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

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Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Logo
Chinese百万智多星
Presented byLǐ Fán
Theme music composerKeith Strachan
Matthew Strachan
Country of originMainland China
No. of seasons1
Production
Production locationsGuangzhou, China
Running time80 minutes
Original release
NetworkGuiZhou TV (贵州电视台)
Release29 September 2007 (2007-09-29) –
April 2008 (2008-04)

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 2008, where the channel had adjustment issues.

The series was produced in Guangzhou.

Characteristics of the Chinese version[edit]

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[edit]

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][better source needed]

Money tree[edit]

Payout structure
Question
number
Question value (in RMB)
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

References[edit]