Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Chinese game show)
Bǎi Wàn Zhì Duō Xīng (Chinese: 百万智多星, for a translation see below) was a Chinese game show, hosted by Lǐ Fán (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 (贵州电视台). The final episodes ran until April of 2008, where the channel had adjustment issues.
| Bǎi Wàn Zhì Duō Xīng | |
|---|---|
 Logo of Bǎi Wàn Zhì Duō Xīng | |
| Presented by | Lǐ Fán |
| Theme music composer | Keith Strachan Matthew Strachan |
| Country of origin | Mainland China |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Guangzhou, China |
| Running time | 80 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | GuiZhou TV (贵州电视台) |
| Original release | 29 September 2007 – April 2008 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The series were 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: 百万 (read Bǎi Wàn) which means million(s) or millionaire and 智多星 (Zhì Duō Xīng) which refers to someone who is especially clever and unbeatable, and usually very energetic.[3]
Money tree
- question • ¥1,000
- question • ¥2,000
- question • ¥3,000
- question • ¥4,000
- question • ¥5,000 (guaranteed sum)
- question • ¥10,000
- question • ¥20,000
- question • ¥30,000
- question • ¥40,000
- question • ¥75,000 (guaranteed sum)
- question • ¥125,000
- question • ¥200,000
- question • ¥300,000
- question • ¥500,000
- question • ¥1,000,000