Eli's X-factor

The cool young crowd cheers loudly as Elijah Kislevitz grabs the microphone and screams in both English and Mandarin: "Let's rock this house!" The young promoter is hosting a snowboarding movie night to flog his Santa Cruz brand to young Chinese, sporting the latest ski fashions.

In summer he'll be plugging the company's skateboarding and surfing products and, in between surfing safaris, he will run a caf shop in downtown Beijing. Kislevitz is one of those expats who has his fingers in many pies.

With impeccable Chinese and three years' experience as a certified snowboarding instructor in Sugarbush Resort, Vermont, this 29-year-old American is better suited than many to promote such high-action sport in China.