United States original: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8: Family Edition | 9 | 10 | 11: All-Stars | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18: Unfinished Business | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24: All-Stars | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31: Reality Showdown | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35
Asia: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
China Rush and China: China Rush 1 | 2 | 3 | China 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Australia: 1 | 2 | 3: Australia v New Zealand | 4 | 5 | 6: Around the World | 7: Celebrity Edition
Canada: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6: Heroes Edition | 7 | 8 | 9
The second installment of The Amazing Race: China Rush. After an uninspiring first season, the shows decided to shake things up. First, they opened the playing field to both domestic and international teams. To avoid losing their audience from the first season, they provided English subtitles for the teams who only spoke Chinese and vice versa. Next, the cast was brought up from 10 team to 11. They also improved the cast by bringing one of the most entertaining, competitive, and all around likable casts of any international season. While they still had the issue of two teams dominating the whole season, it was a lot less prevalent with these two teams having noticeably lower finishing averages than the dominating teams from the previous season. The course was also improved upon by providing more scenic and varied locations, with tasks that were both more original and far more difficult than the first season had seen. The end result was an all around great season that proved this spin off could live up to its potential.
Lily & Jan
Dating from America and Germany. Although Lily was somewhat fussy and freaked out easily, they were one of the more consistent teams of the season. Their competitive and focused attitude helped them keep up with the increased difficulty of the course. They easily made the final 3, where they maintained 2nd place for the majority of the finale. After Simon went the wrong direction, they reached the final Roadblock first and finished first winning the season.
- Boring, but Practical: While mostly overshadowed by the larger personalities of the season, their competitiveness and focus on the race allowed them to be one of the more successful teams of the season and eventual winners.
- Friendly Rivalry: With Sun Bin & Hao Fei'er
- Jerkass Ball: During Leg 7, they struggled more than in any other leg, constantly arguing, cursing at each other, and even threatening the cousins for U-Turning them.
- Reality Show Genre Blindness: They Yielded Mary & Cecilia solely on their two leg wins ignoring the fact they barely survived Legs 3 and 4 and Sun Bin & Hao Fei'er were emerging as new threats. This came back to bite them when they lost the footrace for first.
- Rivals Team Up: They jumped into a cab with Mary & Cecilia on Leg 8 despite having been U-Turned the previous leg. They both joked about it
- Then they intersected on Leg 11 with Sun Bin & Hao Fei'er.
- Shout-Out: Lily said she felt like she was on Avatar, during Leg 5, in the precise location the movie was filmed.
Simon & Katherine 
Long distance dating couple. They were looking to see if there was anything more between them. Despite Simon's aggressiveness and temper flaring up at times, they mostly got along very well with themselves and the other teams bar Kylie. They were outmatched by the other team placing mostly in the lower half of the standings. However, in the finale they seemed to having found a good rhythm finishing every task in first place. It seemed like we were going to see an underdog victory. Unfortunately, Simon went the wrong direction going to the 1984 Bookstore allowing Lily & Jan to get enough of a lead on them to edge them out on the final Roadblock.
- Bittersweet Ending: They didn't win a single leg, but the experience brought them closer together and they finished higher than they did on any leg.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Simon
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Simon is actually a decent guy, he just sometimes lets his impatience get the better of him
- Long-Distance Relationship
- Miles Gloriosus: Simon had a tendency for this, like knocking a chicken into the water to make it easier to catch, without realizing chickens can swim or slamming the blood clams against the mantle to break them open.
Sun Bin & Hao Fei'er
Friends and recording artists. Initially they seemed doomed with Sun Bin hurting himself in the first leg and narrowly avoiding elimination on Leg 2 despite quitting the code task due to A Lai & Jackie quitting two tasks. However, after Sun Bin's injury healed they rattled off a stream of top 2 finishes save for one 3rd place finish on the first half of Leg 9. They went into the finale the favorites to win with 4 leg wins under their belt. They got off to a rocky start after struggling with cleaning their hotel room. Though Sun Bin's driving allowed them to catch up with Simon & Katherine at the Snow Beer Factory, they struggled with manning the forklift which they never recovered from and finished in 3rd place
- Action Girl: Hao Fei'er
- Friendly Rivalry: With Lily & Jan.
- Game-Breaking Injury: Sun Bin's foot injury from the starting line resulted in their only two finishes outside the top 3.
- Rivals Team Up: They intersected with Lily & Jan on Leg 11.
Matt & Kylie 
International students and friends. They seemed to be the shows attempt to make the next Rachel & Charlie. After barely avoiding elimination on the first leg, they were a very middle of the pack team, with their competitiveness allowing them to outlast teams who they seemed to have a disadvantage over. In Leg 11, after struggling with the sea cucumbers, they were stuck with Simon & Katherine in the Intersection. Though they wound up passing, Simon & Katherine, they struggled more than anyone on the Find The Wine Detour which they never recovered from falling just short of the final 3.- Brutal Honesty: Kylie
- Cheaters Never Prosper: Rather than solve the pharmacy task like everyone else, they listened in on Sun Bin & Hao Fei'er asking for directions. They only ended up hearing half of the clue and wound up asking locals for the wrong place. Only Paul & Nash receiving bad directions saved them.
