The Amazing Race: China Rush

The Race

Each season of The Amazing Race: China Rush starts in Shanghai and is divided into legs. Teams travel and complete tasks to obtain clues that guide them to a Pit Stop, where they rest before the next leg. The first team to arrive at a Pit Stop often receives a prize, while the last team is normally eliminated, except in non-elimination legs where the last team may be penalized in the following leg. The final leg is run by the last three remaining teams, and the first to arrive at the final destination wins a trip around the world.

Teams consist of two individuals with a relationship to each other. Participants speak both Chinese and English and must be living in China to apply. Route Markers are yellow and red flags that mark locations for teams. Clues are found in sealed envelopes inside clue boxes and are written in both Chinese and English.

Types of clues include Route Info, Detour (a choice of two tasks), Roadblock (a task only one team member can complete), and Fast Forward (introduced in Season 3, allowing a team to skip remaining tasks). Obstructions include the U-Turn, a station after a Detour where a team can force another trailing team to complete the other Detour option; Season 2 introduced the Double U-Turn allowing two teams to use the U-Turn power.

Rules and penalties

Most rules are adopted from the American edition, but this version has some unique rules. There is no rule prohibiting hitchhiking, as teams in the second season rode in private vehicles with no penalty. Helping a partner with a Roadblock results in a 30-minute penalty at the Pit Stop. Failing to complete a challenge incurs a 2-hour penalty (4 hours in season 1) before receiving the next clue. Not placing backpacks in the designated area at a challenge results in a 30-minute penalty at the Pit Stop.

Rankings

Australia, China, and the United States each had a winning team and a runner-up team in different seasons. In season 2, both runner-up teams were from China. Several teams represented two different countries, including Sarah & Molly, Karen & Lisa, Charlie & Rachel, Paul & Nash, Elena & Tameka, Matt & Kylie, Simon & Katherine, Lily & Jan, Jia Jia & Rob, Nick & Brandon, and Janelle & Karin.