Race the World () is a Chinese reality television series that aired on Jiangsu Television in 2016 that features twelve contestants that formed teams of two in a race around the world to win a grand prize of ¥500,000 and a lifetime usage of an Infiniti Q50L.
Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin were the winners of Race the World.
Production Development and filming
Race the World drew on the format of the series The Amazing Race, with tasks and obstacles similar to Detours and Blind Detours, Yields, Intersections, and Head-to-Heads included in the show, and included themes of the Olympic Games to coincide with the 2016 Summer Olympics, airing the same year as The Amazing Race China 3 which had a similar theme. Like The Amazing Race, the show featured teams of two in a race around the world to win a grand prize. Teams had to complete various challenges to receive clues sealed in a relay race baton to reach an end point. Unlike The Amazing Race, the teams of two were shuffled every two legs with the goal of testing different partner dynamics during the run of the series with contestants choosing their partners much like The Amazing Race 29. Also, the team that completed all of the challenges in a leg and reached the final destination first would win 100 points. When subsequent teams reached the final destination, they would earn one less point for every two minutes they finished behind the lead team. After nine legs, the eight individuals with the most points would remain with the four individuals with the lowest scores eliminated. The teams would then reshuffle for the final time to complete the final legs.
On March 3, 2016, the cast and premise of the show were announced in a press conference. Filming for the series ended on May 14 in Nanjing. After filming ended, contestant Baron Chen was discovered traveling to Taiwan to receive medical treatment for a torn cruciate ligament. The following month, Chen's agent threatened a lawsuit with the show's production company over delayed insurance compensation.
After Leg 1 ended, Sheng Yilun discovered that he had lost his passport and was unable to compete in the United States legs. Harry Yuan was brought in as a substitute so all racers could compete with a partner but was not eligible for the grand prize.
Cast The cast of Race the World consisted of Chinese celebrities including Taiwanese actor and model Baron Chen, Taiwanese model, actor and singer Joe Cheng, Taiwanese actress Evonne Hsieh, Hong Kong actor Leon Lai, Taiwanese actress and singer Ariel Lin, short track speed skater Wang Meng, actor Daddi Tang, pop singer and actor Vision Wei, gymnast Li Xiaopeng, professional pool player Pan Xiaoting, actor and model Sheng Yilun, and actress and singer Zhu Zhu.
Li Xiaopeng previously competed on the first season of The Amazing Race China with his wife Li Anqi in 2014. Zhu Zhu and Harry Yuan competed on separate teams on the second season in 2015. A year later, Joe Cheng and Evonne Hsieh competed on separate teams on The Amazing Race China 4.
Marketing Infiniti, which previously served as a sponsor on the Chinese Amazing Race, served as the primary sponsor of Race the World and provided all of the cars during the legs.
Results Contestant Leg 1 Leg 2 Leg 3 Leg 4 Leg 5 Leg 6 Leg 7 Leg 8 Leg 9 Leg 10 Leg 11 Leg 12 Legs 1-9 Total Scores Legs 10-11 Total Scores 鄭元暢 Joe Cheng 83 89 78 100 97 93 65 99 85 96 100 1st Place 789 196 林依晨 Ariel Lin 81 100 83 77 57 95 30, 687 朱珠Zhu Zhu 74 88 59 67 100 95 91 70 85 100 25 2nd Place 729 125 盛一倫 Sheng Yilun 73 46 50 79 76 90 46 100 126 686 王濛 Wang Meng 73 81 68 57 95 100 99 30, 76 3rd Place 682 101 陳楚河 Baron Chen 74 88 59 67 87 91 91 70 58 685 唐曉天 Daddi Tang 83 89 83 77 61 90 99 4th Place 719 124 潘曉婷 Pan Xiaoting 100 61 100 79 76 90 68 88 13, 675 李小鵬 Li Xiaopeng 89 59 97 93 100 99 ,, 726 謝依霖Evonne Hsieh 73 92 100 95 61 90 , 672 黎明 Leon Lai73 81 78 100 45 100 46 100 , 651 魏晨 Vision Wei 81 100 68 79 68 629
A score indicates that the contestant was eliminated after failing to obtain enough points to move onto the final legs.. A score means the contestant withdrew from the competition. Matching colored symbols (, , and ) indicate teams who worked together during part of the leg. An indicates teams had to compete against each other on this leg. A , , , , and indicates the team that received bonus points, while a , , , , and indicates the team that lost and received a 5-point deduction. A indicates the team who received a Brake Card and had to stop racing for twenty minutes. A indicates that the team that used the Brake Card. A means that a team used a Car Card and could travel in a car instead of a taxi for a leg. A means that the contestants were joined together with a Binding Card; indicates the contestants that used the Binding Card.
