Survivor: China · Season 15
In the Arena
Every challenge Survivor: China staged — who took immunity, who won reward, week by week.
23 challenges ran this season — 13 with immunity on the line and 11 for reward.
- Episode1
- Immunity + Reward
Dragon Dance
Each tribe is to maneuver a heavy Chinese puppet (a dragon for Fei Long, and a tiger for Zhan Hu), held on poles individually by each tribe member, through a maze, with the lead runner for each tribe having to open obstacles along the way. At the end of the course, the tribe members are to match their poles with corresponding spots in the ground. The first tribe to complete this task wins.
Reward: A piece of flint.
Fei Long wins
- Episode2
- Reward
Chinese Checkers
The format: Boulder Smash
Three players from each tribe (with even gender matches) attempt to push one of two large wooden 'balls' released by Probst across a waterlogged field to the finish line to score a point. Physical contact is allowed, intentionally causing injury is not. First tribe to two wins.
Reward: Fishing gear, a fishing boat and kidnapping a member from the other team.
Fei Long wins
- Immunity
Gatecrasher
Each tribe uses a puzzle log to break through two sets of gates; then, they must turn, pull and push the puzzle log to navigate a maze that is worked into the surface of the log. Once the log is cleared from the maze station, the first tribe to hit a gong at the end of the course wins immunity.
Fei Long wins
- Episode3
- Reward
Clear the Deck
Three players at a time (all of the same sex) start on opposing boat-shaped pontoons, connected by two beams, and attempt to force all participating members of the other tribe into the water to score a point. First tribe to three wins.
Reward: Lantern, kerosene, blankets, pillow, rope, a tarp, and the right to kidnap one member from the rival tribe.
Zhan Hu wins
- Immunity
Blade Runner
One at a time, four players run to a chopping station, use a sword to cut through seven marked sections of wood to release a hanging bundle of puzzle discs, chop them off from the rope, and carry them back to the start line. Then, the other two place the sixteen discs onto a puzzle pole with a heavy stone base and drag it past the four stations to the finish line.
Zhan Hu wins
- Episode4
- Reward
Great Balls of Fire
Two players at a time carry a burning metal ball across a clearing to a wok using giant chop sticks. When it lands in the wok, fireworks will ignite. First tribe to get all three balls in their woks, each with a larger pair of chopsticks, wins.
Reward: Fishing lesson and cooked meal from a local family, spices, vegetables, and kidnapping a member of the losing tribe.
Fei Long wins
- Immunity
Warriors' Duel
Dressed in traditional Chinese warrior armor, the tribes must throw meteor hammers to break porcelain vases behind their opponents, while they try and stop the throwers with bamboo poles. There are three rounds, with three meteor hammers per team. The most vases smashed cumulatively wins.
Fei Long wins
- Episode5
- Immunity
Plunge, Pull, Pop
The format: Sea Salvage
Two players swim to a pontoon and climb up, alternate diving down to pull bamboo poles out of a cage, eventually making twelve puzzle discs (each bearing a sign of the Chinese zodiac) float, then transport them to shore in a small boat. The other three use them to solve a puzzle, matching each disc to the corresponding place on a large board.
Fei Long wins
- Episode6
- Reward
Search and Decode
The format: In-Cog-Neato
One at a time, the tribes must enter an abandoned village, grab a color-coded plank, and return. Once all eight have been found, they must slide them into a grid to form an eleven-word phrase made famous by Confucius. The first to sinish wins.
Reward: Teahouse visit, a bath and shower, and the right to kidnap a member from the other tribe.
Fei Long wins
- Immunity
Survivor Smorgasbord
The format: Buggin' Out
Competing head-to-head, castaways would race to eat traditional Chinese dishes. The first person to finish their dish and show an empty mouth scores a point for their tribe. The first tribe to four points wins immunity.
Zhan Hu wins
- Episode7
- Immunity
Feast Memory
The format: Merge
The newly merged tribe must answer questions about the merge feast/performance. An incorrect answer merits an automatic elimination from the challenge. The survivor with the longest streak of correct answers wins individual immunity.
