Peking Express
| Peking Express | |
|---|---|
| Release | 14 March 2004 – 28 May 2017 |
| Related | |
| The Amazing Race | |
Peking Express is a
in 2017. The game show concept has also been sold to a number of countries around the world since 2005.General theme
The theme of the show is to demonstrate how various couples deal with the challenges and pitfalls of attempting a long-distance hitchhike to a strange city, together with all the difficulties presented by trying to communicate in a language they don't understand. Tension was added by including couples who had broken up "in real life", but were willing to work together for the sake of winning the race.
In somewhat similar fashion to The Amazing Race, couples that come in last at various checkpoints along the way are eliminated from further competition. In the second series, each of the couples was given €1 per person/per day as their stipend along the route.
Theme music
The music used during the opening sequence is "Summon the Worms" from Brian Tyler's soundtrack to the 2003 miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune.
Winning couples in the international versions
Africa
Moroccan seasons
| Dakar Fès Express | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Hind & Abd el Hakim | Dakar to Fez |  Senegal Mauritania Western Sahara Morocco
| |
| 2012 | Samid Ghilan & Younès Lazrak | Sulawesi to Manado |  Indonesia
|
America
Colombian seasons
| Asia Express | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Jairo & Eliseo | Hai Duong to Bangkok
|
 Vietnam Laos Cambodia Thailand
|
Mexican season
| Abandonados Asia | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Gabriel & Guillermo | Hai Duong to Bangkok
|
Vietnam Cambodia Laos Thailand
|
Europe
Belgium/Netherlands seasons
| Peking Express | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Rani & Hans | Moscow to Beijing |  Russia Mongolia China
| |
| 2005 | Karla & Sophie | Beijing to Mumbai | China Nepal India
| |
| 2006 | Yves & Wendy | Mekong Delta to Lhasa | Vietnam Cambodia Laos China
| |
| 2006 VIP |
Chimène van Oosterhout & Bart Veldkamp | Gangotri to Kochi | India
| |
| 2007 | Pascal & Miranda | Rio de Janeiro to Lima |  Brazil Bolivia Peru
| |
| 2008 | Mark & Marlinde | Mexico City to Caracas |  Mexico Nicaragua Venezuela
| |
| 2012 | Annebet & Quintin | Seoul to Manila |  South Korea Philippines
| |
| 2017 | Brecht & Cedric | Hạ Long to Angkor | Vietnam Laos Cambodia
|
Denmark/Sweden/Norway seasons
| Peking Express | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Tyra & Stefan | Moscow to Beijing | Russia Mongolia China
|
French seasons
| Pékin Express | Season | Season's
subtitle |
Host | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | La Route du Transsibérien The Transsiberian Route |
Stéphane Rotenberg | Fathi & Médi | Paris to Beijing |  France Russia Mongolia China
| |
| 2007 | La Route de l'Himalaya The Himalayan Route |
Nadine & Sylvie | Beijing to Mumbai | China Nepal India
| ||
| 2008 | La Route des Incas The Incas' Route |
Gérard & Cédric | Rio de Janeiro to Lima | Brazil Bolivia Peru
| ||
| 2009 | La Route des Dragons The Dragons' Route |
Albert & Laurence | Ha Long bay to Bali
|
Vietnam Cambodia Laos Thailand Indonesia
| ||
| 2010 | La Route du bout du monde The Edge of the World's Route |
Cécilia & Mathieu | Equator/Amazon rainforest to Ushuaia |  Ecuador Chile Argentina
| ||
