Ni Hao Kai-lan: Bringing China to America

Since the rise in popularity of Dora the Explorer, production companies have been giving more consideration to the educational value of teaching children about various cultures and languages. One result of this trend is Ni Hao Kai-lan — a children’s cartoon that premiered on Nickelodeon in 2009.

Unlike Dora the Explorer, which has a redundancy in structure, Ni Hao Kai-lan promotes growth in development through problem solving. Kai-lan teaches her friends to help out, try new things, or make new friends, while introducing individuals to the various aspects of Chinese culture. There is a big emphasis on ‘working together’ while learning something new! Ni Hao Kai-lan also promotes family bonds and sharing. For instance, Kai-lan’s YeYe (or paternal grandfather) passes on Chinese traditions to his granddaughter and her friends.

On top of the educational structure of the show, Ni Hao Kai-lan has a cast of undeniably cute characters. From Kai-lan herself (a young, Chinese girl) to Hoho (an excitable, baby monkey), there is a character for everyone to fall in love with! Kai-lan shows that diversity among friends (animals or otherwise) is important, if not fundamental, for a fun time.

Whether you’re three or seventeen (guilty as charged), Ni Hao Kai-lan is a show everyone can enjoy. As Kai-lan would say at the end of an episode, “You make my heart feel super happy!”