An eye for talent

Pang Yong is at Starbucks drinking a latte but he's ready to pounce. Students pass by, some of them attractive and fashionable, but Pang doesn't give them a second glance. He's looking for something special, that would be at home in the pages of Vogue.

Pang is a xing tan (star detective). Trans Continental Talent's (TCT) top scout strolls around in a black coat, jeans, sneakers and black-framed glasses, in search of the world's next Zhang Ziyi.

"I know who I'm looking for," he says confidently.

"We call it 'the eye'," Pang says, trying to describe the process of scouting. "Sometimes it's not obvious who'll be successful and who won't."

"It's a hard job. There are lots of pretty girls out there but being pretty isn't enough. They've got to be exceptional, unique. That's what you've got to look for."

Pang has found potential models in the queue at shopping malls, or on shopping trips.

"I like unusual faces that are expressive, have catchy eyes and composure. Usually the conversation is no more than five minutes. But within that short time, I know that she or he can be the one. Maybe people think, 'Ugh, how can they be a model or a movie star?' To me that's brilliant."

Pang, 30, has been working as a scout for five years, when TCT, one of the world's largest entertainment talent scouting companies, entered the country in 2002.

Before this, Pang was an executive music producer at a record company.

"I was one of the 17 people who stood out among the 48 candidates (at the original TCT interviews). I thought the job was simple at the beginning. But after getting professional training and gaining work experience, I realized that it is challenging."

He knows he's working in a controversial field. There are plenty of people looking to become front-page models and many scouting companies are fronts for other businesses.

Pang said he understands that selling youth as a commodity has its critics. Picking teens to become stars has its responsibilities, he says.

"You must be psychologically mature to be a scout as you face refusal every day."

Pang speaks, on average, to 40 people a day but is often suspected of being a faker.

"I get used to it. What I do is dig the distinctive faces from among the crowd and offer them an opportunity. Then I can leave."

According to TCT guidelines, people ranging from 4 to 74 years old are their targets. Back at TCT's SOHO office near Dawanglu, a picture wall shows off the faces that have made it, in magazines like Rayli, Trends Esquire and Men's Uno, and TV programs like Modern Times.

"Anyone can be a professional scout as long as he or she is fashionable, passionate and convincing," in the opinion of Li Ying, a manager at TCT. There are more than 30 scouts in the company. Most of them are young.

"The job's hours are flexible. I don't have to wake up early in the morning, as long as I find someone and give them 'the talk'. I give them what I think is an honest appraisal of what it's like to be a model, even the controversial things," Pang says.

Even so, Pang says it can be "isolating and lonely sometimes. After the five-minute conversation, I am empty and have no connection with that person. I have to keep my enthusiasm every day, even if all I get is suspicion and refusal."

Pang has trained a number of scouts over the years, but insists there is no formula to the business.

"It's a gut instinct. You only really have a second to do it and it's such an important decision because the minute you give that business card out, it's a huge responsibility."

Back outside in the tourist throng of Wangfujing Street, the crowds go about their business, oblivious to fact that a scout may be studying their every move. Seen through the eyes of such people, Beijing is full of beautiful people.

(China Daily 01/23/2008 page20)