Pechino Express

Pechino Express is the Italian TV version of the Dutch-Belgian reality show Peking Express created by Ludo Poppe. It has been broadcast on Rai 2 from 2012 to 2020 and on Sky Uno, Now and TV8 since 2022.

WWW Official Site YT UCqndeE2uNda_Mc7V2uMBjaA

Format

The show features a race between couples made of famous and unknown people, who compete along a route of 10 legs through various countries to reach a specific destination over a multi-day journey. Each competitor is provided with a minimum amount of supplies, contained in a backpack, and one euro per day in local currency with which to cover their basic needs. Couples cannot use the money to pay for transportation, although they can ask local residents to pay for them.
On the various paths there are small "quests" which the couples must complete in order to advance in the game. Halfway along the route, there is a destination where the couples will find the Red Book of Pechino Express, which they must sign to certify their arrival. Here, the most important challenge of each leg takes place between the first couples to arrive: the challenge for immunity or the challenge for advantage. Starting from the fourth season, this challenge has not been offered in some episodes.
If the leg features a challenge for immunity, the couple winning it automatically qualifies for the following leg, doesn't have to complete the leg and usually gets to spend the night in a comfortable place, while if a challenge for advantage is offered, the couple winning it still has to finish the race and risks being eliminated, but starts the second part of the leg with a bonus which can be decisive to be able to win the leg and advance. In both cases, the couple winning the challenge also has to decide which of the remaining couples gets a malus, which can slow down the race and increase the chances of ending last.
At the finish line there is a red mat, onto which the couples have to jump in order to complete the leg. The winning couple of each leg is awarded a medal worth €5,000 in gold tokens to be donated to a charity working in the countries visited throughout the race. During the awards ceremony, the host announces the order of arrival of all the couples and afterwards the winners have to decide which of the last two couples to finish will be eliminated. The chosen couple has to face the verdict of the Black Envelope of Pechino Express, which says if the leg is eliminatory or not.
In the final episode of the show, the three or four remaining couples compete in a final sprint to reach the finish line. The first part of this final leg decides the two finalist couples, while the second part determines the winning couple. The winners receive a medal worth €10,000 in gold tokens to be donated to a charity working in the countries visited throughout the race.

Season 1: Pechino Express - ''Avventura in Oriente'' (2012)

Visited countries: India - Nepal - China
Season 1 of Pechino Express was presented by Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy and was broadcast on Rai 2 from September 13, 2012, to November 15, 2012. The subtitle of the season was Avventura in Oriente and the route started in Haridwar, India, and finished at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China, going across India, Nepal and China. The winners of the season were actors Alessandro Sampaoli and Debora Villa, Gli attori.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	Gli Attori	Alessandro Sampaoli & Debora Villa	Winners
2	I ballerini	Andrés Gil & Anastasia Kuzmina	Runners-up
3	Zio e nipote	Costantino della Gherardesca & Barù	Eliminated
4	I fidanzati	Simone Rugiati & Malvina Seferi	Eliminated
5	Padre e figlio	Antonio & Marco Pizza	Eliminated
6	Le veline	Costanza Caracciolo & Federica Nargi	Eliminated
7	Gli sportivi	Giorgio Rocca & Niccolò Comi	Eliminated
8	Madre e figlio	Simona Izzo & Francesco Venditti	Eliminated
9	Marito e moglie	Massimiliano Lanza & Letizia Soldatelli	Eliminated
10	I fratelli	Alarico & Armando Salaroli	Eliminated
11	I promessi sposi	Carla Carlesi & Riccardo Corsi	Withdrawn

Season 2: Pechino Express - ''Obiettivo Bangkok'' (2013)

