Zhima Jie

Lore & Background

Before the co-production, Sesame Street's 12th season had been dubbed into Mandarin in 1981 and distributed through China Central Television. Pre-production on the 1998 version was headed in part by a team of eighteen Chinese child education specialists, led by Xie Xide. In 1996 some Shanghai Television producers traveled to New York to meet and work with Sesame Workshop staff. Kevin Clash ran the auditions and training for the production's puppeteers. Unlike other international co-productions, Zhima Jie had its own version of Big Bird, Da Niao, rather than a new full-body mascot, due to Big Bird's already existing popularity in China. Caroll Spinney had final say on who would play the character. The show was sponsored by the Chinese government and Sesame Workshop. There was no attempt to revive it for the 2004 season.

The 2010 version returned as Zhima Jie: Da Niao Kan Shijie, focusing on teaching basic skills such as literacy, numeracy, and an appreciation of the arts, and was funded in part by the Merck Foundation. It featured characters including Tiger Lily, Elmo, and Old Lady Wang. The 1998 production had compassion as a primary theme for the first season and included segments showing cultural diversity within China and reminding children that failure is okay. The 2010 production focused on science education and emergency preparedness.

Reader's Guide

Zhima Jie is significant as the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street, notable for being the first international co-production to feature a direct localized version of Big Bird (Da Niao) rather than an independent equivalent, a choice driven by Big Bird's existing popularity in China. The show covered four broad curriculum categories common to other international co-productions—Child's World, Family and Society, Symbolic Representation, and Cognitive Organization—but added a fifth category of Aesthetics and Arts, including Chinese calligraphy, experiencing nature, dance, and music composition. The 1998 production also included thirty-second bumpers teaching specific scientific concepts. The 2010 version shifted focus to science education and emergency preparedness, with episodes starting with a question and ending with children performing related activities. The show's legacy includes a series of books (Sesame Street School Readiness, Thinking Child, and Learning Environment) and guest appearances on the Chinese New Year program Bai Nian La from 2014 through 2019. Only a few clips of the 1998–2001 production have surfaced online, as it did not see home video releases.

Did You Know?

• The 1998 production added a fifth curriculum category of Aesthetics and Arts, covering Chinese calligraphy, nature, dance, and music composition.
• The 2010 version, Zhima Jie: Da Niao Kan Shijie, focused on science education and emergency preparedness.