Big Bird and the Sesame Street crew are planning a comeback after pulling out of the mainland in the early 1990s over lack of sponsorship.
Sherrie Rollins Westin, executive vice-president of Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organisation behind the popular children's show franchise, said yesterday it would team up with three Chinese partners including Shanghai Media Group and the All China Women's Federation to promote projects with Sesame Street themes.
Sesame Street, which turned 40 last year, started as a television show designed to help disadvantaged children learn, but built a huge franchise that now reaches children in 140 countries.
Westin said specific programmes for the mainland would be announced this autumn. She said Sesame Street was returning to China because the nation was so exciting, economically and culturally.
'And to be honest, [it's] the sheer number of children where we believe we can make a difference,' she said. 'So how could you try to be global without being in one of the most important countries in the world?'
Westin said there was more room for pre-school education, particularly in rural areas, and Sesame Street could make a difference because of the universal appeal of its characters.