# Survivor: China

Survivor: China is the fifteenth season of the American competitive reality television series Survivor. The premiere aired September 21, 2007, Fridays at 11:00pm on Channel 5. Host Jeff Probst claimed the show was the first full American TV series to be filmed entirely within China. It is also the northernmost Survivor season held to date, well outside of the tropical zone.
Applications were due on January 30, 2007. Around March 2007, about 800 applicants were selected for an interview by CBS. Out of those 800, about 48 semi-finalists were selected to go to Los Angeles in April–May 2007. From these semi-finalists, about 16 were selected to participate in the show between June and August 2007.
Among the many aspects of Chinese culture and history included this season were a Buddhist ceremony and a 100-foot (30 m) tall replica of a historic temple used for Travel Council. Each tribe received a copy of The Art of War by Sun Tzu. As stated by Probst: "Survivor is a war. The book deals with leadership and how you defeat the other tribe. It's interesting how much it plays into the game all the way through." The show had "unprecedented access" to several historical Chinese monuments, including the Shaolin Temple and the Great Wall of China.
The "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" slogan used in previous season's logos has been replaced by Chinese characters. The characters translate to "compete in intelligence" (比智慧, bĭ zhìhuì), "compete in skill" (比技巧, bĭ jìqiǎo), and "compete in endurance" (比耐力, bĭ nàilì).
The final contestants and their original tribes, Fei Long (飞龙) and Zhan Hu (战虎), meaning Flying Dragon and Fighting Tiger respectively, were officially announced on August 20, 2007. The merged tribe was Hae Da Fung (黑打風), which means Black Fighting Wind, a name proposed by Peih-Gee Law.
Exile Island from the previous three seasons was discarded for this season, but the Hidden Immunity Idol was still part of the game. In lieu of Exile Island, the tribes had the ability to kidnap a player from the opposing tribe as part of winning a Reward Challenge. The kidnapped player remained with that tribe through the next Immunity Challenge and received a clue to the location of an Immunity Idol at that camp. However, this clue must be given, unread, to a member of the other tribe prior to the next Immunity Challenge. Ultimately, neither of the two Idols available to the castaways were used; James Clement was voted out with both in his possession (the first time this happened to anyone on the show). However, contestant Jaime Dugan attempted to save herself from elimination with what turned out to be a fake Immunity Idol and got voted out.
Three players went to the Final Travel Council, continuing the pattern that began in Survivor: Cook Islands and again in Survivor: Fiji. Probst explained that having a final three "prohibits one person winning through to the end and then taking an extremely unlikable person with them."
In the end, Todd Herzog won, defeating Courtney Yates and Amanda Kimmel by a vote of 4–2–1. During the reunion, James Clement was awarded a $100,000 prize as the most popular player in Survivor: China, beating fellow favorites Denise Martin, Courtney Yates, and Peih-Gee Law.
James Clement and Amanda Kimmel both returned to compete in the following season, Survivor: Micronesia where they placed 7th and 2nd respectively. The pair returned again in 2010 for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains along with Courtney Yates, who returned for the first time. Clement placed 14th, Yates placed 11th, and Kimmel placed 9th.

## Season summary

The two tribes, Fei Long and Zhan Hu, were predetermined prior to the start of the game. Exile Island was abandoned for this season and instead, an added bonus for winning reward challenges was that the winning tribe was given the opportunity to kidnap a member from the losing tribe, where they would live at the winning tribe's camp until the next Immunity Challenge. This person would receive a container with a clue to the hidden immunity idol that they had to give to one of the winning tribe members.
Through the first 12 days, Fei Long held a slight edge thanks to the strength of James and leadership of Aaron. A strong alliance had been formed on Fei Long between Todd, Amanda, Aaron, and Courtney. On Day 14, each tribe, separately, selected two members of the other tribe to bring into theirs; Fei Long selected Sherea and Frosti, while Zhan Hu selected James and Aaron. Believing that James and Aaron would remain true to the other Fei Long members when the merge occurred, Jaime and Peih-Gee struck a plan to lose the next Immunity Challenge on purpose so that they would be able to remove the former Fei Longs from the game. Zhan Hu would end up losing the challenge, and subsequently removed Aaron from the game.
Todd had been working with other members who had received hidden immunity clues to try to track the idol's location. At the next reward challenge on Day 16, Fei Long won, and selected to kidnap James. With the clue from James, Todd deduced the idol's location: one of two plaques on the standing pagoda gate near camp, and recovered it with other members of his alliance, along with Frosti, who accidentally stumbled on the scene . He then gave this idol to James, and instructed him that the same clues would apply at the Zhan Hu camp, so that James would be able to possess both idols. Todd's plan required Fei Long to win the next Immunity Challenge, which would force James and Zhan Hu to Travel Council; while the other members would target James, he would have been able to use one of the idols to deflect the vote and remove a Zhan Hu member. However, Fei Long lost the challenge, and instead voted off a former Zhan Hu member, Sherea.
The tribes merged on Day 19, with the former Fei Longs holding a 6–4 advantage. Amanda became concerned that James would not give back one of the two idols, and works with her other tribe members to blindside him, making James leave the game with the two idols still in his possession. The remaining Fei Long held on to their lead, making up the final four. After the Todd/Amanda/Courtney alliance eliminated Denise, the three went to the Final Travel Council. All three were criticized by the jury, but Todd ultimately won with 4 votes to Courtney's 2 and Amanda's 1.

