Top Gear or Zuigaodang is a 2011 Chinese Hunan TV TV series adopting the format as made popular in the 2002 Top Gear reboot, Zuigaodang best translates into "Highest Gear".Matt Elmes (2012) Top Gear China https://vimeo.com/47689387 retrieved 22 July 2018 The attempt is noted as being a toned down version of its British counterpart, and usually ran about 30 minutes in length.
History
In February 2011, rumors started circulating that the Chinese TV station, CCTV, was looking to adapt the Top Gear format for the local market. The following week, it was confirmed that not only were they looking to adapt, but had in fact already finished a pilot, by host Cao Yunjin. Cao Yunjin went on to reveal that the pilot episode included a race between a Cadillac and a donkey to see which would be better suited and more efficient as farming equipment, he continued that they would not be able to emulate many of that which had made the original famous, but that they would still be doing "fun" stuff. After almost a month of no further development, the first fifteen minutes of the pilot was uploaded to YouTube, but was swiftly taken down by BBC Worldwide. While it was largely reported to have been made for CCTV, the eventual series premiered on Hunan TV on the 23rd of April 2011, and featured Huang Zheng, Cao Yunjin, and Li Rui as hosts, and also featured a local version of The Stig.
Episodes
Episode Number Air Date 01 23 April 2011 02 7 May 2011 03 14 May 2011 04 21 May 2011 05 28 May 2011 06 11 June 2011 07 3 July 2011 08 10 July 2011 09 17 July 2011 10 24 July 2011 11 31 July 2011 12 7 August 2011 13 14 August 2011 14 21 August 2011 15 28 August 2011 16 4 September 2011 17 11 September 2011 18 16 September 2011 19 25 September 2011 20 9 October 2011 21 16 October 2011 22 23 October 2011 23 30 October 2011 24 6 November 2011 25 13 November 2011 26 27 November 2011 27 4 December 2011 28 11 December 2011 29 18 December 2011 30 27 December 2011
References