Visited countries: Vietnam - Cambodia - Laos - Thailand
Season 2 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca and was broadcast on Rai 2 from September 8, 2013, to November 4, 2013. The subtitle of the season was Obiettivo Bangkok and the route started at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, and finished at the Wat Pho temple complex in Bangkok, Thailand, going across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The winners of the season were athletes Massimiliano Rosolino and Marco Maddaloni, Gli sportivi.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	Gli sportivi	Massimiliano Rosolino & Marco Maddaloni	Winners
2	Le modelle	Francesca Fioretti & Ariadna Romero	Runners-up
3	I laureati	Laura Caratelli & Daniel Moreno Mendoza	Eliminated
4	I figli di	Costantino "Costia" & Giovanni Teodori	Eliminated
5	Padre e figlio	Massimo & Paolo Ciavarro	Eliminated
6	Marchesa e maggiordomo	Daniela del Secco d'Aragona & Gregory Jayasena Sangapala Arachchinge Don	Eliminated
7	I fidanzati	Corinne Cléry & Angelo Costabile	Eliminated
8	Gli olimpionici	Massimiliano Rosolino & Alessandra Sensini	Withdrawn
9	Gli amici	Alessio Sakara & Stefano Venturini	Eliminated
10	Gli attori	Micol Olivieri & Niccolò Centioni	Eliminated

Season 3: Pechino Express - ''Ai confini dell'Asia'' (2014)

Visited countries: Myanmar - Malaysia - Singapore - Indonesia
Season 3 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca and was broadcast on Rai 2 from September 7, 2014, to November 3, 2014. The subtitle of the season was Ai confini dell'Asia and the route started at the royal palace in Mandalay, Myanmar, and finished at the Lotus Garden in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, going across Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The winners of the season were comicians and TV personalities Stefano Corti and Alessandro Onnis, I coinquilini.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	I coinquilini	Stefano Corti & Alessandro Onnis	Winners
2	I Pérez	Amaurys Pérez & Angela Rende	Runners-up
3	Le cougar	Eva Grimaldi & Roberta Garzia	Eliminated
4	Le cattive	Alessandra "Angelina" Angeli & Antonella Ventura	Eliminated
5	Gli sposini	La Pina & Emiliano Pepe	Eliminated
6	Le immigrate	Romina Giamminelli & Mariana Rodríguez	Eliminated
7	I coreografi	Alessandra Celentano & Corrado Giordani	Eliminated
8	I fratelli	Clementino & Paolo Maccaro	Eliminated
9	Gli eterosessuali	Luca Betti & Michael Lewis	Eliminated
10	I benestanti	Sofia Odescalchi & Uberti Marchesi	Eliminated

Season 4: Pechino Express - ''Il nuovo mondo'' (2015)

Visited countries: Ecuador - Peru - Brazil
Season 4 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca and was broadcast on Rai 2 from September 7, 2015, to November 2, 2015. The subtitle of the season was Il nuovo mondo and it was the first season in America. The route started at the Plaza de San Francisco in Quito, Ecuador, and finished at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, going across Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. The winners of the season were web and TV personality Antonio Andrea Pinna and his personal trainer and friend Roberto Bertolini, Gli antipodi.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	Gli antipodi	Antonio Andrea Pinna & Roberto Bertolini	Winners
2	Gli espatriati	Christian "Kang" Bachini & Son Pascal	Runners-up
3	Le persiane	Giulia Salemi & Fariba Tehrani	Eliminated
4	Le professoresse	Laura Forgia & Eleonora Cortini	Eliminated
5	Gli artisti	Paola Barale & Piero Filoni	Eliminated
6	Fratello e sorella	Naike Rivelli & Andrea Fachinetti	Eliminated
7	Gli stellati	Philippe Léveillé & Ciccio Sultano	Eliminated
8	Gli artisti	Paola Barale & Luca Tommassini	Withdrawn
9	I compagni	Scialpi & Roberto Blasi	Eliminated
10	Gli illuminati	Yari Carrisi & Pico Rama	Eliminated

Season 5: Pechino Express - ''Le civiltà perdute'' (2016)

