A Chinese news portal described him like ths:

“Black skin, thick lips, white teeth: these are Ding Hui’s features. But his fluent  putonghua and Hangzhou dialect surprises people who meet him for the first time.”

Read about half-African, half-Chinese Ding Hui, 19, of Hangzhou. His father is from South Africa, and his mother is Chinese. No doubt, he’s going to be a star on China’s national volleyball team for the London 2010 Olympics.

Also check out this lovely story from Shanghai about a Chinese grandmother who adopted an abandoned mixed-race child.

There’s a lot of prejudice in China, especially against dark-skinned people. This, I think, will dispel many myths about blacks. At the same time, however, his popularity will reinforce certain stereotypes.

According to the Times of London, an online sports chat room yesterday described Ding’s complexion as “exactly as black” as President Obama, while analysts have spoken in awe about the “athleticism of his genes.”