Won by Frosti
- Episode8
- Reward
The Bucket Stops Here
The format: Sprung a Leak
Two captains are randomly chosen, who start a selection chain, continuing until there are two teams of four, and one player left out. This player sits out, and they will not go on the reward. Then, one tribe member sits in a small boat in the middle of what is essentially a pool, while the three remaining members of the other team stand on a pontoon and use buckets to throw water at the boat to try and make it sink. The player in the boat can bail water out and move around with their hands. Sink the other team's boat first to score a point. In each round, someone different must sit in the boat. First to two wins.
Reward: Village trip for authentic Chinese meal and a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol.
Won by Jean-Robert, James, Amanda, Todd
- Immunity
Dragon Rider
The final nine must each sit on an unsteady water-filled barrel over a swamp for as long as possible as the water slowly drains out. If they fall off or touch the structure holding the barrel, which is shaped like a dragon, they're out. Last one left wins.
Won by Courtney
- Episode9
- Reward
Drum Roll
Each member of a four-person team holds a different-sized drum, and they attempt to bounce a ball between them down a course and to the team's finishing barrel, heading over several waist-high hurdles, and returning to the last of two gates they passed through (or to the start) if they drop it. First to get three balls into their barrel wins.
Reward: Overnight cruise on the Li River, including dinner.
- Immunity
Chinese Zodiac Symbols
The contestants must listen to a list of animals in the Chinese zodiac called out by Probst, then use a knife to stab into the corresponding symbols on a solving board in the right order. Get it wrong and they're out. Last one left wins. The contestants were also given the option to sit out of the challenge and eat cheeseburgers if they wanted to.
Won by Peih-Gee
- Episode11
- Reward
Confucius Said
The format: Survivor Quiz Show
Castaways must answer a trivia quiz about China and its culture. The first castaway to answer five questions correctly wins.
Reward: Overnight trip to the Shaolin Temple
Won by Peih-Gee
- Immunity
Star Struck
Castaways must throw three metal stars at a target, scoring points depending on where the star lands and sticks. The three highest scorers (or more, if there is a tie) move on to the final round. In the final round, each castaway gets one throw each at a new target ten feet farther away. The castaway with the highest score wins.
Won by Erik
- Episode12
- Reward
Marco Polo
Blindfolded players and their also-blindfolded loved ones start at opposite ends of a maze. Calling to each other, they must reunite and make it to the large platform in the center of the maze. The first pair to do so wins.
Reward: A boat trip and a feast with their loved ones, an overnight stay at camp for loved ones, and the right to a phone call home.
Won by Denise
- Immunity
Swamp Donkeys
Attached to a rope, the final six must run down a swampy course (going over and under a series of hitching posts as necessary) to a color-coded set of boxes. They will then untie a box, open it, choose the correct statement about Chinese inventions from two options displayed, and take the corresponding key back to the start to open a lock if correct. First player to open all three of their locks and raise a flag wins.
Won by Peih-Gee
- Episode13
- Reward
Zen Archery
The format: Shooting Gallery
The contestants must give each of five arrows to the other players in secret, then use a replica of a 4th-century repeating crossbow to hit a grid target with the arrows they received, playing in order from least arrows to most. One point any time an arrow hits their section of the target, regardless of who fired it. Highest score wins.
Reward: Overnight trip to the Great Wall of China and traditional meal.
Won by Denise
- Immunity
Chinese Leftovers
The format: Survivor Pentathlon
The seasonal 'learn from past mistakes' challenge. First, the contestants must throw three metal stars at a target. Lowest scorer is out. Those four must eat one balut. Last player still eating is out. They must then move a ball down an obstacle-filled clearing into a barrel, bouncing it on a drum. First two move on. The final two will use a sword to chop through sections of wood and release a group of puzzle discs, then fit the discs onto their pole.
Won by Amanda
- Episode14
- Reward
Great Wall of Zhelin
Each contestant must race to construct a Survivor version of The Great Wall of China. First, they will start on top of the wall and race down a ladder. Next, they must race to assemble and cross a puzzle bridge. Once across, they will use a traditional Chinese Yoke to stack their puzzle blocks and carry them back through the course up the ladder. Finally, using the puzzle blocks, they must complete their section of the wall by fitting the properly shaped pieces in the correct slots.
Reward: Pizza, beer, brownies, and soft drinks
Won by Amanda
- Immunity
Broken China
The contestants will stack porcelain dishes on a long, wobbly balancing arm. The more dishes they stack and the longer they must hold them, the more difficult it is to keep them stable. Once a dish falls off of the balancing plate, they are out of the challenge.
Won by Amanda