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 (live streaming) and TV8 (reruns) since 2022.
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 or a stay, although they can ask local residents to pay for them. In order to get around, couples have to hitchhike, whilst to find a place to stay for the night, they have to rely on local hospitality.
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 2, 3 or 4 couples to arrive: the challenge for immunity or the challenge for the advantage. Starting from season 4, this challenge has not been offered in some episodes; in these cases, the couple which receives the immunity or the advantage is the first to reach the Red Book of Pechino Express. 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 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. Starting from season 10, the winning couple of each leg also has to choose which of remaining couples starts the following leg with a malus.
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 to be donated to a charity working in the countries visited throughout the race.
Series overview
SeasonSeason's subtitleHostingChannelPremiereFinaleContinentRouteVisited countriesWinning coupleMain hostCo-host1Avventura in Oriente(Adventure in the East) Emanuele Filiberto of Savoyalign=center rowspan=8 Rai 2September 13, 2012November 15, 2012 AsiaHaridwar to BeijingIndiaNepalChinaAlessandro Sampaoli & Debora Villa(Gli attori)2Obiettivo Bangkok(Goal: Bangkok) Costantino della GherardescaSeptember 8, 2013November 4, 2013Hanoi to BangkokVietnamCambodiaLaosThailandMassimiliano Rosolino & Marco Maddaloni(Gli sportivi)3Ai confini dell'Asia(At the boundaries of Asia)September 7, 2014November 3, 2014Mandalay to BaliMyanmarMalaysiaSingaporeIndonesiaStefano Corti & Alessandro Onnis(I coinquilini)4Il nuovo mondo(The new world)September 7, 2015November 2, 2015 AmericaQuito to Rio de JaneiroEcuadorPeruBrazilAntonio Andrea Pinna & Roberto Bertolini(Gli antipodi)5Le civiltà perdute(The lost civilizations)September 12, 2016November 14, 2016Bogotá to Mexico CityColombiaGuatemalaMexicoAlessio Stigliano & Alessandro Tenace(I socialisti)6Verso il Sol Levante(Towards the Rising Sun)September 13, 2017November 15, 2017 AsiaPadre Burgos to TokyoPhilippinesTaiwanJapanEma Stokholma & Valentina Pegorer(Le clubber)7Avventura in Africa(Adventure in Africa)September 20, 2018November 22, 2018 AfricaTangier to Cape TownMoroccoTanzaniaSouth AfricaPatrizia Rossetti & Maria Teresa Ruta(Le signore della TV)8Le stagioni dell'Oriente(The seasons of the East)February 11, 2020April 14, 2020 AsiaKo Phra Thong to SeoulThailandChinaSouth KoreaNicole Rossi & Jennifer Poni(Le collegiali)9La rotta dei sultani(The route of the sultans)Enzo Miccio Sky UnoNowTV8March 10, 2022May 12, 2022Uçhisar to DubaiTurkeyUzbekistanJordanUnited Arab EmiratesVictoria Cabello & Paride Vitale(I pazzeschi)10La via delle Indie(The route of the Indies)March 9, 2023May 11, 2023Mumbai to AngkorIndiaMalaysiaCambodiaJoe Bastianich & Andrea Belfiore(Gli italoamericani)11La rotta del dragone(The route of the dragon)Gianluca FruMarch 7, 2024May 9, 2024Tam Cốc to SigiriyaVietnamLaosSri LankaDamiano Carrara & Massimiliano Carrara(I pasticceri)12Fino al tetto del mondo(Up to the Roof of the World)March 6, 2025May 8, 2025El Nido to KathmanduPhilippinesThailandNepalJury Chechi & Antonio Rossi(I medagliati)13 L'Estremo Oriente(The Far East)Lillo, Giulia Salemi and Guido MedaMarch 12, 2026May 14, 2026Bali to KyotoIndonesiaChinaJapanChanel Totti & Filippo Laurino(I raccomandati)14TBATBA20272027AmericaTBA to TBAChileArgentinaBrazilTBD
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 to November 15, 2012. The subtitle of the season was Avventura in Oriente (Adventure in the East) and the route started in India, Haridwar, and continued through Nepal and China, finishing at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. The winners of the season were actors Alessandro Sampaoli and Debora Villa, Gli attori (the actors).
Route Leg Country Departure Intermediate stop Arrival Distance 1 India Haridwar Haldaur Delhi 333 km 2 Delhi Jaipur Agra 490 km 3 Agra Orchha Khajuraho 417 km 4 Khajuraho Varanasi Gorakhpur 616 km T Gorakhpur - Lumbini 80 km(in beeline) 5 Nepal Lumbini Sauraha Pokhara 300 km 6 Pokhara Thankot Kathmandu 200 km T Kathmandu - Shanghai 3 500 km(in beeline) 7 China Shanghai Wuzhen Qufu 890 km 8 Qufu Tai'an Weifang 340 km 9 Weifang Cangzhou Tianjin 500 km 10 Haidian Beijing Beijing 170 kmTotal ca. 7 800 km
Contestants PlaceCoupleMembersStatus1Gli Attori(The actors)Alessandro Sampaoli & Debora VillaWinners2I ballerini(The dancers)Andrés Gil & Anastasia KuzminaRunners-up3Zio e nipote(Uncle and nephew)Costantino della Gherardesca & BarùEliminated(leg 10)4I fidanzati(The lovers)Simone Rugiati & Malvina SeferiEliminated(leg 9)5Padre e figlio(Father and son)Antonio & Marco PizzaEliminated(leg 8)6Le veline(The veline)Costanza Caracciolo & Federica NargiEliminated(leg 6)7Gli sportivi(The sportsmen)Giorgio Rocca & Niccolò ComiEliminated(leg 5)8Madre e figlio(Mother and son)Simona Izzo & Francesco VendittiEliminated(leg 4)9Marito e moglie(Husband and wife)Massimiliano Lanza & Letizia SoldatelliEliminated(leg 2)10I fratelli(The brothers)Alarico & Armando SalaroliEliminated(leg 1)11I promessi sposi(The betrothed)Carla Carlesi & Riccardo CorsiWithdrawn(leg 1)
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 to November 4, 2013. The subtitle of the season was Obiettivo Bangkok (Goal: Bangkok) and the route started in Vietnam, at the Ba Đình Square in Hanoi, and continued through Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, finishing at the Wat Pho temple complex in Bangkok. The winners of the season were athletes Massimiliano Rosolino and Marco Maddaloni, Gli sportivi (The sportsmen).
