Reality television is big business in China and has created many overnight stars. But after their fleeting moment of fame, most, if not all of these "15-minute celebrities", slip back into their normal lives, never to be heard of again.
Tang Lan is one of these people. However the 30-something father of one holds a very special place in the annals of Chinese TV history.
Tang was China's first reality television star and believes the show changed the course of his life forever.
In 1998, Tang took part in 78-Square-meter Apartment, which awarded the winner a brand new, fully decorated apartment with a floor area of 78 square meters. Contestants used their sight, hearing, smell, sense of touch and memory to finish a series of challenges and the winner would take all.
While competing , Tang had also applied for emigration to Canada. As part of the emigration procedure, Tang had to stay in Canada for six months. But soon after arriving in his new country, the TV show's producers called and asked him to return to Shanghai to be a finalist.
Tang hesitated about whether to continue the emigration procedure or not. It was the TV show that helped him make a decision.
He flew back two days before the final. However he says he did not come back to win a new home. "I just wanted to give up the emigration," he says. Tang explains that before finding a job in his hometown of Shanghai, he had lived in the United States for three years to complete his PhD degree in economics.
"The three-year experience in the US was really challenging," he says.
"I had to pay rent, buy a second-hand car and find a job to pay all the expense. If I went to Canada, I would have to do all the things again."
Tang says he did not give up emigration to win the home and says fate played a big part in the whole episode. In fact, he says it was by pure accident that he attended the show. In 1998, he was working as a marketing manager at Kan Yue-Sai Cosmetics, one of the major advertisers of the program.
The show's producers invited staff of the major advertisers to be part of the audience and some had the chance to take part in the first round of the competition. Tang was one of them. Produce Pan Lizhen says Tang's overall ability was outstanding.
"We producers all said he was a man of both high IQ and EQ (emotional quality)," he says.
Pan recalls that in the final competition, Tang was competing with another contestant in a very challenging tongue twister game.
The rival contestant said the tricky phrase 33 times, creating great pressure for Tang. "However, Tang was very calm and did the twist 38 times," Pan says.
After winning the apartment, Tang spent an extra 300,000 yuan ($37,500) to upgrade to a larger one in the same residential area.
Tang quit his job at the cosmetics company before he moved to Canada, but after attending the final, he re-applied for his old job and was taken back. Two years later, he hopped to a candy manufacturer, working as the marketing manager for four years. He later joined Ctrip.com and has been working as marketing manager ever since.
In 2000, Tang met his wife at a party his friend organized and they soon got married.
Their boy is now 6 years old.
The Tang family live in the home he won on the show. "The kindergarten in the residential area is good, and my son always enjoys going there," Tang says.
"The very TV show did not change my life fundamentally, but it did help me make an important decision in life."
Source: China Daily
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