Visited countries: Colombia - Guatemala - Mexico
Season 5 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca and was broadcast on Rai 2 from September 12, 2016, to November 14, 2016. The subtitle of the season was Le civiltà perdute and the route started at the Caracol Televisión studios in Bogotá, Colombia, and finished at the archaeological site of Tula, Mexico, going across Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. The winners of the season were YouTube duo theShow, consisting of Alessio Stigliano and Alessandro Tenace, I socialisti.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	I socialisti	Alessio Stigliano & Alessandro Tenace	Winners
2	I contribuenti	Diego Passoni & Cristina Bugatty	Runners-up
3	Gli innamorati	Lory Del Santo & Marco Cucolo	Eliminated
4	Gli spostati	Tina Cipollari & Simone Di Matteo	Eliminated
5	Gli estranei	Silvia Farina & Marco Cubeddu	Eliminated
6	I coniugi	Francesco Sarcina & Clizia Incorvaia	Eliminated
7	Gli emiliani	Xu Ruichi & Carlos Kamizele Kahunga	Eliminated
8	Le naturali	Benedetta Mazza & Raffaella Modugno	Eliminated

Season 6: Pechino Express - ''Verso il Sol Levante'' (2017)

Visited countries: Philippines - Taiwan - Japan
Season 6 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca and was broadcast on Rai 2 from September 13, 2017, to November 8, 2017. The subtitle of the season was Verso il Sol Levante and the show was back to Asia. The route started in Padre Burgos, Philippines, and finished at the West Park Bridge in Tokyo, Japan, going across the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. The winners of the season were TV and radio presenter Ema Stokholma and TV personality Valentina Pegorer, Le clubber. They were the first female couple to win the show.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	Le clubber	Ema Stokholma & Valentina Pegorer	Winners
2	Le caporali	Antonella Elia & Jill Cooper	Runners-up
3	I compositori	Achille Lauro & Edoardo Manozzi	Eliminated
4	I maschi	Francesco Arca & Rocco Giusti	Eliminated
5	I modaioli	Marcelo Burlon & Michele Lamanna	Withdrawn
6	Gli amici	Guglielmo Scilla & Alice Venturi	Eliminated
7	Figlia e matrigna	Eugenia Costantini & Agata Cannizzaro	Eliminated
8	Las estrellas	Olfo Bosé & Rafael Amargo	Eliminated
9	Gli Egger	Cristina Vittoria Egger Bertotti & Alessandro Egger	Eliminated

Season 7: Pechino Express - ''Avventura in Africa'' (2018)

Visited countries: Morocco - Tanzania - South Africa
Season 7 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca and was broadcast on Rai 2 from September 20, 2018, to November 22, 2018. The subtitle of the season was Avventura in Africa and it was the first season in Africa. The route started at the Detroit Palace in Tangier, Morocco, and finished at the St. John's Church in Cape Town, South Africa, going across Morocco, Tanzania and South Africa. The winners of the season were TV presenters Patrizia Rossetti and Maria Teresa Ruta, Le signore della TV.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	Le signore della TV	Patrizia Rossetti & Maria Teresa Ruta	Winners
2	Gli scoppiati	Fabrizio Colica & Tommy Kuti	Runners-up
3	Le mannequin	Linda Morselli & Rachele Fogar	Eliminated
4	I surfisti	Francisco Porcella & Andrea Montovoli	Eliminated
5	Le Sare	Sara Ventura & Sara Balivo	Eliminated
6	I ridanciani	Paola Caruso & Tommaso Zorzi	Withdrawn
7	Gli alieni	Roberto Meloni & Simone Morandi	Eliminated
8	I promessi sposi	Roberta Giarrusso & Riccardo Di Pasquale	Eliminated
9	I mattutini	Adriana Volpe & Marcello Cirillo	Eliminated
10	I poeti	Mirko Frezza & Tommy Kuti	Withdrawn
11	Le Coliche	Claudio Colica & Fabrizio Colica	Withdrawn

Season 8: Pechino Express - ''Le stagioni dell'Oriente'' (2020)

