Sammy Yang, host of the popular International Channel Shanghai show “Culture Matters,” takes us through a day bridging East and West.

Somewhere in Beijing

5:30am Hit the snooze button at least three times; I’m tired after only three hours of sleep.

5:45 The driver’s phone call finally gets me into the shower, the key moment of any morning.

6:30 The car rockets out of the garage with the slam of the door still echoing. Xiao Fu, the driver, knows I have a flight to catch.

Capital Airport

7:00 Straight to the lounge to get a cup of coffee after check-in. It’s terrible, but it does the trick.a

In the Air

7:35 Settle into my usual front row aisle seat and take out my “Culture Matters” folder. When I’m taping “Culture Matters,” I always spend time reading background information prepared by my energetic production team.

8:45 A Chinese lady two seats to my left leans over and says, "Hi, Sammy, I watch your show almost every night, and I really enjoy it.” Wow, what a great start to the day. Praise the Buddha.

Shanghai

10:42 Back on the ground, I jump into the car to avoid the heat. Feel like I’m living in a steamer.

11:25 Zhu Xiaoqian, producer of "Culture Matters," hands me the newest survey about the community influence of all SMG programs. Ours is singled out along with three other shows as the most influential on ICS. I'm excited to learn that we are so welcomed by both the local and international community. Of course, it also means more pressure. Balancing my own business with the program is tough and fulfilling the needs of local audiences and the foreign community is a seesaw game.

11:37 Join the final production meeting (the brainstorm session), with four different sub-teams responsible for the six episodes to be recorded this afternoon.

12:15pm After three lattes for lunch, it’s make-up time.

Episode One: The Actress

1:00 I interview the well-known actress Wu Junmei (Vivian) who is famous for the films The Joy-Luck Club and The Last Emperor.

Episode Two: The Pianist

2:00 Interview Kong Xiangdong, the pianist who co-wrote the song “Forever Friends,” an entry for the 2008 Beijing Olympics theme song competition and Coco Zhao, one of the most sought-after singers in China.

Episode Three: Moguls

3:00 Next up is Hong Huang, daughter of Zhang Hanzhi. She is now the CEO of China Interactive Media Group, as well as the host of ICS show “Crossing Over.”

Episode Four: Olympics

4:00 Interview Harvey Davis, Senior Director of ESPN STAR Sports and the three expat Olympic torchbearers in Shanghai: Peter Weber, General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel; Simon Mackinnon, Shanghai honorary citizen and 15-year-old Natasha Weaser, the youngest torchbearer.

Episode Five: The Pod

5:00 Next up is Ken Carroll, co-founder of the daily language podcast, “Chinese Pod.”

Episode Six: More Moguls

6:00 Last but not least is Rupert Hoogewerf (Hu Run), founder and compiler of the Hurun China Rich List.

Dinner at Wujiang Lu

7:00 Walk to the snack alley next to Shanghai TV for a few of my favorite shengjian bao, meat dumplings fried in oil and water.

Party Time

7:58 Arrive at Megan Fischer's house party. She is a fashion designer who was once a guest on my Fashion Series.

8:49 I’m off to another party at the Bund. Ciao, see you guys next time though I enjoyed the food, wine, music and chat.

Lost at the Bund

9:36 Trying to find a bar I've never been to before. I get out of the car and then an elder lady escorted by her middle-age son do a double take and say: "How are you? Mr. Culture Matters!" I reply, "Fine, thank you, all my best wishes to you, ma'am."

11:00 Get a call from my darling Crystal. She studies at UCLA with a double major. She tells me she just got an intern job at one of the major production houses in Hollywood. Must be the good genes.

Home

12:27am Quick shower and get my luggage ready for tomorrow morning.

12:50 Dim the lights, light up my favorite lavender candles, hit the play button on my iPod playlist called "Moody.” This is the time of the day I enjoy the most. Staring at the night scene of this great city, I start to dream about what I want to do and create in the future and let the ideas flow.

1:30 Bed time. I pray for those who have helped, encouraged and loved me. God, I do love Shanghai!

What we think...
We’ve always thought of Sammy Yang as China’s answer to Dan Rather. Good to see that even he gets lost on the Bund sometimes! Convince Sammy you deserve to be the next guest on “Culture Matters” at www.cityweekend.com.cn/dayinthelifeSH