foods go quickly?
A: Frappuccino and Powerade. Oh the cheese platters with grapes and crackers, too! Brian Williams apparently likes these cheese platters a lot.

Q: What's the most surprising thing you've seen in your 10 days on the set?
A: The skinny Chinese models – they came in and attacked the Snickers, chips and candy. It was shocking but great!

Q: I heard Michael Phelps spent a good amount of time in here?
A: He was charging his cell phone – he must have gotten a lot of calls after winning all those golds. He also changed his clothes, but I looked the other way.

Q: How do you help the chefs who come in before their cooking segments?
A: I get them what they need, like knives or woks. One time they were making dumplings in here. Natalie Coughlin was in here making her dish and she had to practice pronouncing the Chinese ingredients.

Q : What have you learned here?
A: You have to multitask and be creative every night. Live TV is very interesting!

Wet and wild anchors

Dan Fleschner — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

It was the moment we were all hoping for.

Matt, Meredith, Al and Ann had walked out to the Olympic Green to check out the fountains that come on out there every now and then, and the fountains didn't come on.

So during a commercial, we all had our eyes peeled to see if the fountains would suddenly activate, soaking our unsuspecting anchors. And lo and behold, television magic occurred.

Watch the video

I want you to pay extra-close attention to the way Matt flees the scene when the water arrives.

On Matt's behalf, it seems apt to quote Woody Allen's character, Boris, in Love and Death: "We have to take our possessions and flee. I'm very good at that. I was the men's freestyle fleeing champion two years in a row."

His speed was Usain Bolt-esque.

Who's got the top basketball jersey in China? Not Yao Ming...

Dan Fleschner — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:30:00 GMT

Trivia question: Who has the top-selling NBA jersey in China? I'll give you a hint: it's not Yao Ming. It's not Yi Jianlian, either. It's actually Kobe Bryant.

That's right, Kobe's #24 in Lakers purple and gold is the most popular jersey over here, and he draws a crowd wherever he goes. We got an inkling of that at the Opening Ceremony, when the crowd roared anytime his face appeared on the scoreboard.

But the point was driven home more emphatically when we taped an interview with him last week, which aired today. WATCH VIDEO

We shot the interview on the Olympic Green, near the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, and as soon as someone spotted Kobe riding out to the location in his golf cart, word spread almost instantly, causing a mob of people to start chasing after him. They brandished cameras and cried out, "Kobe! Kobe!" (see the photo below)

It's hard to imagine many more American athletes -- or athletes from any country -- commanding the attention of so many Chinese people.

The U.S. team's play on the court has also commanded lots of attention; the Americans hammered Australia today to advance to the semifinals.

Here are a few out-takes from the interview about Kobe's experience in China so far:

Matt: I guess the first thing I should ask you is, what do you make of this place? We're here on the Olympic Green. The Bird's Nest is here, National Stadium over there. What do you think of Beijing?

Kobe: Well I think it's unbelievable, and I think they've done such a fantastic job of hosting the Olympics, which is not a small task, and I think they've done a remarkable job.

Matt: What's your Olympic experience? Forget the time on the court. You know, there's so much of the Olympics that takes place away from your event. What's that been like for you?

Kobe: Well actually it's been great. I had the opportunity to go to the Village, which is where all the athletes stay, and I don't know if everyone has been to Disney World, but it's like going to Disney World and being at Epcot Center. You just have so many different countries, so many different cultures, and it's just a beautiful experience, to have the greatest athletes in the world eating in the same cafeteria. It's awesome.

Happy Birthday, Al Roker!

Jen Brown — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:05:00 GMT

Happy birthday, Al Roker! Today our favorite weatherman turns 54.

We celebrated the momentous occasion over the weekend here in Beijing with dinner at Daniel Boulud's restaurant, Maison Boulud à Pékin, followed lots and lots of karaoke.

Check out some of the party pics:

Al like Ann's birthday present so much, he wore it the entire night!

Daniel Boulud surprised Al with a special dish.

Right after finishing his competition, tennis star James Blake joined us for karaoke.

Al, Peter Alexander, Ann Curry, Amy Robach, Meredith Vieira and Hoda Kotb belt out a group song.

WATCH VIDEO of the TODAY hosts surprising Al Roker with cake.

Say gold! TODAY captures Olympians' winning smiles

Jen Brown — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:23:00 GMT

From Ryan Osborn, TODAY producer

As we have at previous Games, we've partnered with Getty Images again in Beijing.

In addition to providing us with some of the most powerful pictures from all over Beijing, we also have a Getty photographer on our set who has been taking portraits of the athletes that appear on our show.

Here are a few highlights. Their smiles tell the story better than any words.

Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin show off their all-around hardware.

Kristin Armstrong took home gold in cycling's road individual time trial.

Caroline Burckle won bronze on the women's 4x200m freestyle relay.

Ricky Berens won gold on the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Allison Schmitt rocks out after winning bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Ancient traditions live on in one Chinese town

Jen Brown — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:33:00 GMT

From Karen Trosset, TODAY producer

Lijiang, China, is not just beautiful, it is an awe-inspiring glimpse into life in ancient China. First settled some 800 years ago, it is located deep in China's southwest. Lijiang boasts the sprawling snow mountains and one of the country's deepest gorges -- the breathtaking Tiger Leaping Gorge -- but its people and their culture seem ripped from the pages of history books.