| 2010 VIP |
Duos de choc Shock duos |
Taïg Khris & Chloé (season 5) | Bhatwari to Pondichery | India
| ||
| 2011 | La Route des grands fauves The Big Cats' Route |
Jean-Pierre & François | Cairo to Cape Town |  Egypt Kenya Tanzania Lesotho South Africa
| ||
| 2012 All-Stars |
Le Passager mystère The Mystery Passenger |
Ludovic & Samuel (season 7) | Seoul to Sydney | South Korea Philippines Australia
| ||
| 2013 | Le Coffre maudit The Cursed Chest |
Linda & Salim | Habana to Miami
|
 Cuba Mexico United States
| ||
| 2014 All-Stars |
À la découverte des mondes inconnus Discovering the Unknown Worlds |
Caroline (season 4) & Sabrina | Man Lawae to Colombo |  Myanmar India Bhutan Sri Lanka
| ||
| 2018 | La Course infernale The Infernal Race |
Christina & Didier | Kuching to Tokyo |  Malaysia Philippines Japan
| ||
| 2019 | La Route des 50 volcans The 50 Volcanoes' Route |
Laeticia & Aurélie | lake Atitlan to Bogotá
|
 Guatemala Costa Rica Colombia
| ||
| 2020 All-Stars |
Retour sur la Route Mythique Return on the Mythical Route |
Julie & Denis (season 9) | Moscow to Beijing | Russia China
| ||
| 2021 | Sur les pistes de la Terre Rouge (episodes 1-3) On the Red Soil's Tracks La route des 3 continents (episodes 4-10) |
Christophe & Claire | Entebbe to Istanbul[1] |  Uganda Greece Turkey
| ||
| 2022 | Sur les terres de l'Aigle Royal On the Royal Eagle's Lands |
Lucas & Nicolas | Son-Kul to Dubai
|
 Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Jordan United Arab Emirates
| ||
| 2022 VIP |
Duos de choc Shock duos |
Inès Reg & Anaïs | Negombo to Colombo | Sri Lanka
| ||
| 2023 | Le choix secret The secret choice |
Xavier & Céline | lake Titicaca to Rio de Janeiro | Bolivia Paraguay Brazil
| ||
| 2024 | Sur les traces du tigre d'or In the footsteps of the golden tiger |
Romain & Laura | Bali to Hanoi | Indonesia Malaysia Vietnam
| ||
| 2024 All-Stars |
TBA | Agra to New Delhi | India
| |||
| 2025 | TBA | ?
|
 unknown unknown unknown
|
German seasons
| Peking Express | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Anja & Marc | Moscow to Beijing | Russia Mongolia China
| |
| Star Race | 2012 | Jimi & Nino | Bolinao to Manila | Philippines
|
Greek seasons
In this version, there are only celebrity couples.
| Asia Express | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Konstantinos Vassalos & Fipster | Angkor to Bangkok | Cambodia Laos Thailand
|
Hungarian seasons
In this version, there are mainly Hungarian VIP couples.
| Ázsia Expressz | Season | Season's subtitle | Host | Winning couple | Runner up | Third placed | Continent | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | A sárkány útja | Ördög Nóra | Ambrus Attila & Berki Krisztián | Edina Kulcsár & Szabó András "Csuti" | Megyeri Csilla & Molnár Zsolt | Asia | Haidong to Bangkok | Vietnam Cambodia Laos Thailand
| |
| 2019 | Horváth Gréta & Meggyes Dávid | Janicsák Veca & Ladányi Jancsó Ábel | Demcsák Zsuzsa & Kandász Andrea | Negombo to Chiang Mai | Sri Lanka India Thailand
| ||||
| 2022 | Halastyák Fanni & Szlépka Armand | Nyári Darinka & Kiss Ernő Zsolt | Gyebnár Csekka & Mérai Katalin | Aqaba to Tashkent | Jordan Turkey Georgia Uzbekistan
| ||||
| 2023 | TBD | TBD | TBD | America
|
Queretaro City to Antigua Guatemala
|
Mexico Guatemala
| |||
| 2024 | TBD | TBD | TBD | Asia | Lucena to Taipei | Philippines Taiwan
|
Italian seasons
In this version, there are mainly VIP couples.
