Bǎi Wàn Zhì Duō Xīng

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. The episodes were shown on Saturdays at 20:40 (UTC+8) on Chinese TV station GuiZhou TV (贵州电视台).

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 uplifing 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

1. question • ¥1,000
2. question • ¥2,000
3. question • ¥3,000
4. question • ¥4,000
5. question • ¥5,000 (guaranteed sum)
6. question • ¥10,000
7. question • ¥20,000
8. question • ¥30,000
9. question • ¥40,000
10. question • ¥75,000 (guaranteed sum)
11. question • ¥125,000
12. question • ¥200,000
13. question • ¥300,000
14. question • ¥500,000
15. question • ¥1,000,000

References