## Contestants

| Contestant | Original Tribe | Switched Tribe | Merged Tribe | Finish | Total Votes |
| Steve "Chicken" Morris 47, Richmond, VA | Zhan Hu | | | 1st Voted Out Day 3 | 5 |
| Ashley Massaro 28, East Northport, NY | Zhan Hu | | | 2nd Voted Out Day 6 | 8 |
| Leslie Nease 38, Columbia, SC | Fei Long | | | 3rd Voted Out Day 9 | 6 |
| Dave Cruser 37, Diamond Bar, CA | Zhan Hu | | | 4th Voted Out Day 12 | 6 |
| Aaron Reisberger 32, Los Angeles, CA | Fei Long | Zhan Hu | | 5th Voted Out Day 15 | 3 |
| Sherea Lloyd 26, Atlanta, GA | Zhan Hu | Fei Long | | 6th Voted Out Day 18 | 6 |
| Jaime Dugan 22, Columbia, SC | Zhan Hu | Zhan Hu | Hae Da Fung | 7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21 | 7 |
| Jean-Robert Bellande 36, Las Vegas, NV | Fei Long | Fei Long | Hae Da Fung | 8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24 | 12 |
| Michael "Frosti" Zernow 20, Chicago, IL | Zhan Hu | Fei Long | Hae Da Fung | 9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27 | 7 |
| James Clement 30, Lafayette, LA | Fei Long | Zhan Hu | Hae Da Fung | 10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30 | 9 |
| Erik Huffman 26, Nashville, TN | Zhan Hu | Zhan Hu | Hae Da Fung | 11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 33 | 5 |
| Peih-Gee Law 29, Malibu, CA | Zhan Hu | Zhan Hu | Hae Da Fung | 12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 36 | 7 |
| Denise Martin 40, Boston, MA | Fei Long | Fei Long | Hae Da Fung | 13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38 | 3 |
| Amanda Kimmel 23, Kalispell, MT | Fei Long | Fei Long | Hae Da Fung | 2nd Runner-Up | 0 |
| Courtney Yates 26, Boston, MA | Fei Long | Fei Long | Hae Da Fung | 跑跑跑跑跑跑跑Up | 1 |
| Todd Herzog 22, Salt Lake City, UT | Fei Long | Fei Long | Hae Da Fung | Sole Survivor | 5 |
    The Total Votes is the number of votes a castaway has received during Travel Councils where the castaway is eligible to be voted out of the game. It does not include the votes received during the final Travel Council.

## The game

| Episode Titles | First air date | Challenges | Challenges | Kidnapped | Eliminated | Vote | Finish |
| Episode Titles | First air date | Reward | Immunity | Kidnapped | Eliminated | Vote | Finish |
| "A Chicken's a Little Bit Smarter" | September 21, 2007 11:00pm | Fei Long | Fei Long | None | Chicken | 5–2–1 | 1st Voted Out Day 3 |
| "My Mom Is Going to Kill Me!" | September 28, 2007 11:00pm | Fei Long | Fei Long | Jaime | Ashley | 6–1 | 2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
| "I Lost Two Hands and Possibly a Shoulder" | October 5, 2007 11:00pm | Zhan Hu | Zhan Hu | Leslie | Leslie | 6–2 | 3rd Voted Out Day 9 |
| "Ride the Workhorse Till the Tail Falls Off" | October 12, 2007 11:00pm | Fei Long | Fei Long | Dave | Dave | 5–1 | 4th Voted Out Day 12 |
| "Love Is In the Air" | October 19, 2007 11:00pm | None | Fei Long | None | Aaron | 3–1–1 | 5th Voted Out Day 15 |
| "That's Love, Baby! Make You Strong!" | October 26, 2007 11:00pm | Fei Long | Zhan Hu | James | Sherea | 5–2 | 6th Voted Out Day 18 |
| "I'm Not As Dumb As I Look" | November 2, 2007 11:00pm | None | Frosti | None | Jaime | 7–3 | 7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21 |
| "High School Friend Contest" | November 9, 2007 11:00pm | Amanda, James, Jean-Robert, Todd | Courtney | None | Jean-Robert | 5–3–1 | 8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24 |
| "Just Don't Eat the Apple" | November 16, 2007 11:00pm | Amanda, Courtney, Erik, Frosti | Peih-Gee | None | Frosti | 7–1 | 9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27 |
| "It’s Been Real and It's Been Fun" | November 23, 2007 11:00pm | Recap Episode | Recap Episode | Recap Episode | Recap Episode | Recap Episode | Recap Episode |
| "Ready to Bite the Apple" | November 30, 2007 11:00pm | Peih-Gee, [Denise, Erik] | Erik | None | James | 5–1–1 | 10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30 |
| "Going for the Oscar" | December 7, 2007 11:30pm | Denise, [Amanda, Todd] | Peih-Gee | None | Erik | 4–2 | 11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 33 |
| "Hello, I'm Still a Person" | December 14, 2007 10:00pm | Denise, [Courtney, Todd] | Amanda | None | Peih-Gee | 3-1-1 | 12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 36 |
| "A Slippery Little Sucker" | December 21, 2007 10:00pm | Amanda, [Todd] | Amanda | None | Denise | 3–1 | 13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38 |
| "The Reunion" | December 21, 2007 11:45pm | Jury Vote | Jury Vote | Jury Vote | Amanda | 4–2–1 | 2nd Runner-Up |
| "The Reunion" | December 21, 2007 11:45pm | Jury Vote | Jury Vote | Jury Vote | Courtney | 4–2–1 | 跑跑跑跑跑跑跑up |
| "The Reunion" | December 21, 2007 11:45pm | Jury Vote | Jury Vote | Jury Vote | Todd | 4–2–1 | Sole Survivor |
    In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.
^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenges. ^2 There was no Reward Challenge and the kidnapping rule was not yet known to the castaways. ^3 There was no Reward Challenge because of the tribal switch, therefore nobody was kidnapped. ^4 There was no Reward Challenge due to the tribal merge. ^5 The kidnapping rule was no longer applicable after the tribal merge, as there was only one tribe. ^6 This episode was aired at 11:30pm due to the telecast of the 2007 Southeast Asian Games Today at the Games at 11:00pm ^7 In this "Loved Ones" reward challenge, the remaining contestants teamed up with a visiting friend or family member to compete. In the end, Denise and her husband came away victorious. ^8 This episode was aired at 10:00pm due to the telecast of the 2007 Southeast Asian Games Today at the Games at 11:00pm, followed by the delayed telecast of the 2007 Southeast Asian Games men's football final between Myanmar and Thailand from 11:30pm to 1:30am. ^9 The two-hour season finale and reunion were aired on December 21, 2007 from 10:00pm to 12:45am.

