Every culture has its own sense of humor. That's why Jim Carrey in The Mask might not make all Chinese people laugh, but a piece of crosstalk can. The Chinese do humor in several forms: xiangsheng (crosstalk) was the most popular, then came xiaopin (comic skit), and now errenzhuan (two-person sketch).

Chinese most popular comic Xiao Shenyang became a huge hit thanks to his performance at the Spring Festival Gala show.

Crosstalk, known in China as the "art of laughter", is a traditional art form between two performers satirizing society and its people through funny stories. Although a good crosstalk performer is said to be "earning a living by talking", it is not the case in the West.

Chinese most popular comic Xiao Shenyang became a huge hit thanks to his performance at the Spring Festival Gala show. Zhu Zizun

English entertainment journalist David Drakeford, who has lived in Beijing for five years and has learnt a little bit of this art, finds it is interesting because the jokes are all about ordinary people.

"I heard one skit that went like this: A says 'I work at a famous English school. B asks him 'Are you a teacher there?' A replies 'I only open the door for others.' This common joke between two ordinary people is very funny. Of course they are professional comedians so the timing is important," Drakeford says.