Svein O. Saether

Vikings Among Us
The Norwegian ambassador leads a delegation to the Marco Polo Parkside Hotel to kick off China-Norway Friendship Month. Throughout the month of May, Marco Polo goes Scandinavian with a major food festival and a cocktail party in honor of Norway’s Constitution Day. Best of all, all Scandinavian nationals receive special deals on everything at the hotel all month.

Rob Minkoff

Family Business
Lion King director Rob Minkoff took his new wife Crystal Kong to the Beijing premiere of his film The Forbidden Kingdom. He said the Jet Li/Jackie Chan film is a gift for his Chinese wife and a dream-come-true for a die hard kungfu fan. He also arranged for Kong, a 76th generation descendent of Confucius, to play a minor role in the film. Crystal Kong’s little brother, hip-hop singer Jeffery Kong, also played a soldier in the film for about 10 seconds.

Aydogan Babaoglu

Talking Turkey
The chief of the Turkish Air Force, Aydogan Babaoglu, touched down in Beijing last month. Pictured here at the Hotel Nikko where he stayed, Babaoglu held high level talks with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie. Strengthening bilateral ties was the goal.

Lee Jun-ki

K-Pop
One of Korea’s most popular actors was in Beijing last month for the opening of a new shopping mall. The accomplished actor and martial artist is pictured here at The Regent Beijing where he stayed