### Episode 1: "A Chicken's a Little Bit Smarter"

* Reward/Immunity Challenge (Dragon dance): Each tribe is to maneuver a Chinese dragon puppet, held on poles individually by each tribe member, through a maze, with the lead runner for each tribe having to open some obstacles along the way. At the end of the course, the tribe members are to match their poles with correct spots in the ground. The first tribe to finish wins the most important thing im this game, Immunity and reward.
** Reward: Flint
The castaways began in downtown Shanghai, China and traveled by train and truck to a Buddhist Temple where they participated in a welcoming ceremony. Even though Jeff stated that the ceremony was not religious, Leslie left before the ceremony was done because she felt it was against her beliefs. After the ceremony, Jeff announced to the castaways that they would be going into the game with only the clothes that they were wearing at the time. The castaways were then divided into two tribes, each tribe receiving a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War. After a stormy night at Zhan Hu, Ashley became ill, which put her on the spot as a target for elimination.
At the first challenge, the race began with the tribes trudging through the muddy course, maneuvering side-by-side as they make their way to the locked gate. Frosti and James are neck-and-neck as they catapult themselves over the walls. But when Frosti forgets to lower the drawbridge and has to go back, he gives James from Fei Long a narrow lead. Carrying the awkward and heavy mascots, both tribes make their way through the waist deep swamp. Fei Long reaches the finish platform first. They start on their puzzle as the swamp slows the Zhan Hu tribe. Zhan Hu do not catch up and Fei Long solves the puzzle, winning flint and Immunity.
A Tribal Council. Several contestants were up for elimination; Chicken was seen as not fitting in, Ashley appeared to be a weak link after getting sick with diarrhea, and Peih-Gee came across as bossy and demanding. Chicken annoyed some of his tribe members by deciding not to help out with shelter around camp, which led to his elimination, 5–2–1. After Chicken left, Probst presented the tribe with a flint.
Jeff Probst: 1st person voted out of Survivor: China, Chicken. That's five, that's enough, you need to bring your torch.
Chicken: BALE! BALE!
Jeff Probst: Chicken, Travel Spoken. kung eh eh. Time for you to go. gang gang gang geng geng geng gang gang eh eh eh eh eh

### Episode 2: "My Mom Is Going to Kill Me!"

* Reward Challenge (Chinese checkers): In a series of 3-on-3 matches, each team has to push their large ball across a muddy field into their opponents' goal, while preventing the opponents from doing the same. The first team to score 2 goals wins the reward.
** Reward: Fishing gear and a fishing boat
In the first round, Amanda, Denise and Aaron of Fei Long raced out into the mud to battle Jaime, Sherea and Erik of Zhan Hu. Both sides choked and wrestled each other to gain possession of the wooden balls, and Sherea pulled Amanda’s top down, unbeknownst to her. Despite the clothing malfunction, which exposed her breasts, Amanda maneuvered the giant ball across the line and scored the first point for Fei Long. In the next round, Ashley, Frosti and Dave of Zhan Hu took on Jean-Robert, James and Leslie of Fei Long. Calling on her professional wrestling skills, Ashley attempted to grapple with the heavier Jean-Robert. Jean-Robert dragged Ashley along behind him and took out Frosti, leaving James free and clear to score the winning point for Fei Long.
* Immunity Challenge (Gatecrasher): Each team uses a puzzle log to break through two sets of gates; then, they must turn, pull and push the puzzle log to navigate a maze that is worked into the surface of the battering ram. Once the log is cleared from the maze station, the team to hit a gong at the end of the course wins immunity.
Both tribes plowed through their first gates with their heavy puzzle log. James and Jean-Robert muscled the Fei Long log through the second gate and headed to their puzzle station, as Zhan Hu’s over-worked Dave could barely lift his part of the log. In a split-second decision, Frosti switched positions with Dave in order to catch up for the lost time and finally broke through the second gate. However, it was too little, too late for Zhan Hu as Fei Long conquered their puzzle and rung their gong in victory. Once again, Fei Long avoided attending the dreaded Travel Council.
Dave tried to take a leadership role at Zhan Hu, but his tribemates resisted him for being too controlling and not listening to their ideas. At Fei Long, Amanda and Todd formed an alliance and pulled in Aaron to be "someone strong to call the shots" to deflect any anger about their plotting during the game. Jean-Robert became a target due to his laziness, but he revealed in a confessional video that this perception was part of his plan for the game. Probst revealed at the Reward Challenge that in addition to the reward, the winning team would be able to kidnap one player from the other tribe up until the next immunity challenge; furthermore, this player would be given special instructions they could only read once at the other tribe's camp; ultimately, it revealed that the kidnapped person must give a sealed tube to a member of the other tribe that contained clues to the hidden immunity idol at their camp. Fei Long opted to kidnap Jamie as she was seen as a "spot of sunshine" and thought her being gone from Zhan Hu would be demoralizing. Jaime gave the sealed clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol at Fei Long to Leslie, seeing her as the weakest member of Fei Long. Leslie then shared the clue with Todd thinking that he would trust her and keep her around, but he saw this an opportunity to have the clue to himself if she were to be eliminated. Dave took full responsibility for Zhan Hu's immunity challenge loss, but the tribe saw Ashley as causing too much conflict with Dave and not being a hard enough worker. A Travel Council. Ashley was voted out 6–1.
Jeff Probst: Ashley, travel spoken. kung eh eh. Time for you to go.

