Zhima Jie
Zhima Jie (芝麻街) is the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street. The show was produced from 1998 to 2001, for a total run of 130 half-hour episodes. It was filmed in Shanghai.[1]
Zhima Jie | |||||||
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Chinese | 芝麻街 | ||||||
Literal meaning | Sesame Street | ||||||
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There was an unsuccessful attempt to revive it for the 2004 season. It returned in 2010 as Zhima Jie: Da Niao Kan Shijie (芝麻街: 大鸟看世界, Sesame Street: Big Bird Looks at the World). The program focused on teaching basic skills, such as literacy, numeracy, and an appreciation of the arts, and was funded in part by the Merck Foundation.[2]
In 2014, the characters between Sesame Street and Zhima Jie guest stars on the Bai Nian La (拜年啦) on every Chinese New Years (January 31, 2014 - February 5, 2019). 6 years are the Year of the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, or the Pig.
Before the co-production, Sesame Street's 12th season had been dubbed into Mandarin in 1981 and distributed through China Central Television.[3]
Characters and new characters
- Xiao Mei Zi (小梅子), Little Plum, a red Elmo-like monster. Appeared in the 1998 version.
- Hu Hu Zhu (呼呼猪), a furry blue wild boar who is similar to Cookie Monster. Appeared in the 1998 version.
- Da Niao (大鸟), Big Bird's identical cousin[1]
- Tiger Lily, a tiger cub. Appeared in the 2010 version.
- Elmo, a furry red monster from Sesame Street
- Old Lady Wang, owner of a noodle shop and practitioner of t'ai chi ch'uan
Cast
- LaLa Ma (dubbing) and Zhu Ming (main performer) as Da Niao
Books
- Sesame Street School Readiness (11 titles)
- Sesame Street Thinking Child (6 titles)
- Sesame Street Learning Environment (4 titles)
References
- Webber, Brad (February 26, 1999). "Zhima Jie: Big Bird's Cousin Comes Home To Roost In China". Chicago Tribune.
- "Merck Foundation and Sesame Workshop: Zhima Jie Project in China" (PDF).
- Lynch Street, Nancy; Matelski, Marilyn J. (2003). "Chapter 6: Case Study: General Electric and Sesame Street-A True Joint Venture". American Businesses in China: Balancing Culture and Communication (2nd ed.). McFarland.