An all-star celebrity Chinese version of the award-winning "The Amazing Race" franchise debuts Friday on Shenzhen TV, a satellite TV network that reaches an estimated 400 million viewers worldwide.

Celebrities Zhang Tielin, Jordan Chan and Ekin Cheng will be featured on the reality show now in its 25th season in the U.S. Hong Kong star Wallace Chung said he didn't realize how out of control he was until he saw some of the footage. Zhang said he never would have signed up if he knew what was in store.

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"The Amazing Race" has run through China many times and has a Taiwan franchise, but it's not a known entity within China. It will be soon and was expected to be a hit in China where more than 100 million tourists a year leave the country for foreign points.

China's race has already run. Its results remain to be seen. The cast features eight celebrity teams who crisscrossed five oceans and three continents.

The China show runs true to "The Amazing Race" format. Timeliness is essential as is the ability to negotiate through unfamiliar surroundings and situations. Teams are eliminated as they fall behind. Producers say the show has lots of China-centric touches to appeal to the national audience.

Publicity preceding the first airing has aroused a lot of interest. Around 250,000 fans have commented on Weibo about the show's impending arrival.

Adopting and adapting Western show formats has started to gain momentum in China. A popular British show "The School" is set for a Chinese version on Hunan TV next year. Other foreign shows transferred to the Chinese market include "Celebrity Masterchef" on Jiangsu TV and "Big Town Dance" on Yunnan TV.

TagsAmazing Race, television, TV, reality TV, China television, zhang tielin, ekin chang, jordan chan, wallace chung