Survivor: China

Survivor: China is the fifteenth season of . Originally airing in fall 2007, it was the first American television show to ever be filmed or produced in the People’s Republic of China. 
This season returned to Survivor’s standard format of 16 contestants on two competing tribes, Fei Long and Zhan Hu, each with their own colorful personalities and internal conflicts. On Day 19, the tribes merged into Hae Da Fung, which was controlled by the dominant alliance birthed on Fei Long. In the end, the Final Three faced a jury of seven. For his vice grip on the game and for delivering one of the series' best Final Tribal Council performances, Todd Herzog was crowned Sole Survivor in a 4-2-1 vote against Courtney Yates and Amanda Kimmel. Since airing, it has produced four returning players (Amanda Kimmel, Courtney Yates, James Clement, and Peih-Gee Law) for subsequent seasons.
==Production==
Producers were given an "unprecedented access" to several Chinese monuments and landmarks, and they incorporated many aspects of China's vast culture into the game (design of campsites, challenge concepts, Tribal Council set, etc.). Before they made it to their camps, the contestants took part in a non-religious Buddhist ceremony. After the ceremony, both tribes received a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War which would help them in winning challenges and conquering the other tribe.
The season was said to be the first U.S. show to be entirely shot in China.
For this season's rendition of Ancient Voices, Russ Landau commissioned an all-female Chinese choir in Beijing to translate the Russian folk song Poidu Vyidu na Ulitsu ("I'll go and get outside"; the reference material of Ancient Voices) into Mandarin and added a Chinese folk song to the edit.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKBFfx-3YtY
==Twists/Changes==
*Hidden Immunity Idol: During this season, the tribe's idols were hidden in plain sight as one of the two plaques on the pagota gate outside each tribe's camps.
*Kidnapping: The kidnapping twist from and returned. However, unlike the two former seasons, the kidnapped player was not granted immunity. Starting with the episode , whichever tribe won the Reward Challenge would kidnap a member from the losing tribe to stay at their camp until the next Immunity Challenge. The kidnapped player would give a tube containing clues to the Hidden Immunity Idol to a tribe member from the opposing side for an idol at their camp.
*Tribe Switch: On Day 13, both tribes were told to select two members of the opposing tribe to join their tribe.
*Final Three: For the third consecutive season, three castaways would face the jury instead of the usual two.
**New Jury/Finals Configuration: This is the first Final Three season to use the traditional seven-member jury instead of the nine-member jury used during and .
==Castaways==
Contestant	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Finish	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	Switched Tribe 	Merged Tribe 	Finish	VotesAgainst
 	Chicken Morris47, Marion, VAChicken Farmer 	 	 	 	 	5
 	Ashley Massaro28, East Northport, NYProfessional Wrestler 	 	 	 	 	8
 	Leslie Nease38, Tega Cay, SCChristian Radio Host 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Dave Cruser37, Simi Valley, CAFormer Model 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Aaron Reisberger32, Venice, CASurfing Instructor 	 	 	 	 	3
 	Sherea Lloyd25, Atlanta, GAElementary Teacher 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Jaime Dugan21, Columbia, SCStudent 	 	 	rowspan="10" 	 	7
 	Jean-Robert Bellande36, Las Vegas, NVProfessional Poker Player	 	 	 	12 	
 	Frosti Zernow20, Chicago, ILStudent/Athlete 	 	 	 	7 	
 	James Clement30, Lafayette, LAGravedigger 	 	 	 	9 	
 	Erik Huffman26, Nashville, TNMusician 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Peih-Gee Law29, Marina del Rey, CAJeweler 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Denise Martin40, Douglas, MASchool Lunch Lady 	 	 	 	3 	
 	Amanda Kimmel22, Los Angeles, CAHiking Guide 	 	 	SecondRunner-Up 	0 	
 	Courtney Yates26, New York City, NYWaitress 	 	 	Runner-Up 	0 	
 	Todd Herzog22, Pleasant Grove, UTFlight Attendant 	 	 	Sole Survivor 	5 	
==Season Summary==
The two tribes, Fei Long and Zhan Hu, were predetermined prior to the start of the game. 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.
Fei Long held a slight edge thanks to the strength of James and leadership of Aaron. A strong alliance formed on Fei Long between Aaron, Todd, Amanda, 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 formed 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 to find the Hidden Immunity Idol. 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. 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 Zhan Hu to Tribal 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.
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 worked with her other tribe members to blindside him, with James leaving the game with the two idols still in his possession. The remaining Fei Long held on to their lead, comprising the final four. Todd, Amanda, and Courtney's alliance held strong and the three went to the end of the game.
At the Final Tribal Council, 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 criticized for her personality, while Todd was accused for being manipulative and deceitful. Ultimately Todd defeated Courtney and Amanda in a 4-2-1 vote to become the Sole Survivor.
==Voting History==
==Trivia==
* With an age average of 29.938 years among its castaways, the cast of China has the second youngest age average of all seasons (Ghost Island is the youngest with an average age of 27.9).
* China is the first season to use a variation on the "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" slogan. The Chinese words used in their place—"比智慧" (bĭ zhìhuì), "比技巧" (bĭ jìqiǎo), and "比耐力" (bĭ nàilì)—approximately translate to "compete in intelligence" , compete in skill, compete in endurance" respectively.
* China is the first season not to include Exile Island since its introduction.
* Both China and had Hidden Immunity Idols "hidden in plain sight", with China's being a plaque-shaped ornament.
* China had the first instance of a contestant (Jaime Dugan) trying to play an item at Tribal Council believed to be a Hidden Immunity Idol, but turning out not to be.
*China is the first season in which only castaways who switched tribes were eliminated after a tribe switch.
* China is the only 16-castaway season to have a Final Three face the jury.
*China has the overall youngest Final Three of the time of recording.
*China is the first season with a Final Three in which all three finalists received jury votes.
** This would later be followed by , , , and Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.
* China holds the record for fewest contestants voted out in a season without any evacuations, quits, or eliminations, with 13.
* Once this season reached the jury phase, the opening introductory montage no longer showed all the contestants in the game. The montage showed the players in "the jury" first, followed by the ones in the "Merged Tribe." Prior to this, all seasons had shown all the players in the intro in all episodes.
* CBS gave this season's Immunity Idol to actor , an avid reality TV fan, for his 37th birthday.
==References==
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Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor: China