Big Bird is heading back to China and taking some of his friends from Sesame Street. Big Bird first visited China in 1983 and filmed a Sesame Street special, “Big Bird in China.” Elmo will be joining Big Bird along with Lily, a 4 year-old girl tiger that love martial arts. Sesame Street in China will be in Mandarin Chinese will be called “Sesame Street’s Big Bird Looks at the World.” “Sesame Street’s Big Bird Looks at the World” has 52 eleven minute episodes set to air on Shanghai’ Ha Ha Channel.
The series fosters children’s natural curiosity about nature and science and encourages hands-on exploration as a great way to learn. Each episode is triggered by a question that the Muppet characters have when they notice something about the world around them (e.g., “Where does the sun go at night?” “What are seashells?”). Within each episode, two live-action films provide in-depth information and real-world visuals. One of these live action films features a hands-on activity that relates to the question raised. A second live action film presents additional information and insight on the topic at hand. These segments are designed to extend the science knowledge and to bring it to life.
This is not the first time that a Sesame Street series has made its way China. In 1998 130 episode of a Chinese version of Sesame Street called “Zima Jie” aired for a limited time. This time around Sesame Street is hoping to make this more permanent.