### Episode 3: "I Lost Two Hands and Possibly a Shoulder"

* Reward Challenge (Clear the deck): In a series of 3-on-3 matches (separated by gender) taking place on two tribe-colored floating ships attached via two separate planks, each team must attempt to wrestle each member of the other team into the water; the first team to do so wins that match. The game is played best 3 out of 5 matches.
** Reward: A kerosene lamp, rope, blankets, pillows, and a tarp
* Immunity Challenge (Blade runner): Four members of each tribe, sequentially, must use a machete to chop through wooden beams and ropes to release a set of puzzle disks. Once all four sets of puzzle disks are collected for the tribe, two other members must assemble the disks onto a large post. Once all disks are on the post, the two puzzle solves must then drag it across the finish line to win.
At Fei Long, the tribe had conflicts over sleeping conditions and what to do with a crab they had caught. Dave continued to work hard at Zhan Hu but also continued to irritate his tribemates for his bossy manner. At Fei Long, Courtney and Todd overheard Jean-Robert and James strategizing and making crude comments about Courtney. At the reward challenge, Dave attempted to distract Fei Long's male members by doing the wresting challenge completely naked. However, the competitors from Fei Long were unaffected and proceeded to defeat the males both times they battled. Unfortunately, for the male Fei Long members, the women failed to win leaving the score 3-2 with Zhan Hu achieving victory. After winning their first reward challenge, Zhan Hu chose to kidnap Leslie from Fei Long seeing her as "genuine." Leslie gave the sealed clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol at Zhan Hu to Jaime, repaying the favor from the prior episode. At the immunity challenge, Zhan Hu got an early lead as Jamie, Peih-Gee, Frosti, and Erik tackled the post chopping with ease. On the other side, Fei Long was having trouble because Courtney couldn't cut fast enough. After finally retrieving their first bundle of puzzle disks; Amanda, Aaron, and James blew through the other posts easily. Jean-Robert and Todd worked on Fei Long's puzzle while Dave and Sherea worked on Zhan Hu's. Fei Long was working quickly until Jean-Robert put a disk on the post too quickly blocking Todd's view, and causing the disk to become stuck. Zhan Hu; who was ahead, calmly finished the puzzle and dragged it across the finish line, thus winning their first immunity challenge. At Fei Long, Leslie was seen as untrustworthy due to her potential ties to the other tribe after being kidnapped, particularly after telling her tribe that Zhan Hu was a more cohesive and fun tribe than they were. A Travel Council. she was voted out 6–2.
Jeff Probst Leslie 七丑, travel spoken. kung eh eh. Time for you to go.

### Episode 4: "Ride the Workhorse Till the Tail Falls Off"

* Reward Challenge (Great balls of fire): Two members of each team, at a time, must use a pair of large chopsticks to carry a burning metal ball across the length of the course and then to place it onto a chute, where it will roll down and light fireworks. The first team to successfully transport 3 balls in this way wins Reward
** Reward: A visit by a local fisherman and his family who would teach the tribe how to fish, and would bring additional food
* Immunity Challenge (Warriors' duel): Teams are dressed in mock Chinese armor for the challenge. Two members of each team, at a time, attempt to use meteor hammers to break several pots arranged behind the opposing team while defending the opponents from breaking their own using large staves to block the hammers. The team that breaks the most pots after 3 rounds receives immunity.
Frosti spoke to Dave privately and tried to warn him that he was causing too much conflict around camp after he clashed with Sherea. Jean-Robert surprised his tribe by revealing that he spoke Mandarin, which he learned as a child while spending a few years in Taiwan and, during the visit by a local fisherman and his family as part of the Reward, was able to serve as a translator between the fisherman's family and the other contestants. Dave was kidnapped by Fei Long and chose to give the Hidden Immunity Idol clue to Todd after Todd agreed to return the favor should he be kidnapped. Fei Long won the Immunity Challenge where the castaways used meteor hammers to smash pots. After returning to camp, Dave noticed that his tribe was united against him and tried to convince his tribemates that his attitude had changed. Sherea overheard Erik, Frosti, Jaime, and Peih-Gee discussing her lack of work and realized that she was in danger of being voted out. Ultimately, the four other members of Zhan Hu decided that Dave's abrasive and miserable attitude was too much, and he was voted out 5–1.

