The Amazing Race: China Rush 1 () is the first season of The Amazing Race: China Rush, a Chinese reality competition show based on the American series The Amazing Race. It featured 10 teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race across 11 cities in China to win a world tour provided by Travelzen. It is the third Asian version of the franchise, after The Amazing Race Asia and HaMerotz LaMillion. The host of the show was Allan Wu, who also hosted the Asian version as well.
The Amazing Race: China Rush premiered on ICS on Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. (UTC+8).
Australian and American "flirtatious friends" Charlie Gale and Rachel Chen were the winners of this season.
Production Development and filming
In 2010, the Chinese TV network International Channel Shanghai acquired the rights to produce a version for its territories. The show was produced by Shanghai-based production company Fly Films. International Channel Shanghai had previously attempted to make their own version of the show entitled Shanghai Rush.
Filming took place between April 28 and June 3, 2010.
In this season, instead of flipping an hourglass, teams that have been forced to Yield had to wait until a spiral of incense finished burning, which took 15 minutes. This season was the first time an Amazing Race franchise had three non-elimination legs in a row, as the American and Asian editions have never had more than two in a row. It was also the first one to not offer any Fast Forward clues (the 14th American edition had an unaired Fast Forward was the first season to do so, and 18th American edition was the first American season overall not to offer any Fast Forward clue).
Casting Applications for the first season ended April 16, 2010 (extended from the original deadline on March 29, 2010).
Broadcasting Episode 2 which scheduled to air on August 15, 2010 was delayed to subsequent week due to National Mourning Day in China for Gansu mudslide victims.ICS official announcement
Marketing The Amazing Race: China Rush had eight official sponsors: CIIC, Double Tree, Hamilton, Hilton, New Balance, Organic Food, Travelzen and Shanghai International Automobile City.
Cast The 10 teams, all composed of expats living in China, were announced in a press release on April 27, 2010.
Karen is currently the first ever Canadian to be on any of the Amazing Race seasons representing Canada (Canadian citizens Tisha Silang, Natalie Glebova and Vince Chung from The Amazing Race Asia 3 were representing Philippines, Thailand and Hong Kong respectively). Rick, Joshua and Charlie are the first Australians to represent their country (similarly, Australian citizens Brett Money of The Amazing Race Asia 2, Henry Chan and Bernie Chan of The Amazing Race Asia 3 were representing Indonesia and Malaysia respectively), Paul & Francis are the first team from an African country (Kenya), and Janis, Aleksandra (Latvia) and Sarah (England) are the first Europeans to represent their home countries (British citizens Andy Lawson, Laura Kluk, Francesca von Etzdorf and Howard Bicknell from The Amazing Race Asia 1 represented Thailand, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka respectively and Frenchwoman Aurelia Chenat of The Amazing Race Asia 2 represented Hong Kong).
