One of China's biggest foreign celebrities hopes to use his influential stage name to boost support for Team Canada ahead of the Olympics.

Dashan.

Rowswell told China Daily he is trying to "have the Chinese people recognize that Team Canada is the most culturally-sensitive and friendly team in the Beijing Olympics."

His role as the Canadian Team Attach for the 2008 Olympic Games requires him to bridge cultural differences and enhance the image of his motherland.

"I think that's one of the ways maybe I can help the team. When Chinese people see the red and white and 'there's a guy from Team Canada,' the image is, 'Oh, Dashan's on that team and they're our friends.' As opposed to the Americans."

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) certainly thinks so.

"People in Canada may not know his name but Mark has achieved true celebrity status in China where eight out of 10 people recognize him as Dashan," said Chris Rudge, CEO of the COC.

Rowswell, 42, has spent almost half of his life in China. He began studying Chinese at Peking University in the mid-1980s and developed an interest in traditional Chinese performing arts, particularly xiangsheng, a popular form of comic dialogue.

Since his shows were first broadcast across the nation in 1988, he has produced a series of educational books and TV programs here, such as Travel in Chinese, Communicate in Chinese, Dashan and Friends and Uncle Dashan's Storybook.

Chinese people also saw him play the lead role in the TV drama Palace Artist and stage drama Red Star over China, in which he portrayed the famous American journalist Edgar Snow.

Apart from the performing arts and cultural activities, he has been active in education, charity work, business and even in the diplomatic arena.

Sylvie Bernier, the former Olympic diving champion and Canada's chef de mission for the 2008 Games, discovered Dashan's huge popularity when she was bargaining with Chinese retailers at Beijing's silk market.

She showed them the photograph of herself with Dashan and got an instant discount.

Bernier shared the story with Canada's top Olympic hopefuls when Rowswell spoke about China at the athletes' gathering, noting how many Chinese lined up to take a photo with him.

"What I can do is help them better understand Chinese culture and the environment they will be immersed in when they come to Beijing."

He also helps the COC liaise with their counterparts at the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and other organizations in Beijing.

"So far, the work has just begun. I'm sure it will become more intense over the coming months. This is a volunteer position, and only requires part of my time at present. However, I expect it will take up all of my time from May through August next year."

Rowswell is trying to improve mutual understanding between China and the West.

"It seems that everyone who comes to China is surprised by what they see and experience here. Before they come to China, they all have a mental image of what China will be like, yet they all are surprised to find that the real China isn't quite what they expected," he said.

"I hope that I can help my Chinese friends with understanding the foreign perspective better. I think this will assist in improving China's efforts to help foreigners better understand this country."