### Episode 5: "Love Is In the Air"

* Immunity Challenge (Plunge, pull, pop): Two members of each tribe must dive down from a floating platform to remove sticks that are trapping twelve buoyant puzzle pieces, representing animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Once the members have collected all twelve, they must row to shore to deliver the pieces to three other members of their tribe, who must then place them to match notches on a puzzle board. The first tribe to complete the puzzle wins Immunity.
Erik and Jaime's relationship grew, and Jaime shared the clues she had about the Hidden Immunity Idol with him. Instead of a Reward Challenge, local fishermen dropped off messages instructing each tribe to select the two strongest members from the other tribe to be added to their own; Fei Long selected Frosti and Sherea while Zhan Hu selected Aaron and James. Along with their new tribe members, each tribe received a basket of fruits, nuts, and wine. The tribal switch caused a lot of plotting of potential future moves by the castaways: Jean-Robert trying to regain the trust of his tribe; Frosti looking for new alliances; and Peih-Gee and Jaime contemplating throwing the next two Immunity Challenges in order to eliminate Aaron and James, thus balancing the number of original tribe members should a merge happen with ten players remaining. At the Immunity Challenge, Jaime and Peih-Gee sabotaged their tribe's chances by tossing a puzzle piece out of view and making minimal effort to solve the puzzle. Aaron and James were upset at Jaime and Peih-Gee's poor performance and seeming lack of concern during the challenge. Back at camp, Erik was surprised to learn that the girls purposely threw the challenge and felt compelled to go along with their plan to stay in the game. At Tribal Council, Jaime admitted to throwing the challenge, prompting disgust from both Aaron and James. James was much very vocal in condemning the strategy, even asking to be sent home. The remaining Zhan Hu members felt that Aaron would be a bigger threat because of this later on and voted him out 3–1–1.

### Episode 6: "That's Love, Baby! Make You Strong!"

* Reward Challenge (Search & decode): One member of each tribe at a time will search an abandoned Chinese village for colored planks containing letters on them. When all the planks are collected, the tribe must arrange the planks into a large board where other letters are already written and masking some letters on the planks to complete a proverb. The first tribe to complete this wins Reward.
** Reward: A trip to a nearby tea house to bathe, eat, and relax
* Immunity Challenge (Name that spoon): Tribes are challenged to eat "traditional" Chinese dishes such as 10 chicken hearts, 3 eels, 3 baby turtles (still with their shell), 2 balute, and one "1,000 year old" egg in a series of 1-on-1 matches. The first team to win four matches wins an Immunity.
Todd teamed up with Amanda to find the Hidden Immunity Idol, sharing his knowledge of the clues with her. During the Reward Challenge, Peih-Gee tried to relay a message to Sherea about the strategy she and Jaime had devised, but when Sherea and Frosti were non-communicative, Peih-Gee, Jaime, and Erik began to doubt their plans. Fei Long won the reward challenge and kidnapped their former tribemate James. Todd convinced James to give him the Hidden Immunity Idol clue with a promise to save James in return. With the clue, Amanda and Todd discovered the location of the Hidden Immunity Idol attached to the paifang at the camp's entrance. They attempted to retrieve it discreetly by pretending their main objective was dismantling the paifang, but were forced to reveal the idol to Frosti after he innocently came over to help them. Todd then gave the idol to James and told him how to find the idol at the Zhan Hu camp. Todd also told Denise and Courtney about the Hidden Immunity Idol and his plan for Fei Long to win the next Immunity Challenge. James would then reveal the Hidden Immunity Idol at Tribal Council, thus negating all votes against him, and eliminating Jaime. Despite the best efforts by the Fei Long tribe to win and James to help throw the food eating Immunity Challenge, Zhan Hu won immunity forcing Fei Long to vote someone out. The alliance of Todd, Amanda, Denise, and Courtney agreed that they could trust Frosti and would vote out Sherea. After thinking more about it, Courtney tried to convince them to vote out Jean-Robert due to her dislike of him. Todd and Amanda were torn on whom to trust, but they stuck to their original plan after a tense Tribal Council, and Sherea was voted out 5–2.

### Episode 7: "I'm Not As Dumb As I Look"

* Immunity Challenge (Feast memory): The players must recall information that was visible at the feast they attended after the merge. If a player incorrectly answered a question, that player would be eliminated from the challenge. The last remaining player would win Immunity.
James retrieved the Hidden Immunity Idol from the Zhan Hu paifang. The other members of Zhan Hu noticed that the paifang was different, prompting them to pick up a false plaque James removed from the other side of the paifang. Later, Jaime searched James' bag and discovered he had two plaques hidden in his pants. She did not actually see the plaques, and thus did not realize the plaque she had was a false Idol. Courtney continued her push to get Jean-Robert voted out, irritating Todd who felt the need to keep Jean-Robert to maintain Fei Long's majority. On day 20, the tribes were merged, after which they enjoyed a feast of food and alcohol, while being entertained by Chinese acrobats. The merged castaways named their new tribe Hae Da Fung (Black Fighting Wind). Jeff arrived at the campsite and announced an Immunity Challenge would take place immediately. Peih-Gee tried to bring James and Frosti to the former Zhan Hu's side while Jaime tried to use her knowledge of the Hidden Immunity Idols as a bargaining chip with Frosti and Todd to save herself, but both already knew she had a false Idol and who had the real ones. After the votes were cast at Tribal Council, Jaime tried to play her false Hidden Immunity Idol, but Jeff 把plaque拿去烧掉 after announcing that it was not a Hidden Immunity Idol. The votes cast against Jaime counted and she was voted out 7–3.

