How TV host Yue-Sai Kan became China’s most famous woman by introducing it to the world

Her TV shows gave US viewers tastes of Asia and brought the world to Chinese homes. Yue-Sai Kan talks bridging the gap between East and West

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Television presenter and entrepreneur Yue-Sai Kan was called “the most famous woman in China” by People Magazine in 1987. She talks to the Post about her life’s work promoting cross-cultural understanding. Photo: courtesy of Fadil Berisha

Published: 6:15pm, 12 Dec 2024

In February 1986, on the final day of Lunar New Year, Yue-Sai Kan sat anxiously in her hotel suite in Beijing.

She had spent the past two years preparing for One World – billed as the first television show to bring cultures from around the world to Chinese viewers – and its first episode was about to premiere on China Central Television (CCTV).

As Kan heard the opening theme music and saw herself on screen, she burst into tears. The television presenter had an inkling the programme would be life-changing, and she was right – almost immediately, One World became a staple in homes across China.

One year later, Kan had become so well known that People magazine called her “the most famous woman in China” in its May 17, 1987 issue.

Kan with Mother Teresa in Rome during the filming of an episode of One World. The TV show Kan hosted and produced from 1986-1989 introduced Chinese people to cultures around the world. Photo: courtesy of Yue-Sai Kan

That description provides the title for Kan’s latest book, an English-language memoir released in August in which the television presenter, entrepreneur and philanthropist takes readers through how she got to where she is today.

In a video call with the Post, she admits that The Most Famous Woman in China is “quite a bombastic, braggy name”, but adds: “It caught your attention, right?”