How do you fancy your chances of navigating your way across a huge patch of the planet with no flights, no phones and only around £2,000 between you and your travel companion? While most of us probably fancy our chances when we’re curled up on the sofa, it’s a reality for the five duos competing in the BBC’s fifth series of Race Across The World.
Series one saw participants race from London to Singapore, and series two kicked off in Mexico City and culminated in Ushuaia, Argentina, the world’s southernmost city. Series three was a race across Canada from Vancouver to Newfoundland and Labrador, and series four launched in Japan with the finish line in Indonesia.
So, what about series five? This time the teams will be racing 14,000km across Asia, beginning in China and travelling through Nepal before reaching the finish line in Kanniyakumari, the southernmost point of India, all with the lowest budget in the show’s history – just £1,000 per person.
These are all the locations on Race Across The World series 5 so far
Episode one
The Great Wall of China
In the first episode of series 5, the race begins at the Great Wall of China, overlooking Huanghuacheng, a village 80km north of Beijing.
Beijing
China’s sprawling capital city is the first challenge for the racers (no spoilers, but this is where some contestants find themselves stuck).
Huangling
This village, made up of Hui-style buildings hanging off a hillside, is the first checkpoint for the contestants. It’s located in the Jiangxi Province, 2,000km south of the Great Wall of China. On the show, we see an aerial view of the village and the local craft of drying chillis on rooftops.
With some teams choosing to take the rural inland route and others opting to travel via China’s big cities on high-speed trains, some of the other pitstops in episode one include Shanghai, Luoyang, Qingdao, Qufu and Bengbu.
We’ll update this page throughout the series, so check back every Thursday. Race Across The World is a nine-part series, and airs on BBC One every Wednesday night at 9pm.
Did you see that Türkiye’s iconic Hagia Sophia is to undergo a landmark restoration?
Plus: The world’s best new restaurants in 2025, revealed.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world.