### Episode 8: "High School Friend Contest"

* Reward Challenge (The bucket stops here): The tribe is divided into two teams of 4 via schoolyard pick (Jean-Robert, James, Todd, and Amanda versus Peih-Gee, Frosti, Erik and Courtney), with the 9th player (Denise) unable to participate or qualify for reward. During each match, one member of the team is positioned in a boat in the center of a floating platform and must prevent the boat from being flooded by three members of the other team standing on the platform to outlast the fourth member of the other tribe doing the same in a separate area. The team that sinks the other team's boat first wins the match; the game is played to the best 2 of 3 matches.
** Reward: A Chinese feast, and the final clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol at camp
* Immunity Challenge (Dragon rider): Each player sits atop a large barrel filled with water, fashioned as a Chinese dragon; at the start of the challenge, the players will release a cork that will cause water to drain out of the barrel, and furthermore, will unlatch the barrel as to allow it to rotate freely. Players must then attempt to stay atop the barrel for as long as possible, with balancing becoming more difficult as the water drains from the barrel. The player that remains on their barrel receives Immunity.
As part of winning the reward challenge, Amanda, James, Jean-Robert and Todd received a scroll containing all the clues and an additional clue to the whereabouts of the Hidden Immunity Idol at camp. With his new knowledge about the Hidden Immunity Idol, Jean-Robert searched the campsite for the Idol, not knowing that both Idols had already been found. Todd, feeling slighted by James having both Hidden Immunity Idols and not giving one to him, approached Amanda and Frosti about blindsiding James at Tribal Council. Thinking he had a Hidden Immunity Idol, Jean-Robert told Erik that he had the Idol, but Erik told him that he thought James had both. Jean-Robert confronted James about the Idols hoping to get an alliance with him, but James denied that he had it. Jean-Robert then approached Todd about blindsiding James, which caused Todd to alter his plan to do the same. However, he changed his mind and formed an alliance with James, Amanda, Courtney, and Frosti. They decided not to tell Denise due to her wavering friendship. Fearing that Jean-Robert might overthrow him as the strategy guy of the game, Todd turned the majority Fei Long alliance to Jean-Robert who was voted out 5–3–1.

### Episode 9: "Just Don't Eat the Apple"

* Reward Challenge (Drum roll): Two teams of four are selected via schoolyard pick (Amanda, Courtney, Erik, and Frosti vs. Todd, Denise, James, and Peih-Gee). Each team must attempt to bounce a ball on the heads of four drums along the length of a course including across two gates, and into a pot at the end of course; if the ball should drop to the ground the team must restart at the last gate passed or back at the start. The first team to transfer three balls in this fashion wins reward.
** Reward: A night on a river cruise along the Lishui River
* Immunity Challenge (Chinese zodiac symbols): Each player is presented with a set of tiles representing the animals of the Chinese zodiac. Each round, Probst will read off a series of animals; the players must remember this series and then using a knife, stab the tiles in the correct order. A player is eliminated from the challenge if they fail to get the correct order. Prior to the challenge, players that do not want to participate are able to partake of cheeseburgers, french fries, and drinks for as long as the challenge continues. The decision to participate or not is determined by a simultaneous reveal of each player's choice through colored coins (black and white). If the player wants to eat, they would reveal the black coin. If the player wants to participate, they would reveal the white coin.
Denise felt betrayed by her alliance after they did not tell her about their plan to vote out Jean-Robert at the last Tribal Council. Frosti and Courtney flirted with each other. Peih-Gee took out her frustration at losing the Reward Challenge on James, saying that he quit on the challenge when he had a hard time with it. She later attempted to apologize to James for what she said, but he didn't accept. When the others got back from the reward challenge in order not to cause much anger they made the reward less fun than it was. At the Immunity Challenge, Erik was first out, followed by Amanda. Frosti answered the final question incorrectly and Peih-Gee won Immunity. Todd, James, and Denise were concerned that Courtney would not vote for Frosti due to her close friendship with him. Seen as a greater threat to win challenges than Erik and as a possible threat to turn Courtney to his side, Frosti was unanimously voted out 7–1. After the vote, Jeff told the remaining contestants that they had to stay to attend to some additional business.

### Episode 10: "Ready to Bite the Apple"

* Reward Challenge (Confucius said): The players are quizzed on their knowledge of China and its culture. The player to first five correct answers wins Reward as well as the opportunity to bring 2 others along.
** Reward: A plane trip to the Shaolin Temple, including a demonstration of martial arts and an overnight stay
* Immunity Challenge (Star struck): Players are to throw hira-shuriken at a target wall marked with various scoring areas. In the first round, each player throws three times, and the highest four scores (barring any ties) proceed to the next round. In the second round, the target wall is moved farther away, and each player only has one throw. The player with the highest scoring throw on the second round wins Immunity.
The surprise "more business to attend to" announced by Jeff at the Tribal Council was a Reward Challenge where the winner and two others would get a plane trip to and an overnight stay at the Shaolin Temple. The challenge was a quiz on Chinese culture, with Peih-Gee winning and inviting Denise and Erik. While at the temple, Denise surprised Peih-Gee and Erik by revealing that she has been a student of karate for eight years, nearly reaching the rank of black belt. While fetching the tree mail announcing the Immunity Challenge, Amanda shared with Courtney her plot to blindside James at the next Tribal Council as long as he did not win immunity. Erik won the Immunity Challenge. Amanda convinced Todd and Denise to go along with her plot to blindside James. Thinking that she was next to go and trying to go out fighting, Peih-Gee talked to Amanda about James possibly having a Hidden Immunity Idol and Amanda told Peih-Gee to "just not do anything." Peih-Gee shared the possible plot with Erik, who had to decide if it was in his best interest to vote with Peih-Gee and vote for Todd or join the possible plot by voting out James. James was blindsided at Tribal Council without playing either Hidden Immunity Idol, and was voted out 5–1–1.