Janis Vaisla died on January 9, 2016, after being diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis and while waiting for a heart transplant in Berlin, at the age of 46.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus 27Maasai WarriorsRift Valley, KenyaEliminated 1st(in Wuxi, Jiangsu) 31 27AmigosMexico City, MexicoEliminated 2nd(in Changzhou, Jiangsu) 31 40Reality TV VeteransRiga, LatviaEliminated 3rd(in Yangzhou, Jiangsu) 24 54Expat Wives United StatesEliminated 4th(in Beijing) 54 Arizona, United States 27Newly Dating United StatesEliminated 5th(in Tai'an, Shandong) 32 San Francisco, California 24Ultra-Marathoners London, United KingdomEliminated 6th(in Tengchong, Yunnan) 34 San Francisco, California 38Momshells United StatesEliminated 7th(in Zhaoqing, Guangdong) 45 Vancouver, Canada 29Cricket FanaticsIndiaThird Place 30 25Best MatesMelbourne, AustraliaSecond Place 29 26Flirtatious Friends AustraliaWinners 25 United States
Results The following teams participated in the season, with their relationships at the time of filming. Note this table does not necessarily reflect all content broadcast on television due to inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order. TeamPosition (by leg)Roadblocksperformed123456789101112 Charlie & Rachel1st3rd2nd1st4th1st2nd1st4th1st1stCharlie 6, Rachel 6 Rick & Josh3rd1st1st3rd1st5th1st3rd2nd1st3rd2ndRick 6, Josh 6Deepak & Naresh9th5th5th4th6th3rd4th4th3rd2nd3rdDeepak 6, Naresh 6 Lisa & Karen 5th8th8th5th5th4th4th3rd2ndLisa 5, Karen 6 Sarah & Molly4th4th4th6th3rd2nd3rd2nd1stSarah 5, Molly 5 Sean & Amy2nd2nd3rd2nd2ndSean 3, Amy 3 Bonnie & Mel7th6th6th7thBonnie 2, Mel 36th7th7th Miguel & Hector8th9thMiguel 2, Hector 1 Paul & FrancisPaul 1, Francis 1 Key A team placement indicates that the team was eliminated. An team placement indicates that the team came in last on a non-elimination leg and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg. A indicates that the team chose to use the Yield; indicates the team who received it. A indicates means the team chose to use a U-Turn; indicates the team who received it.
Notes
Charlie & Rachel initially arrived 2nd, but were issued a 30-minute penalty as Charlie helped Rachel in the Roadblock. Sean & Amy checked in during the penalty time, dropping Charlie & Rachel to 3rd. Deepak & Naresh initially arrived 4th, but were issued a 15-minute penalty for taking a golf cart instead of walking to the Pit Stop. Sarah & Molly checked in during the penalty time, dropping Deepak & Naresh to 5th. Sarah failed to complete the Roadblock in Leg 10. After Sarah's second attempt and after all other teams had already checked in at the Pit Stop, Allan came out to the Roadblock location to inform them of their elimination.
Prizes The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg. All trips are sponsored by TravelZen. Leg 1 – A three-day, two-night trip for two to Hangzhou. Leg 2 – A three-day, two-night trip for two to Xiamen. Leg 3 – A three-day, two-night trip for two to Hong Kong. Leg 4 – A three-day, two-night trip for two to Xi'an. Leg 5 – A three-day, two-night trip for two to Inner Mongolia. Leg 6 – A six-day, five-night trip for two to Mount Huang, Mount Lu and Mount Hua. Leg 7 – A three-day, two-night trip for two to Macau. Leg 8 – A three-day, two-night trip for two to Lhasa. Leg 9 – A six-day, five-night trip for two to Taiwan. Leg 10 – A six-day, five-night trip for two to Yunnan. Leg 11 – Roundtrip tickets to 10 destinations. Leg 12 – World Trip
Race summary
Leg 1 (Shanghai → Zhejiang)
Airdate: August 8, 2010 Shanghai, China (Shanghai Expo Park) (Starting Line) Shanghai (Shanghai South Railway Station) to Ningbo, Zhejiang (Ningbo Railway Station) Ningbo (Zhenbao Fang Restaurant) Ningbo (Lao Waitan) (Overnight Rest) Ningbo (Strawberry Farm) Ningbo (Dongqian Lake) Ningbo (Tianyi Chamber) Ningbo (Ningbo Scenic Waterfront) Ningbo (Ningbo Grand Theater)
In this series' first Roadblock, one team member had to eat a turtle, leaving nothing but the shell, to receive their next clue.
Additional tasks At the Shanghai South railway station, teams had to find a lady with an orange umbrella for tickets to their next destination. At Lao Wai Tan, teams picked departure times for next day. At the strawberry farm, teams had to pick of strawberries to receive their next clue. At Dongqian Lake, teams had to play a game of paintball and pick up all 10 same colored flag to receive their next clue. At Ningbo Scenic Waterfront, teams had to complete a 100 pieces puzzle to receive their next clue.
