Peking Express


Peking Express is a DutchFlemish reality game show that follows a series of couples as they hitchhike to or from Beijing. The series, first broadcast on 14 March 2004, ran for seven seasons from 2004 to 2008 and was revived in 2012 and again in 2017. In the Netherlands, it was screened by Net5 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

Europe

Greek seasons

In this version, there are only celebrity couples.
Asia ExpressSeasonWinning coupleRouteVisited countries
Asia Express2022Konstantinos Vassalos & FipsterAngkor to BangkokCambodia
Laos
Thailand
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Hungarian seasons

In this version, there are mainly Hungarian VIP couples.
Ázsia ExpresszSeasonSeason's subtitleHostWinning coupleRouteVisited countries
Ázsia Expressz2017A sárkány útjaÖrdög NóraAmbrus Attila & Berki KrisztiánHa long bay to BangkokVietnam
Cambodia
Laos
Thailand
Ázsia Expressz2019Ördög NóraHorváth Gréta & Meggyes DávidNegombo to Chiang MaiSri Lanka
India
Thailand
Ázsia Expressz2022Ördög NóraHalastyák Fanni & Szlépka ArmandWadi rum to TashkentJordan
Turkey
Georgia
Uzbekistan
Ázsia Expressz2023Felfedezzük Amerikát!Ördög NóraKucsera Gábor & Tóth DávidMineral De Pozos to Antigua GuatemalaMexico
Guatemala
Ázsia Expressz2024Ördög NóraBéres Anett & Sáfrány EmeseLucena to TaipeiPhilippines
Taiwan
Ázsia Expressz2025Ördög NóraBódi Hunor & Bódi MegyerPenang to BaliMalaysia
Indonesia
Ázsia Expressz2026Ördög NóraTBDTBA to Rio De JaneiroBolivia
Brazil

Italian seasons

In this version, there are mainly VIP couples.

Polish seasons

In this version, there are only celebrity couples.
Azja ExpressSeasonWinning coupleRouteVisited countries
Azja Express2016Michał Żurawski & Ludwik BorkowskiHai Duong to BangkokVietnam
Laos
Cambodia
Thailand
Azja Express2017Antoni Pawlicki & Paweł ŁawrynowiczSigiriya to MumbaiSri Lanka
India
Ameryka Express2018Aleksandra Domańska & Dawid DomańskiSan Antonio de Ibarra to CuscoEcuador
Peru
Ameryka Express2020Karolina Pisarek & Marta Gajewska-KomorowskaAntigua Guatemala to CartagenaGuatemala
Colombia
Azja Express2023Angelika Trochonowicz & Luka TrochonowiczIstanbul to TashkentTurkey
Georgia
Uzbekistan
Azja Express2024Jan Błachowicz & Józef Gąsienica-GładczanManila to TaipeiPhilippines
Taiwan
Afryka Express2025TBDKilimanjaro to NairobiTanzania
Kenya

Romanian seasons

In this version, there are only celebrity couples.

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. 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 România for its first four seasons, with the next two seasons in 2023 being titled America Express România, following the changing of its production location into Americas, and then returning to Asia since 2024. In Greece, the series has started airing on Star Channel as Asia Express in fall 2022.
CountryNameChannelRouteHostWebsite
Belgium