| Pechino Express | Season | Season's subtitle | Host | Winning couple | Runner up | Third placed | Continent | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Avventura in Oriente (Adventure in the East) |
Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia | Alessandro Sampaoli & Debora Villa (Gli attori) | Andrés Gil & Anastasia Kuzmina (I ballerini) | Costantino della Gherardesca & Barù (Zio e nipote) | Asia | Haridwar to Beijing | India Nepal China
| |
| 2013 | Obiettivo Bangkok (Goal: Bangkok) |
Costantino della Gherardesca | Massimiliano Rosolino & Marco Maddaloni (Gli sportivi)[2] | Francesca Fioretti & Ariadna Romero (Le modelle) | Daniel Moreno Mendoza & Laura Caratelli (I laureati) | Hanoi to Bangkok | Vietnam Cambodia Laos Thailand
| ||
| 2014 | Ai confini dell'Asia (At the boundaries of Asia) |
Stefano Corti & Alessandro Onnis (I coinquilini) | Amaurys Perez & Angela Rende (I Pérez)
|
Eva Grimaldi & Roberta Garzia (Le cougar) | Mandalay to Bali | Myanmar Malaysia Singapore Indonesia
| |||
| 2015 | Il nuovo mondo (The new world) |
Antonio Andrea Pinna & Roberto Bertolini (Gli antipodi) | Christian Kang Bachini & Son Pascal (Gli espatriati) | Giulia Salemi & Fariba Mohammad Tehrani (Le persiane) | America
|
Quito to Rio de Janeiro | Ecuador Peru Brazil
| ||
| 2016 | Le civiltà perdute (The lost civilizations) |
Alessio Stigliano & Alessandro Tenace (I socialisti) | Diego Passoni & Cristina Bugatty (I contribuenti) | Lory del Santo & Marco Cucolo (Gli innamorati)
|
Bogotá to Mexico City | Colombia Guatemala Mexico
| |||
| 2017 | Verso il Sol Levante (Towards the Rising Sun) |
Ema Stokholma & Valentina Pegorer (Le clubber) | Antonella Elia & Jill Cooper (Le caporali) | Achille Lauro & Boss Doms (I compositori) | Asia | Pagbilao to Tokyo | Philippines Taiwan Japan
| ||
| 2018 | Avventura in Africa (Adventure in Africa) |
Patrizia Rossetti & Maria Teresa Ruta (Le signore della TV) | Fabrizio Colica & Tommy Kuti (Gli scoppiati) | Linda Morselli & Rachele Fogar (Le mannequin) | Africa | Tangier to Cape Town | Morocco Tanzania South Africa
| ||
| 2020 | Le stagioni dell'Oriente (The seasons of the East) |
Nicole Rossi & Jennifer Poni (Le collegiali) | Enzo Miccio & Carolina Gianuzzi (I wedding planner) | Ema Kovač & Dayane Mello (Le top) | Asia | Ko Phra Thong to Seoul | Thailand China South Korea
| ||
| 2022 | La rotta dei Sultani (The sultans route) |
Costantino della Gherardesca & Enzo Miccio | Victoria Cabello & Paride Vitale (I pazzeschi) | Natasha Stefanenko & Sasha Sabbioni (Mamma e figlia) | Gianluca "Fru" Colucci & Aurora Leone (Gli sciacalli) | Uçhisar to Dubai | Turkey Uzbekistan Jordan United Arab Emirates
| ||
| 2023 | La via delle Indie (The Indies route) |
Joe Bastianich & Andrea Belfiore (Gli italoamericani) | Federica Pellegrini & Matteo Giunta (I novelli sposi) | Carolina Stramare & Barbara Prezja (Le mediterranee) | Mumbai to Angkor | India Malaysia Cambodia
| |||
| 2024 | La rotta del Dragone (The route of the Dragon) |
Costantino della Gherardesca & The Jackal | TBD | TBD | TBD | Tam Cốc to Sigiriya | Vietnam Laos Sri Lanka
| ||
| 2025 | TBA |
TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | ?
|
unknown unknown unknown
|
Polish seasons
In this version, there are only celebrity couples.
| Azja Express | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Michał Żurawski & Ludwik Borkowski | Hai Duong to Bangkok
|
Vietnam Laos Cambodia Thailand
| |
| 2017 | Antoni Pawlicki & Paweł Ławrynowicz | Sigiriya to Mumbai | Sri Lanka India
| |
Ameryka Express
|
2018 | Aleksandra Domańska & Dawid Domański | San Antonio de Ibarra to Cusco | Ecuador Peru
|
| 2020 | Karolina Pisarek & Marta Gajewska-Komorowska | Antigua Guatemala to Cartagena | Guatemala Colombia
| |
| Azja Express | 2023 | Angelika Trochonowicz & Luka Trochonowicz | Istanbul to Tashkent | Turkey Georgia Uzbekistan
|
| 2024 | TBD | TBA | Philippines Taiwan
|
Romanian seasons
In this version, there are only celebrity couples.
