Welcome back to this special edition of Culture Express. We're talking stand-up comedy in China today with comedians Tony Chou, founder of the Humor Section Comedy Club, and David Jacobs, manager of Comedy Club of China.

Now, over recent years, more and more international comedians have been coming to headline shows in China. Here in Beijing, one local establishment, The Bookworm, has already hosted a total of 70 pro-comedians. In earlier days, the audience was mostly made up of expatriates from North America, but as China is becoming more global, so too are the people coming out to watch these shows. Take a look.

JENNIFER HSIUNG, BEIJING "We're here at the famous Bookworm in Beijing, your one-stop shop for books, drinks, food and tonight, laughs. That's because it's Sunday, which means it's comedy night and people are already starting to fill in here to watch the very funny Paul Ogata who is a visiting comedian from Los Angeles. Now he's performed in Beijing about 4 times now, but he's not the first big name in comedy to perform in China. Professional comedians, stand up comedians starting coming to China since 1998 to do shows, but back then, it was for a predominantly expatriate crowd. The crowd these days, is a bit more of a mix."

"The scene has really changed, the audience is pretty diverse now, you'll find a lot of local Chinese people in the audience as well, not just foreigners. So if you follow me, we'll try to get a look at the audience tonight."

"When did you start becoming interested in English language stand-up comedy?"

"That was like ten years ago."

David Jacobs is hosting the show tonight.

The American started doing stand-up comedy in Beijing 3 years ago and is now responsible for running Comedy Club China in Beijing. When he is not making people laugh and organizing shows, he is an academic director for a Chinese Educational Organization.

Two local comedians from Comedy Club China will usually do a set before the headliner to help warm up the audience.

Sharing the stage with some of these professional comics is a great opportunity for budding comedians in Beijing. They not only get to watch their idols in action, but also get the chance to pick their brain afterward about comedy.

John Kerr, who goes by "Johnny Darko" hails from Britain and has a background in Film.

Hawaiin-born Paul Ogata headlines shows all over the world. He's performed here less than a handful of times, and always leaves the audience in tears with his often-improvised crowd work.

The award-winning comedian won the prestigious 32nd San Francisco International Comedy competition and has made a number of film and television appearances with Comedy Central, NBC, and Showtime.

I caught up with him after the show to find out what makes him tick.