It looks like Ross and Rachel’s favorite hangout, complete with a big orange couch, oversized coffee mugs, neon signage and even the guitar on which Phoebe strummed “Smelly Cat.”

    Except that this Central Perk is neither in New York City nor on the set of “Friends” in Los Angeles. It is thousands of miles away, tucked in the heart of bustling downtown Beijing on the sixth floor of a non-descript office building.

    “When I watched ‘Friends,’ I always wondered whether there was really such a coffee shop because I would definitely become a frequent customer,” said Du Xin, who opened the cafe in March. “I didn’t find one, so I decided to open a Central Perk on my own.”

    A loyal and dedicated fan of the sitcom, Mr. Du scrutinized thousands of pictures of the show’s set and watched endless reruns of the sitcom. He spent five months laboring over furniture designs with manufacturers in Beijing to create his uncanny replica.

    “It didn’t go well at the beginning. No one came,” said Mr. Du, 30. Just a few months later, buzz about the coffee shop spread through Chinese blogs and the fans started pouring in. Customers started calling Mr. Du their very own Gunther, the quirky Central Perk manager.

    Most of Mr. Du’s customers are college students and young professionals who grew up watching “Friends” as a way to learn English and catch a glimpse of American life. Mr. Du said most intend to swing by for a quick coffee with friends but end up settling into the overstuffed couches for the homey atmosphere and the flat screen television, which shows endless “Friends” reruns.

    “I like Central Perk. It makes us feel like we’re inside the show,” said Li Li, a 22-year old college senior.

    Although the sitcom ended six years ago after running for ten seasons, it remains one of the most popular American television shows for young Chinese.

    The popularity of the show has spread to China’s classrooms. At some universities, episodes are included as part of the curriculum for English listening and speaking training, helping them pick up slang and cultural references.

    “We started watching it at college because at that time we were curious about life and culture outside China,” said Wang Huan, who works in the aircraft industry. 

    Mr. Du isn’t the only entrepreneur capitalizing on the cafe’s famous name. Other imitations have opened to much fanfare in London and Dubai, where the original Gunther made an appearance. 

    Source: edition.cnn.com

 “老友记”重现北京

       硕大的橘色沙发和咖啡杯，霓虹灯招牌，甚至还有菲比弹唱“怪味猫”用的吉他：这里的一切都让人仿佛置身于罗斯和瑞秋最心宜的去处——“中央公园”。

       不同的是，这个“中央公园”既不是在纽约，也不是在美国幽默情景剧“老友记”的拍摄地洛杉矶，而是在万里之外的中国北京，栖身于繁华市中心一栋普通楼宇的6层。

       杜欣(音译)于今年三月在北京开了这家咖啡屋，他说，“我在看‘老友记’的时候，总是好奇是不是真有这样的咖啡屋，要有的话，我绝对是那儿的常客。但是很遗憾，我没找到这样的咖啡屋，所以我决定自己开一‘中央公园’。”

       这位“老友记”的忠实粉丝无数次重看该剧，仔细核查了剧中场景的数千张照片，并花了五个月的时间和北京的家具制造商反复琢磨，最终实现了“中央公园”的高度重现。

       30岁的杜先生说道，“刚开始并不顺利，都没有顾客。”但没过几个月，“中央公园”在北京开业的消息就传遍了众多论坛和博客，吸引大批粉丝蜂拥而至。客人们还借用剧中罗嗦的“中央公园”店主的名字，亲切地称杜先生为“甘瑟”。

       来这的客人主要是大学生和刚刚踏入社会的年轻人，多年来，“老友记”陪伴他们成长，透过该剧，他们既学习了地道美语，也对美国年轻人的生活窥见一斑。杜先生说，大多数人起先只是想和朋友来喝喝咖啡，小坐片刻；但到最后，大家都舍不得离开这惬意的环境，围坐在沙发上看着平板电视一遍又一遍地重播“老友记”。

       今年22岁的大四学生莉莉（音译）说，“我很喜欢‘中央公园’，它给人一种身在剧中的体验。”

       尽管全长十季的“老友记”早在六年前就已完结，但它仍然是最受中国年轻一代欢迎的美国电视剧。

       该剧甚至风靡至中国课堂。在一些大学，部分剧集被列入英语听说课程，帮助学生学习最新的美国俚语和文化。

       “我们从大学就开始看‘老友记’了，那时候我们对异国的生活和文化都非常好奇。”现就业于航空领域的王欢（音译）说道。

       杜先生此举并非独树一帜，在伦敦和迪拜，类似的模仿也受到了粉丝们的火热追捧，甚至还有幸得到“甘瑟”本尊的大驾光临。

    （李飞燕 译）