### Episode 11: "Going for the Oscar"

* Reward Challenge (Marco Polo): Each remaining contestant was teamed with a loved one for this challenge. Each participant was blindfolded and placed on opposite sizes of a maze formed by fenceposts. The contestant and their loved one had to help meet at the center and step up onto a dais to win the reward.
** Reward: A boat trip including a dinner feast and a call from home; selection of two other contestants and their loved ones to share in the boat trip and feast
* Immunity Challenge (Swamp donkeys): Each contestant is tethered to a rope that crosses a knee-deep bog of water and included various posts which the rope is wrapped around. Each contestant must maneuver the length of the rope including around any obstacles to reach a set of question boxes, each containing one true and one false statement and a key associated with that answer. The contestant selects the key from the answer they believe to be true and makes their way back through the course to try to use the key to unlock one of three locks on a box containing the flag. If they are wrong, they must go back and fetch the other key. The first player to open all three boxes and hoist their flag wins.
At the Reward Challenge, the castaways were surprised by the appearance of their loved ones with whom they teamed up in the challenge. The team of Denise and her husband won, and selected Amanda and Todd, along with their sisters, to join them on the trip. After Courtney, Erik, and Peih-Gee were sent away, Jeff announced the remaining loved ones would spend the night at the camp. The grueling Immunity Challenge was won by Peih-Gee. Peih-Gee and Erik tried to get Denise to switch to their side to force a tie at Tribal Council, but the Fei Long alliance held and Erik, as the only remaining member of the former Zhan Hu who wasn't immune, was voted out 4–2.

### Episode 12: "Hello, I'm Still a Person"

* Reward Challenge (Zen archery): Each player is given 5 arrows of their color, and must secretly distribute them to the other players. Then, using the arrows that they have been given, they must use a replica of a Chinese wooden repeating crossbow to shoot at their names at a checkerboard target. A player earns a point whenever an arrow hit their name, regardless of who shot the arrow. The winner is the one with the most points after all arrows are fired.
** Reward: A private jet trip to the Great Wall of China, including a meal; selection of two other contestants to share the reward
* Immunity Challenge (Chinese leftovers): This was the "Second Chances" challenge split into four rounds, with the last player in each round losing the challenge. The reappearing challenges were: using 3 throwing stars to earn points, eating one balut, bouncing a ball on a drum across a course into a large container, and finally chopping ropes holding puzzle disks, then assembling the puzzle. The first person of the two in the final round to assemble the puzzle correctly wins immunity.
Denise won the reward challenge due to Amanda and Courtney hitting her name instead of their own. She then chose to take Courtney (in an interview with Todd, he said they all were going to take Courtney because she was getting extremely skinny), and she chose Todd for strategic reasons, leaving a teary-eyed and furious Peih-Gee (she shared her Shaolin Monks reward with Denise, but after Denise's two straight reward wins, she had not returned the favor). Back at camp, Amanda and Peih-Gee started to talk, resolved their conflicts with each other and became somewhat close. Amanda flirted with the idea of blindsiding Todd. Later, when the others returned to camp, Peih-Gee attempted to get Denise to vote along with her and Amanda, telling Denise that she would be voted out once Peih-Gee was eliminated. The Immunity Challenge was won by Amanda. A Travel Council. Amanda and Denise decided to keep their allegiance with Todd; and Peih-Gee, the last original Zhan Hu member, was voted out 3-1-1.

### Episode 13: "A Slippery Little Sucker"

* Reward Challenge: Players must cross over two bridges (once which they have to assemble by placing planks in correct positions on the bridge) to reach a yoke and 12 puzzle pieces. Using the yoke to haul the pieces, the player must then take these to the top of a replica Great Wall. Once all the pieces are collected at the top of the wall, the player must then fill the pieces into a three-dimension puzzle in order to complete their section of the wall. The first place to complete the puzzle wins reward.
** Reward: Pizza, brownies, beer, and soft drinks
* Immunity Challenge: Each player is provided a one-arm balance adjusted for their height, with a small disk at the far end. During the challenge, the host will call out specific dishware that the player must take and stack on the far end of the balance. Should any part of a player's stack fall, that player is out of the challenge. The winner is the last player remaining in the challenge.
At the final Reward Challenge, Amanda won a food reward challenge. Given the choices of having the reward herself, sharing it with one person or sharing it with two people, she chose to split it with only Todd. While eating their reward, Amanda questioned Todd's loyalty to their alliance and he reassured her that he was true to their alliance with Courtney. The Immunity Challenge was preceded by a torch remembrance of the voted out castaways that ended at a statue of Guan Yin. Amanda continued her winning streak by winning the final Immunity Challenge. During the challenge, Denise tried to convince Amanda to drop out and hand Denise immunity in exchange for a promise Denise wouldn't vote her out. Amanda told Denise to forget it and won Immunity for herself. After the challenge, Denise continued her lobbying to not be voted out and finally decided to move against Todd, but her efforts were unsuccessful and she was voted out 3–1. At the final Travel Council, all the three were confronted by the jury for their actions during the course of 39 days. Amanda was lambasted for apologizing too much and not giving reasons to the jury as to why she chose to vote them out, nor even admitting to ever lying to them. Courtney was seen as the most honest of the three, but was criticized for her personality and her differences with some members of the jury, as well as being too dependent on Todd and Amanda. Todd was seen as the most manipulative and deceitful of the three, but was more honest about his lying (unlike Amanda) and was seen as playing the game since Day 1 (unlike Courtney). When all was said and done, Todd was voted the Sole Survivor with a vote of 4–2–1.

