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Great story and feature on Dasheng Bale.
"Chinese fans love to call Bale 'Dasheng', which means 'Monkey King' in Chinese, which is not a bad nickname because Monkey King is just like a god for many Chinese people.
"First, Chinese fans notice the cartoon Monkey King looks very similar to Bale, and Bale is so fast and powerful, just like the image of Monkey King in the hearts of Chinese fans.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43526832
A monkey is better looking
I was walking outside the ground when the Wales team bus came along - there was unbelievably tight security everywhere, including armed soldiers stood outside armoured vehicles, nobody dared even walk in the road, everyone kept ridgidly to the pavements ... however, as soon as that bus arrived the Chinese fans just threw caution to the wind and mobbed the bus ... it's fair to say there was one person on that bus they were particularly keen to see.
The following day I was sat outside the Wanda shopping centre when a foreigner told me the Wales team were inside (Wanda is one of the sponsors of the China Cup) ... no surprises to find Gareth Bale was not amongst the Welsh party - he'd have got absolutely mobbed if he had been!
Many of the Chinese who I met at the game are incredibly knowlegeable about British football.
I was interviewed by the BBC prior to the game (I arrived early and was probably the sole Welshman at that paticular time); I recognise that reporter's voice as being the same one who interviewed me. I wasn't drunk but I had a fair few and the sun had affected me too, so those young Chinese girls came across better than I did.
I was also stopped and asked for an interview by a Chinese camera crew. The odd thing was that the reporter immediately spoke to me in Chinese and not even any attempt at speaking English with me or asking if I could speak Chinese. My interview was VERY brief.