| Asia Express | Season | Season's subtitle | Host | Winning couple | Runner up | Third placed | Continent | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Drumul Dragonului (The Dragon Road) | Gina Pistol and Marius Damian | Raluca Nistor & Ana Baniciu | Andrei Ştefănescu
|
Daniela Crudu & Vica Blochina | Asia | Hạ Long to Bangkok | Vietnam Laos Cambodia Thailand
| |
| 2019 | Drumul Elefantului (The Elephant Road) | Gina Pistol, Liviu Vârciu and Andrei Ștefănescu | Eduard Mihail Andreianu & Ionuț Dongo | Ana Claudia Grigore & Adrian Robert | Andra Gheorghe & Bogdan Boantă | Negombo to Mumbai | Sri Lanka India
| ||
| 2020 | Drumul Comorilor (The Treasure Road) | Gina Pistol, Ionuț Dongo and Marius Damian | Sorin Bontea & Răzvan Fodor | Ștefan Sprianu & Ștefania Codreanu | Ada Alexandra Moldovan & Cătălin Rizea | Lucena to Taipei | Philippines Taiwan
| ||
| 2021 | Drumul Împăraților (The Emperors Road) | Irina Fodor, Ionuț Dongo and Marius Damian | Mihai Petre & Elwira Duda | Emanuel Popescu & Adrian Popescu | Lidia Buble & Estera Buble | Edirne to Jerusalem | Turkey Georgia Jordan Israel
| ||
| America Express | 2023 | Drumul Aurului (The Gold Road) | Cătălin Bordea și Nelu Cortea | Andreea Antonescu și Andreea Bălan | Cătălin Scărlătescu și Doina Teodoru | America
|
Querétaro City to Cartagena
|
Mexico Guatemala Colombia
| |
| 2023 | Drumul Soarelui (The Sun Road) | Irina Fodor and Marius Damian | Laura Giurcanu & Sânziana Negru | Alexia Eram & Aris Melkior | Giulia Anghelescu & Vlad Huidu | Medellin to Buenos Aires
|
Colombia Ecuador Argentina
| ||
| Asia Express | 2024 | Drumul Zeilor (The Gods Road) | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | Asia | Chiang Rai to Bali | Thailand Malaysia Indonesia
|
Spanish seasons
| Pekín Express | Season | Season's subtitle | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | La Ruta del Transiberiano The Trans-Siberian Route |
Fernando & María (couple in crisis) | Pskov to Beijing | Russia Mongolia China
| |
| 2009 | La Ruta del Himalaya The Himalayan Route |
Carmela & Antonio (rural friends) | Beijing to Mumbai | China Nepal India
| |
| 2010 | La Ruta del Dragón The Route of the Dragon |
Sandra & Belinda (sisters) | Hanoi to Bali | Vietnam Cambodia Laos Thailand Indonesia
| |
| 2011 | Aventura en África Adventure in Africa |
Mar & Vanesa (sisters) | Great Rift Valley, Kenya to Cape Town | Kenya Tanzania South Africa
| |
| 2015 | La Ruta de los Mil Templos The Route of the Thousand Temples |
Ángel & Bea (siblings-in-law) | Mandalay to Singapore | Myanmar Malaysia Singapore
| |
| 2016 | La Ruta de los Elefantes The Route of the Elephants |
Matías & Nabil (geek cousins) | Anuradhapura to Mumbai | Sri Lanka India
| |
| 2024 | TBA | TBD | TBA | TBA |
International versions
Kanal 5
in Denmark.