Visited countries: Thailand - China - South Korea
Season 8 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca and was broadcast on Rai 2 from February 11, 2020, to April 14, 2020. The subtitle of the season was Le stagioni dell'Oriente and the show was back to Asia. The route started at the Golden Buddha Beach on the Ko Phra Thong island, Thailand, and finished at the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea, going across Thailand, China and South Korea. For the first time ever, the race went through countries that had been visited in previous seasons: Thailand in season 2 and China in season 1.
The winners of the season were web personalities Nicole Rossi and Jennifer Poni, Le collegiali.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	Le collegiali	Nicole Rossi & Jennifer Poni	Winners
2	I wedding planner	Enzo Miccio & Carolina Giannuzzi	Runners-up
3	Le top	Dayane Mello & Ema Kovač	Eliminated
4	I gladiatori	Max Giusti & Marco Mazzocchi	Eliminated
5	Mamma e figlia	Soleil Sorge & Wendy Kay	Eliminated
6	I sopravvissuti	Gennaro Lillio & Vera Gemma	Eliminated
7	Gli inseparabili	Valeri Salvatori & Fabrizio Salvatori	Eliminated
8	I palermitani	Annandrea Vitrano & Claudio Casisa	Eliminated
9	I guaglioni	Gennaro Lillio & Luciano Punzo	Eliminated
10	Le figlie d'arte	Asia Argento & Vera Gemma	Withdrawn
11	Padre e figlia	Marco Berry & Ludovica Marchisio	Eliminated

Season 9: Pechino Express - ''La rotta dei sultani'' (2022)

Visited countries: Turkey - Uzbekistan - Jordan - United Arab Emirates
Season 9 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca together with Enzo Miccio and was broadcast on Sky Uno and Now from March 10, 2022, to May 12, 2022. The subtitle of the season was La rotta dei sultani and the route started at the Uçhisar castle in Turkey, and finished at the Grand Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, going across Turkey, Uzbekistan, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The winners of the season were TV presenter Victoria Cabello and her friend Paride Vitale, I pazzeschi.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	I pazzeschi	Victoria Cabello & Paride Vitale	Winners
2	Mamma e figlia	Natasha Stefanenko & Sasha Sabbioni	Runners-up
3	Gli sciacalli	Gianluca Fru & Aurora Leone	Eliminated
4	Italia-Brasile	Nikita Pelizon & Helena Prestes	Eliminated
5	Gli indipendenti	Bugo & Cristian Dondoni	Eliminated
6	I fidanzatini	Rita Rusić & Cristiano Di Luzio	Eliminated
7	Gli scienziati	Barbascura X & Andrea Boscherini	Eliminated
8	Padre e figlio	Ciro & Giovanbattista Ferrara	Eliminated
9	Gli atletici	Alex Schwazer & Bruno Fabbri	Eliminated
10	Le tiktoker	Anna Ciati & Giulia Paglianiti	Eliminated

Season 10: Pechino Express - ''La via delle Indie'' (2023)

Visited countries: India - Malaysia - Cambodia
Season 10 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca together with Enzo Miccio and was broadcast on Sky Uno and Now from March 9, 2023, to May 11, 2023. The subtitle of the season was La via delle Indie and the route started at the Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, and finished at the Thommanon temple in Angkor, Cambodia, going across India, Malaysia and Cambodia. For the first time ever, the whole race went through countries that had been visited in different previous seasons: India in season 1, Malaysia in season 3 and Cambodia in season 2.
The winners of the season were American restaurateur and TV celebrity Joe Bastianich and restaurateur and TV personality Andrea Belfiore, Gli italoamericani.
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	Gli italoamericani	Joe Bastianich & Andrea Belfiore	Winners
2	I novelli sposi	Federica Pellegrini & Matteo Giunta	Runners-up
3	Le mediterranee	Carolina Stramare & Barbara Prezja	Eliminated
4	I siculi	Salvatore Schillaci & Barbara Lombardo	Eliminated
5	Le attiviste	Giorgia Soleri & Federica "Federippi" Fabrizio	Eliminated
6	Mamma e figlio	Martina Colombari & Achille Costacurta	Eliminated
7	Gli avvocati	Alessandra De Michelis & Laura Picardi	Eliminated
8	Gli istruiti	Maria Rosa Petolicchio & Andrea Di Piero	Eliminated
9	Gli ipocondriaci	Dario Vergassola & Caterina Vergassola	Eliminated

