The US-China Comedy Center (USCCC) held a grand opening this past week at the Project Pengyou courtyard, inviting friends of US-China cultural exchange for wine, pizza and a show including a Xiangsheng (“Crosstalk”) performance by Jesse Appell and his Xiangsheng master, the illustrious Ding Guangquan.

The US-China Comedy Center is a space for Americans and Chinese to learn more about each other’s culture through comedy. It hosts bilingual comedy workshops as well as shows, in all sorts of styles ranging from standup, to improv, to traditional Xiangsheng Comedy.

Fulbright Scholar alumnus and longtime Pengyou Jesse Appell is the founder of USCCC and has partnered with Project Pengyou to launch the center. Jesse has made funny Chinese music videos and webseries in the past, and for this event invited Beijing Improv, some Chinese standups, and his Xiangsheng “Crosstalk” Master Ding Guangquan to perform some Chinese comedy!

It was a good day for laughs in the US-China Relationship! If you’re in Beijing and want to come by and see a show at the comedy center (located at the Project Pengyou Courtyard) or attend one of the free bilingual improv workshops, keep an eye on ProjectPengyou.org/events and the USCCC WeChat page for info on shows and events!

Here are some of our favorite moments from the evening:

PS: Does this look fun to you? Then why not apply to be a US-China Comedy Center Intern? Learn more here! Also, be sure to follow the US-China Comedy Center on wechat for more updates about upcoming events: