Peking Express
{{short description|Reality game show}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Peking Express.jpg
| caption =
| genre = Reality
| creator = Ludo Poppe
| theme_music_composer = Brian Tyler
| country = Belgium
Netherlands
| language = Dutch
| num_seasons = 7
| num_episodes = 76
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer =
| producer = Gert van Kerckhove
| editor =
| location = Various
| cinematography =
| camera =
| runtime = 60 minutes
| network = Net 5 (Netherlands)
Play4, Q2 (Belgium)
| first_aired = {{start date|2004|03|14|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{end date|2017|05|28|df=y}}
| related = The Amazing Race
}}
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; the following seasons are set elsewhere around the world). 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 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==
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="8"| Dakar Fès Express
!Season !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2011
|Hind & Abd el Hakim |{{SEN}} |
| 2012
|Samid Ghilan & Younès Lazrak |{{IDN}} |
=America=
==Colombian seasons==
==Mexican season==
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="8"|Abandonados Asia
!Season !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2016
| Gabriel Hernesto Villareal & Guillermo Villareal |{{VNM}} |
| 2024
| Mafer García & Amor Carlin |{{THA}} |
= Asia =
== Israeli Seasons ==
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="8" |פקין אקספרס - מסלול הדרקון Peking Express - The Dragon Track !Season !Host !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2024
|{{Ill|Oz Zehavi|lt=|he|עוז זהבי}} | Ram Strauss & Tal Eros |{{KHM}} |
=Europe=
==Belgium/Netherlands seasons==
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="9"| Peking Express
!Season !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2004
|Rani & Hans |{{RUS}} |
| 2005
|Karla & Sophie |{{CHN}} |
| 2006
|Yves & Wendy |Mekong Delta to Lhasa |{{VNM}} |
| 2006 VIP |Chimène van Oosterhout & Bart Veldkamp |{{IND}} |
| 2007
|Pascal & Miranda |Rio de Janeiro to Lima |{{BRA}} |
| 2008
|Mark & Marlinde |Mexico City to Caracas |{{MEX}} |
| 2012
|Annebet & Quintin |{{KOR}} |
| 2017
|Brecht & Cedric |{{VNM}} |
==Denmark/Sweden/Norway seasons==
==French seasons==
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="23"| Pékin Express
!Season !Season's subtitle !Host !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2006
|La Route du Transsibérien |rowspan="22"| Stéphane Rotenberg |Fathi & Médi |{{FRA}} |
| 2007
|La Route de l'Himalaya |Nadine & Sylvie |{{CHN}} |
| 2008
|La Route des Incas |Gérard & Cédric |Rio de Janeiro to Lima |{{BRA}} |
| 2009
|La Route des Dragons |Albert & Laurence |Ha Long bay to Bali |{{VNM}} |
| 2010
|La Route du bout du monde |Cécilia & Mathieu |Equator/Amazon rainforest to Ushuaia |{{ECU}} |
| 2010 VIP |Duos de choc |Taïg Khris & Chloé (season 5) |Bhatwari to Pondichery |{{IND}} |
| 2011
|La Route des grands fauves |Jean-Pierre & François |{{EGY}} |
| 2012 All-Stars |Le Passager mystère |Ludovic & Samuel (season 7) |{{KOR}} |
| 2013
|Le Coffre maudit |Linda & Salim |{{CUB}} |
| 2014 All-Stars |À la découverte des mondes inconnus |Caroline (season 4) & Sabrina |{{MMR}} |
| 2018
|La Course infernale |Christina & Didier |{{MYS}} |
| 2019
|La Route des 50 volcans |Laeticia & Aurélie |lake Atitlan to Bogotá |{{GUA}} |
| 2020 All-Stars |Retour sur la Route Mythique |Julie & Denis (season 9) |{{RUS}} |
| 2021
|Sur les pistes de la Terre Rouge (episodes 1-3) La route des 3 continents (episodes 4-10) |Christophe & Claire |Entebbe to IstanbulDue 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. |{{UGA}} |
| 2022
|Sur les terres de l'Aigle Royal |Lucas & Nicolas |{{KGZ}} |
| 2022 VIP |Duos de choc |Inès Reg & Anaïs |{{LKA}} |
| 2023
|Le choix secret |Xavier & Céline |lake Titicaca to Rio de Janeiro |{{BOL}} |
| 2024
|Sur les traces du tigre d'or |Romain & Laura |{{IDN}} |
| 2024 All-Stars |L'épopée des Maharadjas |Jean-Claude & Axel |{{IND}} |
| 2025
|La route des tribus légendaires |TBA |Arusha to Johannesburg |{{TZA}} |
| 2025
|La route des glaces |TBA |{{KAZ}} |
| 2026
|TBA |TBA |{{CHN}} |
==German seasons==
==Greek seasons==
==Hungarian seasons==
In this version, there are mainly Hungarian VIP couples.
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="7"|Ázsia Expressz
!Season !Season's subtitle !Host !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2017
|A sárkány útja |rowspan="6"|Ördög Nóra |Ambrus Attila & Berki Krisztián |{{VNM}} |
| 2019
| |Horváth Gréta & Meggyes Dávid |Negombo to Chiang Mai |{{LKA}} |
| 2022
| |Halastyák Fanni & Szlépka Armand |{{JOR}} |
| 2023
|Felfedezzük Amerikát! |Kucsera Gábor & Tóth Dávid |Queretaro City to Antigua Guatemala |{{MEX}} |
| 2024
| |Béres Anett & Sáfrány Emese |{{PHL}} |
| 2025
| |TBD |{{MYS}} |
==Italian seasons==
In this version, there are mainly VIP couples.
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="13"|Pechino Express
!Season !Season's subtitle !Host !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2012
|Avventura in Oriente |Alessandro Sampaoli & Debora Villa (Gli attori) |Haridwar to Beijing |{{IND}} |
| 2013
|Obiettivo Bangkok |rowspan=7| Costantino della Gherardesca |Massimiliano Rosolino & Marco Maddaloni (Gli sportivi){{Cite web|url=http://www.pechinoexpress.rai.it/dl/portali/site/personaggio/ContentSet-21b5b54f-0f94-4147-8b80-be6470a3dac5-list.html?ContentItem-576cc03f-fa46-4159-828e-989ab209db81|title = Pechino Express}} |{{VNM}} |
| 2014
|Ai confini dell'Asia |Stefano Corti & Alessandro Onnis (I coinquilini) |{{MMR}} |
| 2015
|Il nuovo mondo | Antonio Andrea Pinna & Roberto Bertolini (Gli antipodi) |Quito to Rio de Janeiro |{{ECU}} |
| 2016
|Le civiltà perdute | Alessio Stigliano & Alessandro Tenace (I socialisti) |Bogotá to Mexico City |{{COL}} |
| 2017
|Verso il Sol Levante | Ema Stokholma & Valentina Pegorer (Le clubber) |{{PHL}} |
| 2018
|Avventura in Africa |Patrizia Rossetti & Maria Teresa Ruta (Le signore della TV) |{{MAR}} |
| 2020
|Le stagioni dell'Oriente |Nicole Rossi & Jennifer Poni (Le collegiali) |Ko Phra Thong to Seoul |{{THA}} |
| 2022
|La rotta dei Sultani |rowspan=2| Costantino della Gherardesca & Enzo Miccio |Victoria Cabello & Paride Vitale (I pazzeschi) |{{TUR}} |
| 2023
|La via delle Indie |Joe Bastianich & Andrea Belfiore (Gli italoamericani) |{{IND}} |
| 2024
|La rotta del Dragone |rowspan=2|Costantino della Gherardesca & Gianluca Colucci "Fru" |Damiano Carrara & Massimiliano Carrara (I pasticceri) |{{VNM}} |
| 2025
|Fino al tetto del mondo |Jury Chechi & Antonio Rossi (I Medagliati) |{{PHL}} |
==Polish seasons==
In this version, there are only celebrity couples.
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="3"|Azja Express
!Season !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2016
|Michał Żurawski & Ludwik Borkowski |{{VNM}} |
| 2017
|Antoni Pawlicki & Paweł Ławrynowicz |{{LKA}} |
| rowspan="2"|Ameryka Express
!2018 |Aleksandra Domańska & Dawid Domański |San Antonio de Ibarra to Cusco |{{ECU}} |
| 2020
|Karolina Pisarek & Marta Gajewska-Komorowska |Antigua Guatemala to Cartagena |{{GUA}} |
| rowspan="2"|Azja Express
!2023 |Angelika Trochonowicz & Luka Trochonowicz |{{TUR}} |
| 2024
|Jan Błachowicz & Józef Gąsienica-Gładczan |{{PHL}} |
| Afryka Express
!2025 |TBD |{{KEN}} |
==Romanian seasons==
In this version, there are only celebrity couples.
