Beijing premiere of Marty Supreme on Tuesday Photo: Chen Xi/GT

From selling fermented tofu on the streets of Chengdu to purchasing a poster of Chinese table tennis world champion Sun Yingsha in Beijing, Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet has been immersing himself in local Chinese culture during the promotional tour for his film Marty Supreme.

The Hollywood actor, affectionately known as "Tian Cha" (lit: Sweet Tea) by his Chinese fans, has arrived in China for the first time to promote the film, in which he portrays a table tennis player chasing his dreams. 

Media has reported that Marty Supreme, which follows a shoe clerk's quest to become a table tennis world champion, has grossed $274 million globally since its North American release in December and has garnered nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Chalamet, and Best Director. 

In China, Chalamet engaged in a friendly match with Chinese table tennis icon Ma Long, who later presented him with an autographed paddle as a gift.

While shopping in the capital, Chalamet spotted a poster of Olympic champion Sun Yingsha and told the cashier in fluent Chinese: "I'll take this." Later, in an interview, he hailed Sun as "an amazing champion and player." 

On Wednesday, Chalamet participated in a promotional event at Beijing Foreign Studies University, where he interacted with former professional basketball player and coach Stephon Marbury from the US.

The film's Beijing premiere on Tuesday marked the climax of Chalamet's trip. Attending alongside director Josh Safdie, the actor was on hand to promote the movie's March 20 release in the Chinese mainland. 

Outside the cinema, movie fans, including a handful of international admirers, gathered in rows, craning for a glimpse of the star. Their enthusiasm was reciprocated. During the premiere, Chinese fans treated Chalamet to a crash course in local culture, from TCM therapies like head massages and guasha to a calligraphy lesson, where he was given a scroll with the Chinese characters for "rising fortune" as a blessing. 

The premiere's post-screening session delivered an unexpected spectacle as two humanoid robots took the stage to showcased a seamless blend of Chinese martial arts and table tennis skills. 

Their outstanding performance left both Chalamet and Safdie visibly astonished. Chalamet commented that the robots might replace actors in the future. 

"Unbelievable," Safdie muttered, then asked, half-jokingly, if the moves have been programmed by a human or if the robots had developed a mind of their own.

Beijing premiere of Marty Supreme on Tuesday Photo: Chen Xi/GT

Before Beijing's glitz, Chalamet also spent time in Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, a city renowned for its slow pace and vibrant street life. It was there that he truly shed his Hollywood persona. 

Dressed in a jacket emblazoned with the film's Chinese title, he wandered the People's Park, sipping Sichuan gaiwan tea from a traditional Chinese lidded bowl at the century-old Heming Tea House, filming local elderly women dancing in the park's square, and even trying his hand at hawking local snacks in halting Chinese.

He mingled with locals, including playing ball with elderly residents, learning tea-tasting from seniors, sampling fermented tofu, and digging into authentic Sichuan hot pot. 

"They actually customized the tea for me. And I like to do that sometimes in Chinatown in New York. So it was amazing then to be able to do it here," he said of the Chengdu tea culture during the premiere.

Safdie, too, immersed himself in Chinese culture during the trip. A self-proclaimed fan of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), he bought a TCM book in Beijing, revealing his father had quit smoking successfully through TCM acupuncture. 

Beijing-based cultural critic Yu Jinlong told the Global Times that the cast's continuous rise in popularity during the China tour will further promote the international spread of Chinese culture and showcase the unique charm and contemporary vitality of Eastern culture.