Route Leg Country Departure Intermediate stop Arrival Distance 1 Vietnam Hanoi Hạ Long Bay Vinh 530 km 2 Đồng Hới Huế Plei Kân 450 km 3 Kon Tum Buôn Ma Thuột Đà Lạt 460 km4 Đà Lạt Bảo Lộc Ho Chi Minh City 330 kmT Ho Chi Minh City - Phnom Penh 210 km(in beeline)5 Cambodia Phnom Penh Siem Reap Ko Koh 650 km6 Ko Koh Kouk Char Stung Treng 360 kmT Stung Treng - Vientiane 600 km(in beeline)7 Laos Vientiane Vang Vieng Luang Prabang 450 km8 Luang Prabang Chaleunsouk Houayxay 580 kmT Houayxay - Chiang Mai 540 km(in beeline)9 Thailand Chiang Mai Si Satchanalai Ayutthaya 650 km10 Damnoen Saduak Kanchanaburi Bangkok 310 kmTotal ca. 6 000 km
Contestants PlaceCoupleMembersStatus1Gli sportivi(The sportsmen)Massimiliano Rosolino & Marco MaddaloniWinners2Le modelle(The models)Francesca Fioretti & Ariadna RomeroRunners-up3I laureati(The graduated)Laura Caratelli & Daniel Moreno MendozaEliminated(leg 10)4I figli di(The nepo babies)Costantino "Costia" & Giovanni TeodoriEliminated(leg 9)5Padre e figlio(Father and son)Massimo & Paolo CiavarroEliminated(leg 8)6Marchesa e maggiordomo(Marchioness and butler)Daniela del Secco d'Aragona & Gregory Jayasena Sangapala Arachchinge DonEliminated(leg 7)7I fidanzati(The lovers)Corinne Cléry & Angelo CostabileEliminated(leg 5)8Gli olimpionici(The olympians)Massimiliano Rosolino & Alessandra SensiniWithdrawn(leg 5)9Gli amici(The friends)Alessio Sakara & Stefano VenturiniEliminated(leg 4)10Gli attori(The actors)Micol Olivieri & Niccolò CentioniEliminated(leg 2)
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 to November 3, 2014. The subtitle of the season was Ai confini dell'Asia (At the boundaries of Asia) and the route started in Myanmar, at the royal palace in Mandalay, amd continued through Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, finishing at the Lotus Garden in Ubud, on the island of Bali. The winners of the season were comicians and TV personalities Stefano Corti and Alessandro Onnis, I coinquilini (The flatmates).
Route LegCountryDepartureIntermediate stopArrivalDistance1 Myanmar Mandalay Bagan Meiktila 400 km2 Oo Yin Kalaw Taunggyi 240 km3 Nyaung Shwe Namphan Yamethin 290 km4 Yamethin Thar Ga Ya Yangon 450 kmT Yangon - George Town 1 308 km(in beeline)5 Malaysia George Town Cameron Highlands Kuala Lumpur 570 km6 MalaysiaSingapore Kuala Lumpur Johor Bahru Singapore 230 kmT Singapore - Kampung Naga 1 000 km(in beeline)7 Indonesia Kampung Naga Cilacap Yogyakarta 400 km8 Yogyakarta Borobudur Trowulan 400 km9 Kampong Winong Merapi Banyuwangi 410 km10 Menjangan Bedugul Ubud 210 km Total ca. 6 000 km.
Contestants PlaceCoupleMembersStatus1I coinquilini(The flatmates)Stefano Corti & Alessandro OnnisWinners2I Pérez(The Pérez)Amaurys Pérez & Angela RendeRunners-up3Le cougar(The cougars)Eva Grimaldi & Roberta GarziaEliminated(leg 10)4Le cattive(The evil)Alessandra "Angelina" Angeli & Antonella VenturaEliminated(leg 9)5Gli sposini(The newlyweds)La Pina & Emiliano PepeEliminated(leg 8)6Le immigrate(The immigrants)Romina Giamminelli & Mariana RodríguezEliminated(leg 7)7I coreografi(The choreographers)Alessandra Celentano & Corrado GiordaniEliminated(leg 6)8I fratelli(The brothers)Clementino & Paolo MaccaroEliminated(leg 5)9Gli eterosessuali(The heterosexual)Luca Betti & Michael LewisEliminated(leg 4)10I benestanti(The wealthy)Sofia Odescalchi & Uberto MarchesiEliminated(leg 2)
Season 4: Pechino Express - Il nuovo mondo (2015) Visited countries: Ecuador - Peru - Brazil