“Pékin Express” celebrates its 20th anniversary on M6 in 2025, with an exceptional season 20, “The Road to the Legendary Tribes”. Fabulous destination, promising candidates and big surprises on the program…
Barely finished, already back. A new tour of the track Beijing Express was scheduled for January 2025, while the previous season, an “All Stars” season, ended at the end of the year. This new season of the M6 adventure game is however exceptional, since it is the 20th edition! 20 years ago, 10 pairs of candidates tried to hitchhike from Paris to Beijing with only 1 euro per day per person. The beginning of a great adventure, a now legendary program which took more than 200 candidates to travel more than 200,000 km, across nearly 50 countries, M6 tells us for the occasion.
For “The Route of the Legendary Tribes”the name of this anniversary season of Beijing Expressso we couldn’t miss it. The new pairs will therefore set off at the foot of Kilimanjaro, to discover a fascinating continent, with extraordinary culture and scenery: Africa, country of 5000 tribes. Beijing Express offers an extraordinary route through 4 countries, for a unique route: Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho and South Africa, with a final in Johannesburg. All with significant encounters among the Maasai, the Swahilis, the Zulus, the discovery of African wildlife and so much more… This is only the 3rd time that the legendary race has taken place on African lands, after season 7 and season 14, which had to be shortened due to the Covid epidemic.
For this 2025 season of Beijing ExpressM6 has promised some new features and surprises that should delight fans. Among them, an old rule reappears: the rule of “mystery passengers” returns after 11 years of absence! For one stage, Élodie Gossuin, Glenn Viel, Bruno Solo, Norbert and Yoann Riou will race alongside a pair and will literally have their destiny in their hands. They will have to hitchhike in his place, find accommodation for him and possibly take part in the events.
Beijing Express also marks the return of Ryad and Louison in 2025. The thunderous pair from season 18 makes their return in the second part of the evening in a new program, “Who can beat Ryad and Louison?”, an unprecedented challenge: facing in a series of epic duels, the most emblematic pairs of the ’emission.
New lovers united on a dating site, geek friends, quirky brothers, Belgian cousins or twin moms… M6 presented the 10 candidate pairs for this season 20 of Beijing Express from the start of 2025:
- ETIENNE AND JUDITH, 27 and 26 years old. “Northern lovebirds Étienne and Judith, a couple for seven years, began their love story in middle school after a long friendship. Fusional and accomplices, they like to coordinate their outfits and share all aspects of their lives: work, friends and leisure. Accustomed to a comfortable daily life, they wish to test their relationship by participating in Beijing Expressready to step out of their comfort zone and discover new cultures. Judith, a travel enthusiast, takes Étienne on this adventure. Their goal? Win the competition to finance their wedding and their future housing.”
- PATRICIA AND ADRIEN, 58 and 30 years old. “Friends 30 years apart Patricia and Adrien form an atypical duo where friendship transcends generations. Best friend of Patricia’s son, Adrien grew closer to her during a period of professional doubts. Despite their differences — Adrien is lazy and not very sporty, while Patricia, formerly obese, has become addicted to sports – they share a unique bond. Their long walks are the occasion for gossip and laughter, even if their strong characters could cause some trouble. friction. Patricia, frank and energetic, pushes Adrien to surpass himself. Together, they hope to prove that their differences are a strength and that their friendship can take them far in this adventure.
- WILLIAM AND CHRISTOPHE, 56 and 54 years old. “The two brothers William and Christophe are two brothers united by an unbreakable bond. Always ready to help each other, they share a great frankness, even if it means arguing sometimes heatedly. However, these tensions are short-lived, because the idea of Staying angry is unbearable for them. Very attached to their family, they have perpetuated a weekly ritual at their mother’s house since the death of their father. It was during one of these moments that they decided to embark on this adventure together. . Although they are united, their personalities differ: Christophe is disorderly while William, manic, likes to organize everything Christophe relies on his brother, while William, very competitive, hates to lose. They will have to reconcile their differences to preserve their complicity. and move forward together in this adventure.”
- LIONEL AND ÉVA, 53 and 21 years old. “French-Comtois father and daughter Lionel and Eva form a complicit and endearing father-daughter duo. Lionel, an invested and affectionate dad, shares a unique relationship with Eva, marked by a common humor and affectionate bickering. Empathetic and generous, they know that their little weaknesses – Eva’s strong character and Lionel’s moments of thoughtlessness – will not prevent them from going far in Beijing Express. Although they have never traveled together, they approach this adventure without fear, confident in their perfect understanding. For Eva, who has just left the family nest, it is an opportunity to create unforgettable memories with her father. Together, these happy guys plan to add some fun at every stage!”
