Fisher Tapes Show in China

September 20, 2011  Marysville Advocate

by Julie Perry

A trip to Beijing, China, did not net another Guinness Book of World Records entry for Bob Fisher, but it will put him in front of his largest audience next month.
Fisher and wife Connie, Vermillion, were in Beijing, from Aug. 17 to 28 to film an episode on “Zheng Da Zong Yi,” a television show that airs on CCTV and features various Guinness Book of World Records entries. The show is filmed before a studio audience and will air Oct. 7 in China to an audience of 50 million.
“The China trip was amazing,” Bob Fisher said. “I don’t know how many times we used the word unbelievable, but it was a lot.”
Fisher, who was invited earlier this year to appear on the show since he holds nine free-throw shooting records, tried to break his minute mark, but came up seven short with 43 made instead.
“I did not shoot well,” he said.
But it was fun to watch the other acts perform, he said. Among the acts was Canadian Kevin Fast, a Lutheran pastor who is the world’s strongest man.
“We met some fellow Guinness record holders from Australia and Canada who we become friends with,” Fisher said.
In the 10 days the Fishers were in Beijing, they toured the Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace, Olympic Stadium, Hutong District, Temple of Heaven, Beijing zoo and the Silk Market.
“Connie and I mastered chopsticks and I actually put on a couple of pounds,” Fisher said. “We really loved the street vendors who sold a slice of cantaloupe on a stick. We stayed away from their cooked food, though. We mastered the subway system, which is unbelievably crowded. Actually it’s crowded everywhere. To own a car in Beijing you must win the lottery. Every month they pull 19,000 names out of a barrel of people who want a car. It is their way of controlling traffic congestion.”
The Fishers, who arrived home Aug. 28 after a 10-day stay, hope to be invited to other countries that have similar shows.