Robert Colvill

Lijiang is home to 25 of China's ethnic minorities. Its very heart is the "Naxi Kingdom," a group dating back centuries that still practices ancient customs and follows its Dongba religion, a belief that man and nature are brothers. They use the only remaining hieroglyphic language left in the world.

And you can't miss them. They still wear traditional clothing, Naxi women wear wide-sleeved loose gowns with jackets and long trousers, tied with richly decorated belts at the waist. They wrap large black cotton turbans around their heads.

Robert Colvill

Naxi women wander the streets of Lijiang, China.

Their simple way of life still makes up life in this town, where it is common to see little old ladies washing their vegetables in the town well. Others are hard at work on an ancient loom, weaving scarves for sale in the market, or on a street corner selling vegetables, fresh-picked from their farms.

In order to paint a picture of this way of life, I will share with you my Friday morning. I was standing on a street corner in Baisha, the neighboring Naxi village, sipping my morning coffee and admiring the quaint old-fashioned town square. I turned around, and making its way past me was a massive herd of cows. Leading the way was an elderly farmer, wearing traditional ancient garb. He shepherds all of the town's cows through the square every day at the same time to the neighboring fields.

All I could think was what would be the equivalent of this in the United States? If Paul Revere, dressed in colonial garb, rode his horse through Faneuil Hall and nobody thought twice about it? And it was normal? And it wasn't Halloween? Inconceivable.

The most striking aspect of this way of life is that a bustling modern city, "New Lijiang," is just beyond Old Lijiang's borders. Discos, restaurants, even KFC loom like a dark shadow over the ancient town, almost like a beacon of the trials and tribulations of western ways. One can see why the United Nations recognized the preciousness of Lijiang and named it a World Heritage Site in 1997, helping to preserve this historic site. It also helped turn Lijiang into a major tourist destination in China. Despite crowds and notoriety that threaten the ancient way of life here, there is a strong effort by the Naxi and the government to nurture this culture and preserve it in modern times.

I hope they prevail.

WATCH VIDEO

Matt and Al: First synchro, then the luge, now...

Jen Brown — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:01:00 GMT

From Al Roker, TODAY anchor

It’s become a tradition for Matt and me to learn a new sport at each Games. In Athens, we almost drowned trying to compete with the synchronized swimming team...

Watch video

....and in Torino we risked life and limb when we got on the luge together:

Watch video

So the bar was pretty high coming into Beijing, where I was tasked with choosing our next adventure into Olympic competition.

I eliminated anything involving guns and shooting right away. (Talk about Hindenburg potential!) Equestrian was out; I’d rather ride an elephant than a horse. And track and field? Now that’s just laughable.

I settled on rhythmic gymnastics, where the greatest physical danger is death by embarrassment.

We got some expert help from Canadian Alexandra Orlando, the only North American to qualify in rhythmic gymnastics for the Olympics. They call her “Alex the Great” in Canada, and after a few hours in the gym, it was easy to see why. She makes twirling those ropes and ribbons and hoops look easy. It is not. Trust me.

After a few hours with Alex the Great, we were “ready” for the big time. Let me tell you, Matt and I put on a performance unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. In fact, I’m not even going to try to describe it. You’ll have to watch with your own eyes. WATCH VIDEO HERE

So, what did I learn from this whole experience? One, I know what it feels like to be a sausage (see photo of our uniforms). Two, rhythmic gymnastics has reinforced my belief that the sports that look the easiest are actually the hardest. And three, it’s a great sport with a lot of growth potential. It’s already big in Asia, and if our performance doesn’t send the world of rhythmic gymnastics into a downward spiral, I think it’s really going to catch on.

As China's wallets get fatter, so do their children

Jen Brown — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:30:00 GMT

From Dr. Nancy Snyderman, chief medical editor

China is now the fattest country in the world, second only to the United States. One out of five Chinese children over the age of 7 is overweight, and nearly 10 percent are obese. How did a country that struggled with starvation just half a century ago now find itself dealing with an obesity epidemic? There are a few issues here. WATCH VIDEO

First, China has embraced fast food. KFC is the outlet of choice, with McDonald's working feverishly to catch up. It is a status symbol of sorts to say that you have thrown a birthday party for your child at McDonald's. It is a sign of affluence; that you have some extra money and are able to splurge. But that ability to splurge brings with it a hefty calorie count. And instead of sharing food, which is the Chinese norm, when a child eats at a fast food restaurant the pressure is to finish all the food, even if full.

China's one-child policy also plays in the mix. Food is a common reward in a one-child family. It is common for grandparents and parents to dote and reward a child with food. And that reward system, when started early, can be hard to unwind when a child is an adolescent.

Another thing that is changing in China is portion size. In an agrarian economy, with a limited food supply, the Chinese people historically ate small portions and worked off those calories in the fields. Calorie intake and portion sizes have increased at the same time that the economic system has shifted to more sedentary lifestyles. It is the perfect storm for the obesity crisis.

I recently visited a Chinese hospital that treats overweight children. It has a rather straightforward, but perhaps not politically incorrect name -- the Fat Reduction Hospital. Here kids are treated with calorie restriction, exercise and acupuncture. The nutrition education appears to be the weak link of this approach at this time. Patients leave the hospital with a pamphlet, which obviously won't be enough to tackle this huge problem. In order for China to avoid what has happened to the United States, there will need to be integration of health and exercise into the school system and an awareness that an obese nation is not a healthy nation.