Raydis Franco (L) communicates with a professional cross-talk performer at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

　　Raydis Franco (L) communicates with a professional cross-talk performer at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

　　Raydis Franco gives a lecture at the School of Foreign Studies in Nankai University in north China's Tianjin, April 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

　　Cross-talk performer Wang Wenshui (R) teaches Raydis Franco to play kuaiban, a form of Chinese storytelling accompanied by bamboo clappers, at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

　　Raydis Franco takes photos of the statue of Ma Sanli, a renowned cross-talk performer, in Dongli District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)