Leg 2 (Zhejiang → Jiangsu)
Airdate: August 22, 2010 Ningbo (Ningbo Bus Station) to Wuxi, Jiangsu (Wuxi Bus Station) Wuxi (Nanchan Temple) Wuxi (Dama Tofu Shop) Wuxi (3 Kingdoms Movie Studio) Wuxi (Turtle Head Park) Wuxi (Lingshan Buddha) Wuxi (Lingshan "Five-signets" Palace)
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to choose a brick and find its matching halve from 1000 different bricks to receive their next clue.
For their Speed Bump, Paul & Francis had to each make a clay tea cup before they could continue racing.
This series' first Detour was a choice between Warriors Strength or Warriors Skill. In Warriors Strength, teams had to take a boat to an island, perform a ladder climb, and rappel from other side to receive their next clue. In Warriors Skill, teams had to hit a bullseye using spears and arrows from the distance of to receive their next clue.
Additional tasks At Nanchan Temple, teams had to take a boat down the river and find a building with three green colored lanterns on it. In Turtle Head Park, teams had to search the garden for the clue box. In Lingshan Temple, teams had to search for the smaller version of Buddha to find their next clue. In Lingshan Temple, teams had to climb 88m (217 steps) and correctly count all the flower pots decorating the monument (1509) to receive their next clue from a monk.
Leg 3 (Jiangsu)
Airdate: August 29, 2010 Wuxi (Wuxi Railway Station) to Changzhou (Changzhou Railway Station) Changzhou (Qingfeng Sports Park) Changzhou (Changzhou Comb Factory) Changzhou (Miduqiao Primary School) Changzhou (City Wall) Changzhou (Baguo Buyi Restaurant) Changzhou (Yancheng Remains)
This leg's Detour was a choice between Rock or Roll. In Rock, teams took a boat across a lake and climbed to the top of the climbing wall to receive their next clue. In Roll, teams located a bicycle cart with a skateboard. One team member then had to take control of the bicycle and cycle around the park to the skating park while the other rode on the skateboard. Once at the skating park, they will receive their next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to navigate a boat through currents to the other side of the jetty, retrieve a flag and return the boat back in order to receive the next clue.
Additional tasks At Qingfeng Sports Park, teams found their next clue at the top of a staircase. In Changzhou Comb Factory, teams had to search for one out of nine combs which have Chinese characters "常州"(Changzhou). Afterwards, they proceeded to Miduqiao Primary School and had to comb and tie the hair of ten female students to receive their next clue from the teacher. In Baguo Buyi Restaurant, teams played a game of baijiu roulette where a rotating plate with a clue was spun. If the racer received the wine, teams had to finish it before they could play again and play until they spun onto the next clue.
Leg 4 (Jiangsu)
Airdate: September 5, 2010 Changzhou (Runyang Bridge) Yangzhou (Ge Gardens) Yangzhou (Dongguan Street) Yangzhou (Yangzhou Ren Jia International Hotel) Yangzhou (Yangzhou Railway Station – Platform 1)
This leg's Detour was a choice between Blade or Brush. In Blade, one team member had to cut out the shape of Haibao, the mascot of Expo 2010, while the other team member traced and cut out the background. In Brush, one team member had to correctly write out a specific Chinese character, while the other reproduced a painting of a bamboo grove.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to finish a serving of Yangzhou's famous fried rice to receive their next clue.
Additional task At Runyang Bridge, teams received their next clue at the top of the bridge.
Leg 5 (Jiangsu → Beijing)
Airdate: September 12, 2010 Changzhou (Changzhou Railway Station) to Beijing (Beijing Railway Station) Beijing (Summer Palace – Nanhu Island) Beijing (Quanjude) Beijing (798 Art District) Beijing (Yan Club Arts Center) Beijing (Beijing National Stadium) Beijing (Great Wall of China – Badaling)