- OTIS AND ENZO, 19 years old. “Geek friends Otis and Enzo are two students whose friendship, born in college, has become unwavering over time. They share many activities such as video games, bodybuilding and outings with friends. The loss of their father Enzo and the absence of Otis have strengthened their complicity and mutual understanding. Always united, they avoid arguments despite Enzo’s sometimes expansive tendencies. Beijing Express will be for them a first experience away from their families. This challenge will take them out of their daily lives and confront them with the unknown. It remains to be seen whether their complicity will be enough to take them far in the adventure.”
- MATTÉO AND ESMERALDA, 22 years old. “The Belgian cousins Mattéo and Esméralda are inseparable cousins. Their relationship, almost fraternal, has been strengthened thanks to their shared humor, their strong characters and their constant teasing. Despite their occasional arguments, they always reconcile quickly. The loss of Esméralda’s mother has strengthened their bond even more, Mattéo providing her with precious support Esméralda wants to prove her resilience beyond appearances, while. Mattéo is determined to accompany him in this adventure Convinced that their complicity and their determination are assets, they approach. Beijing Express with enthusiasm and solidarity.”
- MAXIME AND HELÈNE, 39 and 37 years old. “Maxime and Hélène form a passionate couple despite a recent relationship
of six months. After falling in love with an app! Hélène, a great traveler, wants to help Maxime, more
a homebody, to go beyond your limits and get out of your comfort zone. Their complicity and fluid communication are their strengths, even if they have never yet been confronted with arguments. This adventure will be an opportunity for them to test their relationship in the face of adversity and create unique memories together.” - AMANDINE AND ALISON, 32 years old. “Twin mothers Amandine and Alison, twin sisters, have always shared a close relationship. They confide in each other everything and share every moment of their lives. Having become mothers, their daily life is punctuated by their family responsibilities, which makes the moments between them more rare. In search of thrills and eager to prove that they are much more than young mothers, they want to surpass themselves. Alison acts spontaneously while Amandine prefers to analyze before acting. these differences sometimes lead to small clashes, their complicity always wins. They are determined to win this adventure to offer a vacation to their family and will give everything to achieve this objective.
- CÉCILE AND MARION, 27 and 21 years old. “Students Cécile and Marion form a duo as brilliant as they are complementary. Cécile, both a 6th year Pharmacy student and at ESSEC, is involved in humanitarian actions for education in Africa. Marion, passionate about fashion and of cycling, is preparing the launch of her clothing brand Their friendship was born when they were elected first runners-up to Miss France a year apart. Determined to overcome the prejudices linked to their appearance, they want to prove their values and. their resilience, Cécile, competitor and leader, and Marion, more “head in the air”, rely on their complementarity to triumph in. Beijing Express and push their limits together.”
- MOÂDE AND LUDOVIC, 30 and 34 years old, “The unknowns”. “The good sociable friend Moâde is a young sociable engineer, curious and full of enthusiasm, ready to experience an extraordinary adventure. He wants to discover new cultures and get out of his comfort zone. Thanks to his flexible and empathetic character, he is convinced that he will be able to get along with his future partner, who he hopes will be as motivated as him. Moâde stands out for his original personality and his astonishing talents: passionate about scientific journals, he is also an expert moonwalk dancer and a singer. accomplished lyricist. Determined, athletic and tenacious, he is ready to surpass himself in the face of challenges. This mixture of curiosity, artistic skills and physical strength makes him an ideal partner and a formidable candidate for this adventure.
“The solitary accountant Ludovic, a 34-year-old single man, is a confident, frank and direct man. Without filter, he always says what he thinks and secretly hopes that his partner will be a single woman, perhaps to find the Although he recognizes his narrow-minded side, he is committed to managing conflicts with respect in order to move forward in the adventure, Ludovic has traveled little and knows little about non-European cultures. is for him a unique opportunity to surpass himself and get out of his routine, determined and motivated, he wants to prove that he can be a true adventurer Nicknamed “The Great” by his family, he is ready to give everything to honor this name and. come home proud of his journey.”
The 2025 season Beijing Express was scheduled from Thursday January 16, 2025, at 9:10 p.m. on M6. The episodes will follow one another every Thursday evening, until the finale which should take place in the spring. Each week, the episode will be followed by the challenge Beijing express: who can beat Ryad and Louison?. Beijing Express is also available in replay and streaming on the M6+ platform.