A French version named Star Channel as Asia Express in fall 2022.
| Country | Name | Channel | Route | Host | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium (Dutch) Netherlands
|
Peking Express | NET 5 VT4 (2004–2008) Q2 (2017) |
2004: | Ernst-Paul Hasselbach (2004) Art Rooijakkers and Roos Van Acker (2005–2008) Sol Wortelboer (2012) Sean Dhondt and Rik van de Westelaken (2017) |
Official website Netherlands Official website Belgium |
| Belgium (French)
|
Pékin Express | RTL | 2012: Wori – Manado | Michel De Maegd | Official website |
| Colombia
|
Asia Express | Caracol Televisión | 2016: Hanoi – Bangkok | Ivan Lalinde | Official website |
 Denmark Sweden Norway
|
Peking Express | TVNorge Kanal 5 |
2007: Moscow – Beijing | Thomas Mygind Martin Björk Synnøve Skarbø |
Official website Norway |
| France
|
Pékin Express | M6 | 2006: Son-Kul – Dubai 2022: Negombo – Colombo 2023: La Paz – Rio de Janeiro 2024: Bali – Hanoi 2024: Agra – Delhi 2025: TBA |
Stéphane Rotenberg | Official website |
 Germany
|
Peking Express Star Race |
RTL | 2005: Bolinao – Manila
|
Patrice Bouédibéla Roberta Brandao |
|
| Greece
|
Asia Express | Star | 2022: Angkor – Bangkok | Petros Polychronidis | Official website |
 Hungary
|
Ázsia Expressz | TV2 | 2017: Hải Dương – Bangkok 2019: Negombo – Chiang Mai 2022: Aqaba – Tashkent 2023: Mexico City – Antigua Guatemala 2024: Lucena – Taipei |
Nóra Ördög | Official website |
| Israel
|
פקין אקספרס - מסלול הדרקון Peking Express - The Dragon Road |
Channel 13 | 2024: Cambodia - Laos - Thailand | Oz Zehavi | |
 Italy
|
Pechino Express | TV8 (2022–)
|
2012: Haridwar – Beijing 2013: Hanoi – Bangkok 2014: Mandalay – Bali 2015: Quito – Rio de Janeiro 2016: Bogotá – Mexico City 2017: Pagbilao – Tokyo 2018: Tangier – Cape Town 2020: Ko Phra Thong – Seoul 2022: Uçhisar - Dubai 2023: Mumbai - Angkor 2024: Tam Cốc – Sigiriya |
(2022–) | Official website |
| Mexico
|
Abandonados Asia | Azteca 7 Azteca Uno |
2016: Hanoi – Bangkok 2024: Chiang Rai – Kuala Lumpur |
Paola Nuñez |
Official website |
| Morocco
|
Dakar Fès Express | 2M | 2011: Dakar – Fez 2012: Wori – Manado |
Hicham Mesrar | Official website |
 Poland
|
Azja Express (1–2, 5) Ameryka Express (3–4) |
TVN | 2016: | Agnieszka Woźniak-Starak (2016–2018) Daria Ładocha (2020, 2023) |
Official website |
 Portugal
|
A Grande Aventura | TVI | 2012: Manado Tua – Manado | Fernanda Serrano | Official website |
 Romania
|
Asia Express (1–4) America Express (5–6) |
Antena 1 | 2018: | Gina Pistol (2018–2020) Marius Damian (2018, 2020-) Liviu Vârciu (2019) Andrei Ștefănescu (2019) Ionuț Dongo (2020-) Irina Fodor (2021-) |
Official website |
 Spain
|
Pekín Express | Cuatro (2008–2011) Antena 3 (2015) laSexta (2016) Max (2024) |
2008: Pskov – Beijing 2009: Beijing – Mumbai 2010: Hanoi – Bali 2011: Rift Valley – Cape Town 2015: Mandalay – Singapore 2016: Anuradhapura– Mumbai 2024: TBA |
Raquel Sánchez Silva (2009–2010) (2024)
Jesús Vázquez (2011) Cristina Pedroche (2015–2016) Miguel Ángel Muñoz |
Official website (Cuatro) Official website (Antena 3) Official website (laSexta) |
References
- ^ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the route was changed after 6 months of shooting put on hold. Original plans were to travel through Ethiopia and United Arab Emirates finishing in Dubai, but it was possible to shoot only the 3 first episodes in Uganda.
- ^ "Pechino Express".
- ^ Migelez, Xabier (16 January 2015). "Antena 3 arrebata a Cuatro el reality 'Pekín express'". FormulaTV.
External links
- Peking Express at IMDb