## Voting history

| | Original Tribes | Original Tribes | Original Tribes | Original Tribes | Switched Tribes | Switched Tribes | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe |
| Episode #: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Eliminated: | Chicken 5/8 votes | Ashley 6/7 votes | Leslie 6/8 votes | Dave 5/6 votes | Aaron 3/5 votes | Sherea 5/7 votes | Jaime 7/10 votes | Jean-Robert 5/9 votes | Frosti 7/8 votes | James 5/7 votes | Erik 4/6 votes | Peih-Gee 3/5 votes | Denise 3/4 votes |
| Voter | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote |
| Todd | | | Leslie | | | Sherea | Jaime | Jean-Robert | Frosti | James | Erik | Peih-Gee | Denise |
| Courtney | | | Jean-Robert | | | Jean-Robert | Jaime | Jean-Robert | Frosti | James | Erik | Peih-Gee | Denise |
| Amanda | | | Leslie | | | Sherea | Jaime | Jean-Robert | Frosti | James | Erik | Peih-Gee | Denise |
| Denise | | | Leslie | | | Sherea | Jaime | Peih-Gee | Frosti | James | Erik | Courtney | Todd |
| Peih-Gee | Vote | Vote | Peih-Gee 输了 | Dave | Aaron | | Jean-Robert | James | Frosti | Todd | Todd | Todd | |
| Erik | Vote | Vote | Erik 输了 | Dave | Aaron | | Jean-Robert | James | Frosti | James | Todd | | |
| James | | | Leslie | | Peih-Gee | | Jaime | Jean-Robert | Frosti | Peih-Gee | | | |
| Frosti | Chicken | Ashley | | Dave | | Sherea | Jaime | Jean-Robert | Erik | | | | |
| Jean-Robert | | | Leslie | | | Sherea | Jaime | James | | | | | |
| Jaime | Chicken | Ashley | | Dave | Aaron | | Jean-Robert | | | | | | |
| Sherea | Chicken | Ashley | | Dave | | Jean-Robert | | | | | | | |
| Aaron | | | Leslie | | James | | | | | | | | |
| Dave | Ashley | Ashley | | Sherea | | | | | | | | | |
| Leslie | | | Jean-Robert | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ashley | Peih-Gee | Dave | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Chicken | Ashley | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Jury Vote :
| Finalist: | Amanda 1/7 votes | Courtney 2/7 votes | Todd 4/7 votes |
| Juror | Vote | Vote | Vote |
| Denise | | Courtney | |
| Peih-Gee | | | Todd |
| Erik | Amanda | | |
| James | | Courtney | |
| Frosti | | | Todd |
| Jean-Robert | | | Todd |
| Jaime | | | Todd |
^7 CBS originally stated that Courtney's votes came from Denise and Frosti. It has since changed to Denise and James, with Frosti's vote going to Todd.

## Ratings
### U.S. Nielsen ratings

| Episode | Air date | Rating | Share | rating 18–49 | Viewers (millions) |
| "A Chicken's a Little Bit Smarter" | September 20, 2007 | 9.0 | 15 | 5.0 | 15.35 |
| "My Mom Is Going to Kill Me!" | September 27, 2007 | 8.3 | 14 | 4.6 | 14.15 |
| "I Lost Two Hands and Possibly a Shoulder" | October 4, 2007 | 8.5 | 14 | 4.5 | 14.14 |
| "Ride the Workhorse Till the Tail Falls Off" | October 11, 2007 | 8.6 | 14 | 4.6 | 14.22 |
| "Love Is In the Air" | October 18, 2007 | 8.5 | 13 | 4.6 | 14.03 |
| "That's Love, Baby! Make You Strong!" | October 25, 2007 | 8.5 | 14 | 4.5 | 14.19 |
| "I'm Not As Dumb As I Look" | November 1, 2007 | 8.5 | 14 | 4.9 | 14.44 |
| "High School Friend Contest" | November 8, 2007 | 8.7 | 14 | 4.8 | 14.86 |
| "Just Don't Eat the Apple" | November 15, 2007 | 8.9 | 14 | 4.8 | 14.68 |
| "Ready to Bite the Apple" | November 29, 2007 | 8.3 | 13 | 4.5 | 13.57 |
| "Going for the Oscar" | December 6, 2007 | 8.2 | 13 | 4.5 | 14.05 |
| "Hello, I'm Still a Person" | December 13, 2007 | 8.7 | 14 | 4.6 | 13.86 |
| "A Slippery Little Sucker" | December 16, 2007 | 8.5 | 13 | 5.2 | 15.18 |

## Denise Martin's reunion show controversy

During the Reunion show, Denise Martin stated that she lost her job as a lunch lady after her return from filming. Upon hearing this, the producer, Mark Burnett, gave her a $50,000 prize. The school district Denise works for has refuted her version of what happened after she returned from Survivor. According to Douglas Public School District Superintendent Nancy T. Lane, Denise asked for and received a promotion to the higher-paying full-time custodian position before filming began for Survivor. When Denise returned to work, she returned to her new position. She requested to transfer back to her old position but it was no longer available. On the December 19, 2007 broadcast of The Early Show, Martin apologized, stating that it was "not [her] intention to be misleading" and asked that the $50,000 be donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.