Season 15
Jeff Probst welcomes a diverse group of 16 contestants to the south central province of Jiang Xi in mainland China, where they will undergo a series of mental, physical and psychological challenges in a bid to win a $1 million prize and the title of ultimate Survivor in this, the 15th edition of the hit reality competition series.
Contestants this season include a gravedigger, a WWE wrestler, a professional poker player, a chicken farmer, a Christian talk radio host and a parkour athlete and traceur.
Survivor: China will not feature an Exile Island concept, for the first time in three seasons. Instead, the tribe that wins each Reward Challenge will be allowed to "kidnap" a member of the losing tribe.
The kidnapped tribe member will remain with the other tribe until the next Immunity Challenge, at which time they will re-join their original tribe.
In addition to Exile Island's absence and the continuation of hiding an Immunity Idol, Burnett also revealed that Survivor: China will - for the first time since Survivor: Panama and only the second time in Survivor's last eight seasons - feature only 16 castaways.
Survivor: All-Stars, Vanuatu, and Guatemala each featured 18 castaways, while Palau and Cook Islands had 20.
Among the many aspects of Chinese culture and history included this season are a Buddhist ceremony and a 100 foot-tall replica of a historic temple used for Tribal Council.
Each tribe receives 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 has "unprecedented access" to several historical Chinese monuments, including the Shaolin Temple and the Great Wall of China.