Peking Express
Peking Express is a Dutch–Flemish reality game show that follows a series of couples as they hitchhike to or from Beijing (only in the first three seasons; seasons four and five are set in South America). The series, first broadcast on 14 March 2004, ran for seven seasons from 2004 to 2008 and was revived in 2012 (as a sole Dutch production) and again in 2017. In the Netherlands, it was screened by Net 5 and in Belgium by VT4 during its original 2000s run before moving to Q2 in 2017. The concept has also been sold to a number of countries around the world since 2005.
| Peking Express | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality |
| Created by | Ludo Poppe |
| Theme music composer | Brian Tyler |
| Country of origin | Belgium Netherlands |
| Original language | Dutch |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 76 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Gert van Kerckhove |
| Production location | Various |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Net 5 (Netherlands) Play4, Q2 (Belgium) |
| Original release | 14 March 2004 – 28 May 2017 |
| Related | |
| The Amazing Race | |
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
Moroccan seasons
| Dakar Fès Express | Season | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Hind & Abd el Hakim | Dakar to Fez |  Senegal Mauritania Morocco | |
| 2012 | Samid Ghilan & Younès Lazrak | Sulawesi to Manado |  Indonesia |
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 |
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.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 | Bali to Hanoi | Indonesia Malaysia Vietnam |
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 TBA | Mexico Guatemala |
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 Dragone) |
Costantino della Gherardesca & The Jackal | TBD | TBD | TBD | Hanoi to Colombo | Vietnam Laos Sri Lanka |
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 | TBD | Istanbul to Tashkent | Turkey Georgia Uzbekistan |
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 | Liviu Vârciu & 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 | TBA | TBA | TBA | Medellin to Buenos Aires | Colombia Ecuador Argentina | ||
| Asia Express | 2024 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | Asia | TBA | TBA |
Spanish seasons
| Pekín Express | Season | Season's subtitle | Winning couple | Route | Visited countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | La Ruta del Transiberiano | Fernando & María (couple in crisis) | Pskov to Beijing | Russia Mongolia China | |
| 2009 | La Ruta del Himalaya | Carmela & Antonio (rural friends) | Beijing to Mumbai | China Nepal India | |
| 2010 | La Ruta del Dragón | Sandra & Belinda (sisters) | Hanoi to Bali | Vietnam Cambodia Laos Thailand Indonesia | |
| 2011 | Aventura en África | Mar & Vanesa (sisters) | Great Rift Valley, Kenya to Cape Town | Kenya Tanzania South Africa | |
| 2015 | La Ruta de los Mil Templos | Ángel & Bea (siblings-in-law) | Mandalay to Singapore | Myanmar Malaysia Singapore | |
| 2016 | La Ruta de los Elefantes | Matías & Nabil (geek cousins) | Anuradhapura to Mumbai | Sri Lanka India |
International versions
A German version was shown in 2005. The concept has also been sold to Scandinavia where it was broadcast for the first time in the autumn of 2007. The Scandinavian version is shown on Kanal 5 in Sweden, TVNorge in Norway and Kanal 5 in Denmark.
A French version named Pékin Express is screened by M6, with twelve seasons aired so far from 2006 to 2019, and a thirteen and fourteen planned for 2020. It can be seen on TV5 outside France. In Spain, the first four seasons of local version Pekín Express aired on Cuatro from 2008 to 2011; Atresmedia acquired the rights in 2015 and has produced two seasons since.[3] An Italian version has been produced since 2012 by RAI and shown on Rai 2 successfully.
In Poland, the series has been broadcast on TVN since 2016 and was known for its first two seasons, which were set in Asia, as Azja Express. From season 3 onwards, it has been known as Ameryka Express, with its production location changing to America; a fourth season premiered in spring 2020. In Romania, the series has aired successfully on Antena 1 since 2018 as Asia Express for its first four seasons, with the upcoming season being titled America Express, following the changing of its production location into Americas. In Greece, the series has started airing on Star Channel as Asia Express in fall 2022.
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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".
- "Antena 3 arrebata a Cuatro el reality 'Pekín express'".