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="5"|Asia Express
!Season !Season's subtitle !Host !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2018
|Drumul Dragonului (The Dragon Road) |Gina Pistol and Marius Damian |{{VNM}} |
| 2019
|Drumul Elefantului (The Elephant Road) |Gina Pistol, Liviu Vârciu and Andrei Ștefănescu |Eduard Mihail Andreianu & Ionuț Dongo |{{LKA}} |
| 2020
|Drumul Comorilor (The Treasure Road) |Gina Pistol, Ionuț Dongo and Marius Damian |Sorin Bontea & Răzvan Fodor |{{PHL}} |
| 2021
|Drumul Împăraților (The Emperors Road) | rowspan="2" |Irina Fodor, Ionuț Dongo and Marius Damian |Mihai Petre & Elwira Duda |{{TUR}} |
| rowspan="2"|America Express
!2023 |Drumul Aurului (The Gold Road) |Cătălin Bordea și Nelu Cortea |{{MEX}} |
| 2023
|Drumul Soarelui (The Sun Road) |Irina Fodor and Marius Damian |Laura Giurcanu & Sânziana Negru |Medellin to Buenos Aires |{{COL}} |
| rowspan="2"|Asia Express
!2024 |Drumul Zeilor (The Gods Road) |Irina Fodor and Marius Damian |Nicolai Tand & Sorin Brotnei |Chiang Rai to Bali |{{THA}} |
| 2025
|Drumul Eroilor (The Heroes Road) |TBA |TBA |{{PHL}} |
==Spanish seasons==
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="8"|Pekín Express
!Season !Season's subtitle !Winning couple !Route !Visited countries |
|---|
| 2008
|La Ruta del Transiberiano |Fernando & María (couple in crisis) |{{RUS}} |
| 2009
|La Ruta del Himalaya |Carmela & Antonio (rural friends) |{{CHN}} |
| 2010
|La Ruta del Dragón |Sandra & Belinda (sisters) |{{VNM}} |
| 2011
|Aventura en África |Mar & Vanesa (sisters) |Great Rift Valley, Kenya to Cape Town |{{KEN}} |
| 2015
|La Ruta de los Mil Templos |Ángel & Bea (siblings-in-law) |{{MMR}} |
| 2016
|La Ruta de los Elefantes |Matías & Nabil (geek cousins) |Anuradhapura to Mumbai |{{LKA}} |
| 2024
|Objetivo Angkor |Alba & Alex (siblings-in-law) |Cát Bà Island to Angkor |{{VNM}} |
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/43199/antena3-arrebata-cuatro-reality-pekin-express/|title=Antena 3 arrebata a Cuatro el reality 'Pekín express'|first=Xabier|last=Migelez|date=16 January 2015|website=FormulaTV}} An Italian version has been produced since 2012 by RAI and shown on Rai 2 successfully until 2020, when it passed on Sky Uno. 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.
| class="wikitable"
!Country !Name !Channel !Route !Host !Website |
| {{Flag|Belgium}} (Dutch) {{Flag|Netherlands}} |Peking Express |NET 5 |2004: Moscow – Beijing |Ernst-Paul Hasselbach (2004) |Official website Netherlands |
| {{Flag|Belgium}} (French)
|Pékin Express |RTL |[http://www.rtl.be/rtltvi/ Official website] |
| {{Flag|Colombia}}
|Asia Express |Ivan Lalinde |[https://web.archive.org/web/20160216042748/http://www.caracoltv.com/asia-express Official website] |
| {{Flag|Denmark}} {{Flag|Sweden}} {{Flag|Norway}} |Peking Express |Thomas Mygind |[https://web.archive.org/web/20090508134016/http://www.tvnorge.no/programportaler/peking_express/ Official website Norway] |
| {{Flag|France}} {{Flag|Belgium}} {{Flag|Switzerland}} {{Flag|Monaco}} |Pékin Express |M6 |2006: Paris – Pskov – Beijing |[https://web.archive.org/web/20121021085451/http://pekin-express.m6.fr/ Official website] |
| {{Flag|Germany}}
|Peking Express |RTL |2005: Moscow – Beijing |Patrice Bouédibéla | |
| {{Flag|Greece}}
|Asia Express |Star |Petros Polychronidis |[https://www.star.gr/tv/psychagogia/asia-express Official website] |
| {{Flag|Hungary}}
|TV2 |2017: Hải Dương – Bangkok |[https://tv2play.hu/azsia_expressz/5/videok Official website] |
| {{Flag|Israel}}
|פקין אקספרס - מסלול הדרקון |Oz Zehavi | [https://13tv.co.il/shows/peking-express/ האתר הרשמי של פקין אקספרס] |
| {{Flag|Italy}}
|Pechino Express |Rai 2 {{nowrap|(2012–2020)}} |2012: Haridwar – Beijing |Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia (2012) |[http://www.pechinoexpress.rai.it/dl/portali/site/page/Page-5ab40313-c8e0-4751-ba37-116d0154ba59.html Official website] |
| {{Flag|Mexico}}
|Abandonados Asia |2016: Hanoi – Bangkok |Paola Nuñez |[https://web.archive.org/web/20151027105129/http://www.azteca7.com/Abandonados Official website] |
| {{Flag|Morocco}}
|Dakar Fès Express |2M |2011: Dakar – Fez |Hicham Mesrar |[https://web.archive.org/web/20160324203909/http://www.2m.ma/Programmes/Dakar-Fes-Express Official website] |
| {{Flag|Poland}}
|Azja Express (1–2, 5–6) |TVN |2016: Hanoi – Bangkok |Agnieszka Woźniak-Starak (2016–2018) |[http://azjaexpress.tvn.pl/ Official website] |
| {{Flag|Portugal}}
|A Grande Aventura |TVI |2012: Manado Tua – Manado |Fernanda Serrano |[http://www.tvi.iol.pt/programas Official website] |
| {{Flag|Romania}}
|Asia Express (1–4, 7) |2018: Hạ Long – Bangkok |Gina Pistol (2018–2020) |[https://a1.ro/asia-express/ Official website] |
| {{Flag|Spain}}
|Pekín Express |Cuatro (2008–2011) |2008: Pskov – Beijing |Paula Vázquez (2008) |[http://www.cuatro.com/pekin-express/ Official website (Cuatro)] |
References
{{Reflist}}