Beijing's cowboys and cowgirls will get a chance to dust off their chaps and saddle up when one of the United States' oldest extravaganzas rides into town.

The Bird's Nest will resemble the set of an old spaghetti western come October when the National Stadium undergoes a wild west facelift to host the capital's largest rodeo.

The first Rodeo China will see more than 150 cowboys and cowgirls along with 200 horses, bulls and other rodeo livestock cross the big lake for the eight-day event, which is being hailed as one of the largest globally televised events at the Bird's Nest since the 2008 Olympics.

"Rodeo, the culture of the American west, is the foundation of our history in the US," said Carrie Tucker, chief executive of Rodeo China, who has been doing business in China since the 1980s. "It provides an important opportunity for the Chinese people to see us from our grassroots and how this culture has continued to be the basis for a western lifestyle that is enjoyed by farmers and ranchers today."

Plans to hold Rodeo China in Beijing were announced last week, as China and the US pushed to develop relations through international culture exchanges.

"We have to fully understand each other's culture if we want to implement further cooperation," said Li Liguo, secretary-general of the China International Friendship Cities Association, one of the government agencies that helped bring the project to China. "The Chinese people will be very interested in seeing this aspect of US culture."

The rodeo is one of several cultural events planned in early April as part of the second annual China-US Consultation on People-to-People Exchange between State Councilor Liu Yandong and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The roots of rodeo culture date back to the 1800s, when neighboring ranch workers, who employed horses, bulls and cows to toil the fields, began competing with each other in performing daily tasks.

Rodeo has also played a significant part in China-US relations, as former leader Deng Xiaoping visited the Simonton Rodeo in 1979, during one of the first visits to the US by a senior Chinese official in 30 years.

Rodeo China seeks to mirror the historic significance of Deng's visit, with an estimated 2 billion potential viewers worldwide, said Rick Garson, executive producer of Rodeo China and ZZYX entertainment.

"It will be broadcast in more than 150 countries, through television, Internet and other media," he said.

As well as offering a cultural exchange, the Tucker family, who put up the initial funding for Rodeo China, said profits from the event will go toward creating scholarship programs to allow students from Furman University in South Carolina to travel to China.

Carrie Tucker and her husband are the driving force behind bringing the wild west culture to China, having been actively engaged in both communities for decades. After retiring from the women's apparel business in 2009, the couple decided to merge their interests, drawing on 30 years of experience in China and as primary sponsors for the Cowboy Pro Rodeo Association.

"Our interests with Rodeo China are to help provide an educational and cultural opportunity for both countries," said Tucker.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/05/2011 page)