Maura Regan says China is an important market for Sesame Workshop's programs and the Sesame Street TV show. [Zhang Yuwei / China Daily]

Big Bird, Elmo, and Cookie Monster - flagship icons from Sesame Street - are not only Muppet characters who engage American children to learn, but also act as cultural ambassadors, across the ocean, on Chinese TV.

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization that produces Sesame Street, first entered China in 1983. Apart from its show, it has had a number of co-productions of English language learning and math and science programs with different broadcasters.

After Big Bird's brief presence, an absence of about 13 years occurred because of funding restrictions. However, in December 2010, Sesame Street returned to Chinese TV. This time, Big Bird is back with his new feathered and furry Muppet friends - Elmo and Tiger Lily - on Shanghai Media Group's kids channel Haha TV and is syndicated nationally with China Central Television (CCTV).

"We are really thrilled to be back in China," says Maura Regan, Sesame Workshop's senior vice-president and general manager for global consumer products. The relaunch shows the organization views China as "an important market" that will continue to grow, she says.

Sesame's new 11-minute Mandarin series - Big Bird Looks at the World - fosters children's curiosity about nature and science and encourages hands-on exploration as a great way to learn.

Regan says even when producing for a completely different culture, the team doesn't encounter any cultural barriers when it comes to content development because children from any culture respond to a great story.

"The more you think things are different, the more things are really the same. Children all over the world in so many ways, outside of language and what toys they may have in their rooms, are very similar," says Regan, adding strong story telling is the key to attracting children and engaging them to learn.

Sesame Street, whose Chinese name is "Zhi Ma Jie", partnered with Shanghai Toonmax Media Co Ltd, a youth-oriented satellite channel owned by Shanghai Media Group (China's second largest media conglomerate after State-run CCTV). MSD, a global leader in developing innovative health solutions, has provided the funds for the now-locally produced, Mandarin version of its flagship Sesame Street show.

Regan, who travels about five times each year to China, says the US producers of the show basically act as an advisory team and give local Chinese producers guidelines. Cross-cultural collaborations, she says, are like a "magic sauce" to create better content.

This partnership of making local programs also gives Sesame Street easy access to Chinese TV where the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (China's media regulator) sets rules of limiting the broadcast of foreign or imported content - no more than 25 percent content coming from foreign sources - during prime time everyday.