As Sheng Yilun could not compete in Legs 2 and 3, he received half of the points the person who would have been his partner earned. Vision Wei & Wang Meng traveled in a private vehicle instead of a taxi during Leg 3 and were penalized 15 points. Li Xiaopeng & Wang Meng earned 10 points during the Highland games task that was added to their score. Vision Wei & Pan Xiaoting lost two games and received a ten-point deduction from their score. Vision Wei withdrew from the show after Leg 8 ended for personal reasons. As Sheng Yilun did not have a partner in Leg 9, his score at the end of the leg doubled. Li Xiaopeng & Leon Lai, Pan Xiaoting & Evonne Hsieh, and Ariel Lin & Wang Meng failed to complete the bicycle task after eight attempts and were penalized 15 points. Several teams received five point penalties for each duck they lost during the duck herding task. Li Xiaopeng & Leon Lai lost 4 ducks. Joe Cheng & Zhu Zhu lost 3 ducks. Daddi Tang & Baron Chen lost 3 ducks. Pan Xiaoting & Evonne Hsieh lost 2 ducks. Ariel Lin & Wang Meng lost 3 ducks. Li Xiaopeng announced to the contestants after Leg 9 concluded that he would be withdrawing from the show as his wife Li Anqi was about to give birth to their second child. As Vision Wei also withdrew from the show, the two contestants with the lowest scores were eliminated. Baron Chen & Wang Meng and Daddi Tang & Pan Xiaoting elected to quit the final task of Leg 11 and had to wait out a two-hour penalty before they could continue racing. While attempting the task, Zhu Zhu had a bad fall and injured her right foot leading to her needing medical treatment. As Sheng Yilun could not complete the task without his partner, he had to wait out a two-hour penalty as well before he could continue racing.
Pairings Leg 1Li Xiaopeng & Pan Xiaoting Joe Cheng & Daddi Tang Vision Wei & Ariel Lin Leon Lai & Wang Meng Evonne Hsieh & Sheng Yilun Baron Chen & Zhu Zhu Leg 2 Evonne Hsieh & Harry Yuan Leg 3 Li Xiaopeng & Evonne Hsieh Joe Cheng & Leon Lai Daddi Tang & Ariel Lin Vision Wei & Wang Meng Pan Xiaoting & Harry Yuan Leg 4 Pan Xiaoting & Sheng Yilun Leg 5 Li Xiaopeng & Joe Cheng Pan Xiaoting & Sheng Yilun Daddi Tang & Baron Chen Vision Wei & Leon Lai Ariel Lin & Wang Meng Evonne Hsieh & Zhu Zhu Leg 6 Leg 7Li Xiaopeng & Wang Meng Joe Cheng & Ariel Lin Daddi Tang & Evonne Hsieh Vision Wei & Pan Xiaoting Leon Lai & Sheng Yilun Baron Chen & Zhu Zhu Leg 8 Leg 9 Li Xiaopeng & Leon Lai Joe Cheng & Zhu Zhu Daddi Tang & Baron Chen Pan Xiaoting & Evonne Hsieh Ariel Lin & Wang Meng Sheng Yilun Leg 10 Joe Cheng & Ariel Lin Zhu Zhu & Sheng Yilun Daddi Tang & Pan Xiaoting Baron Chen & Wang Meng Leg 11 Leg 12
Race summary Leg 1 (China)
Airdate: April 8, 2016 Beijing, China (Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center) (Starting Line) Beijing (Great Wall of China – Badaling) Beijing (Olympic Sports Centre) Beijing (Air China Ticket Office) Finish Line
Tasks At Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center, contestants had to randomly choose a baton with colored paper inside. The contestants with matching paper would be paired up, have their hands tied, and had to complete two track and field and two gymnastics challenges. After walking over a balance beam, jumping over three hurdles, tumbling across a mat, and jumping rope ten times with a third person, teams would receive their first clue. At the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China, each team member had to complete one of four martial arts tasks to receive their next clue: breaking 17 boards with one punch, cracking an egg with a whip, blowing out ten candles at once with one swing of nunchucks, and cutting an slice of bread using a sword with team members eating any incorrectly cut bread After three attempts, teams had to enter another station or wait for another turn. At the Olympic Sports Centre, one team member had to pull their partner into the air using a pulley system. The team member in the air had to toss colored rings onto pylons to form the Olympic rings and receive their next clue.
Leg 2 (China → United States)
Airdate: April 15, 2016 Beijing (Beijing Capital International Airport) to Los Angeles, California, United States (Los Angeles International Airport) Los Angeles (Athena Parking) (Starting Line) Los Angeles (Grauman's Chinese Theatre) Newhall (Oak Tree Gun Club) or Los Angeles (University of Southern California – Uytengsu Aquatics Center) Los Angeles (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) Finish Line
Tasks At Athena Parking, teams would be placed on a platform suspended in the air and had three minutes to collect 18 flags. If the platform tipped and teams fell off, the flags teams were holding would be counted, and teams would be given their next clue in the order of who collected the most flags in the fastest time. Outside the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, teams would find celebrity impersonators, who would give them a list of five famous celebrities that they had to imitate to a tourist without describing them. Once their tourist correctly guessed all five within one minute, teams could blindly select their next task by choosing one of two buckets, each with three clues, that only listed the names of the tasks: ( – Shooting) or ( – Diving). In Shooting, teams had to use a handgun to shoot a bullseye on a target, a tomato, and a bottle opener to open a bottle to receive their next clue. Only one team could shoot at a time and had to relinquish their spot after ten shots. In Diving, team members had to swing off of a platform and drop into a pool to score points. When teams earned a combined score of at least 10 points, they would receive their next clue.
Leg 3 (United States)
Airdate: April 22, 2016 Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport) to Fairbanks, Alaska (Fairbanks International Airport) Fairbanks (Ballaine Road) (Starting Line) Fairbanks (West Valley High School) Fairbanks (Tanana Lakes Recreation Area) Fairbanks (George Horner Ice Park) Fairbanks (Anschen Log House) Finish Line
Tasks At the start of the leg, contestants would be asked questions about each other, and the contestant in the majority most often would have the first choice in choosing a partner. The people with the next highest correct answers would then choose until all the teams were formed. On Ballaine Road, teams would find a field of thirty ice blocks, each with batons inside but only some of which contained their next clue. Teams had to use a pick to break open blocks of ice until they found their next clue.