Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Chinese game show) explained

Native Name:
Runtime:80 minutes
Theme Music Composer:Keith Strachan
Matthew Strachan
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:30
Location:Guangzhou, China
Presenter:Lǐ Fán
Country:Mainland China
Network:GuiZhou TV (Chinese: 贵州电视台)

Bǎi Wàn Zhì Duō Xīng (for a translation see below) was a Chinese game show, hosted by Lǐ Fán (Chinese: 李凡). It was based on the original British format of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The contestant's main goal was to win 1,000,000 Chinese yuan by answering 15 multiple-choice questions correctly. This edition used the original 3 lifelines: Fifty Fifty, Phone A Friend and Ask The Audience. The first episode was broadcast on 29 September 2007. After answering five questions correctly, a contestant took home ¥5,000. If he/she answered ten questions correctly, he/she left with ¥75,000. Due to the strict limit that Chinese game shows cannot offer prizes more than ¥100,000, contestants may only take 10% of their winnings, while the rest are donated for chosen charities. The episodes were shown on Saturdays at 20:40 (UTC+8) on Chinese TV station GuiZhou TV (Chinese: 贵州电视台). The series ran until 19 April 2008, where the channel had adjustment issues.

The series was produced in Guangzhou.

Characteristics of the Chinese version

The Mainland China version differs from all other versions of the show for the fact that it doesn't feature civil contestants taking home the money won during the game, but celebrities playing for money which is given to charity.[1] This is because the Chinese Government issued a decree that television programmes need to be uplifting and inspiring.[2]

Translation of the name

The name of the show cannot be translated literally. It consists of two parts: Chinese: 百万 (read Bǎi Wàn) which means million(s) or millionaire and Chinese: 智多星 (Zhì Duō Xīng) which refers to someone who is especially clever and unbeatable, and usually very energetic.[3]

Money tree

Payout structure
Question
number
Question value (in)
15¥1,000,000
14¥500,000
13¥300,000
12¥200,000
11¥125,000
10¥75,000
9¥40,000
8¥30,000
7¥20,000
6¥10,000
5¥5,000
4¥4,000
3¥3,000
2¥2,000
1¥1,000

Milestone

Top prize

Notes and References

  1. [:zh:百萬富翁#.E4.B8.AD.E5.9C.8B.E5.A4.A7.E9.99.B8.E7.89.88.E7.99.BE.E8.90.AC.E5.AF.8C.E7.BF.81|Article on the Chinese language Wikipedia]
  2. http://www.tv.com/the-apprentice/show/20528/story/8303.html Article on TV.com
  3. http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=943150 Thread on a language forum explaining the show's name