Season 11: Pechino Express - ''La rotta del dragone'' (2024)

Visited countries: Vietnam - Laos - Sri Lanka
Season 11 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca together with Gianluca Fru and was broadcast on Sky Uno and Now from March 7, 2024, to May 9, 2024. The subtitle of the season was La rotta del dragone and the route started at the Thai Vi temple in Tam Cốc, Vietnam, and finished at the Pidurangala Rock in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, going across Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. The winners of the season were pastry chef and TV personality Damiano Carrara and his brother and fellow pastry chef Massimiliano, I pasticceri
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	I pasticceri	Damiano Carrara & Massimiliano Carrara	Winners
2	Italia Argentina	Antonella Fiordelisi & Estefania Bernal	Runners-up
3	Le amiche	Maddalena Corvaglia & Barbara Petrillo	Eliminated
4	Le ballerine	Maddalena Svevi & Megan Ria	Eliminated
5	I fratm	Artem Tkachuk & Antonio Orefice	Eliminated
6	I Caressa	Fabio & Eleonora Caressa	Eliminated
7	I giganti	Kristian Ghedina & Francesca Piccinini	Eliminated
8	I brillanti	Nancy Brilli & Pierluigi Iorio	Eliminated
9	I romagnoli	Paolo Cevoli & Elisabetta Garuffi	Eliminated

Season 12: Pechino Express - ''Fino al tetto del mondo'' (2025)

Visited countries: Philippines - Thailand - Nepal
Season 12 of Pechino Express was presented by Costantino della Gherardesca together with Gianluca Fru and was broadcast on Sky Uno and Now from March 6, 2025, to May 8, 2025. The subtitle of the season was Fino al tetto del mondo and the route started on the Pinagbuyatan Island, near the island of El Nido, Philippines, and finished at the Uma Maheshwor temple in Kirtipur, near Kathmandu, Nepal, going across the Philippines, Thailand and Nepal. The winners of the season were retired gymnast Jury Chechi and retired sprint canoer Antonio Rossi, I medagliati
Legs
Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
1	I medagliati	Jury Chechi & Antonio Rossi	Winners
2	I complici	Dolcenera & Gigi Campanile	Runners-up
3	Gli estetici	Giulio Berruti & Nicolò Maltese	Eliminated
4	Le atlantiche	Ivana Mrázová & Sofia Giaele De Donà	Eliminated
5	Le sorelle	Samanta & Debora Togni	Eliminated
6	I cineasti	Nathalie Guetta & Vito Bucci	Eliminated
7	I magici	Jay & Checco Lillo	Eliminated
8	I primi ballerini	Virna Toppi & Nicola Del Freo	Eliminated
9	Gli spettacolari	Gianluca Fubelli & Federica Camba	Eliminated

Season 13: Pechino Express - ''L'Estremo Oriente'' (2026)

Visited countries: Indonesia - China - Japan
Season 13 of Pechino Express will be presented by Costantino della Gherardesca together with Guido Meda, Giulia Salemi and Lillo and will be broadcast on Sky Uno and Now in 2026. The subtitle of the season will be L'Estremo Oriente and the route will go across Indonesia, China and Japan.
Legs

Leg	Country	Departure	Intermediate stop	Arrival	Distance
1	Indonesia
2	Indonesia
3	Indonesia
4	Indonesia
5	China
6	China
7	China
8	China
9	Japan
10	Japan

Ranking

Place	Couple	Members	Status
	I raccomandati	Chanel Totti & Filippo Laurino
	Gli spassusi	Biagio Izzo & Francesco Paolantoni
	Le DJ	Jo Squillo & Michelle Masullo
	Le albiceleste	Camila & Candelaria Solórzano
	I rapper	Dani Faiv & Tony 2Milli
	I veloci	Fiona May & Patrick Stevens
	I creator	Mattia Stanga & Elisa Maino
	Gli ex	Steven Bazalari & Viviana Vizzini
	I comedian	Tay Vines & Assane Diop
	Le biondine	Gaia De Laurentiis & Agnese Catalani