- Deadpan Snarker: Kylie
- Genki Girl: Kylie again
- Satellite Character: Matt, note how most of the tropes here pertain to Kylie.
- Skewed Priorities: On the first half of Leg 9, they wanted to win the leg so badly they used up Matt's last Roadblock. While they did succeed, it didn't matter as it was a superleg so they didn't even win a prize
- What the Hell, Hero?: Delivered one towards Simon for being too pushy during the chili chopping Roadblock
Mary & Cecilia
Cousins. While not in as good shape as the other teams, they more than made up for this with their intelligence. However, this resulted in them being a very all-or-nothing team for the most part. After winning 2 legs, they suffered from a combination of Yields and physically demanding tasks that put them behind for three straight legs. Though they recovered winning another leg along the way, their race came crashing down on both halves of leg 9. They botched the hat trimming task putting them in last to start, while they edged out Sun Bin & Hao Fei'er on building the solar cooker, Cecilia struggled on the physically demanding manual zip-line which put them so far behind they got stuck on the last bus and they never saw another team after the second Roadblock, ending their race in 5th.
- Born Lucky: While a strong team in their own right, a lot of their success can be attributed to luck, such as finding the gold coin the fastest on Leg 1, always getting great cab drivers, and Summer & Eachan quitting after Eachan's grandmother had relapse of cancer.
- Deadpan Snarker: Both of them.
- Honor Is Fair Play: Their general outlook on the race given their loyalty to their allies and refusal to use the U-Turn or Yield except for revenge.
- Rivals Team Up: They willingly shared a cab with Lily & Jan after U-Turning them for revenge on Leg 7.
- Self-Deprecation: They often made cracks at their own expense when they fell behind on physical challenges.
- Simple, yet Awesome: Despite having no money, they got into the museum for free on the first leg by telling them the show would be good advertisement for the museum
- The Smart Girl: They excelled on any mental challenge in the race which led them to three leg wins.
- Tall Poppy Syndrome: Their 2 consecutive leg wins were enough to get them Yielded twice, even after they were no longer posing a massive threat.
- Weak, but Skilled: They were a very intelligent team, which is best noted at how all 3 of their leg wins came on mentally challenging legs. However, they were not in as good shape as the other teams, best exemplified in Leg 4 as they took the longest to carry the rice uphill and Mary quit the Roadblock as soon as she started while the other teams quit once their arms gave out note
Elena & Tameka 
Fitness fanatics. After a mediocre finish on the first leg, they proved themselves to be a strong and tenacious team. Their positive attitudes and physical prowess allowed them to pull of a streak of top 3 finishes for 5 straight legs. Upon reaching Yunnan, their race fell apart starting with struggling more than anyone making the Baba cakes. Though they probably would've survived that with Lily & Jan being U-Turned, they themselves got U-Turned putting them so far behind that the lack of an equalizer the next leg put them too far behind for them to recover from.
- Always Second Best: Pulled off a series of 2nd and 3rd place finishes for five straight legs.
- Passionate Sports Girls
- Tall Poppy Syndrome: Their frequent top 3 finishes made Sun Bin & Hao Fei'er intimidated enough to U-Turn them.
Rhett & Howie
Friends. They came in looking to have fun more than to win and were placing mostly in the middle of the pack. On the 5th leg, they were the only ones to go for the more difficult Look Detour forcing them to switch and thereby placing them behind the other teams. This wound up putting them far enough behind that even blowing through their Speed Bump wasn't enough to save them, and they went home in 7th place.
Summer & Eachen 
Newly dating childhood friends. A combination of great teamwork, allying with fellow strong teams Mary & Cecilia and Xiao Long & Lv Meng, and positive attitudes, they got off to a good start placing in the top 5 for 3 legs. On the 4th leg, despite recovering from their bad start with Eachen passing several teams on the Roadblock who quit, they ended up quitting because Eachen's grandfather had cancer and was getting worse.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: As soon as they entered the house for the code challenge, they zeroed in on the stopped clocks and figured out that the time on them had to do with the code.
- Non-Gameplay Elimination
- Overshadowed by Awesome: They were the first team to use a U-Turn on someone ahead of them to make sure no one else could use it (in this case to save Mary & Cecilia), but this move would be more prominent a year later when Natalie & Nadiya did the same thing except to eliminate a team. Also see Strategy Versus Tactics below.
- Strategy Versus Tactics: They U-Turned Sun Bin & Hao Fei'er who they knew were ahead of them to save their allies Mary & Cecilia from being U-Turned. Mary & Cecilia and Simon & Katherine pointed out it would've been smarter to U-Turn someone like Rhett & Howie who were both behind them and not in their alliance.
Xiao Long & Lv Meng
Friends and Wushu Coaches. Despite seeming more interested in having fun than running the race, they pulled off two back to back top 3 finishes. On Leg 3, they chose the harder Peels Detour and waited longer than Summer & Eachen and Mary & Cecilia to switch Detours. While they were able to catch up to Mary & Cecilia at the Yield, the cousins edged out the coaches at the Roadblock. However, this was negated when they found their cab faster, but Mary & Cecilia passed them on the way to the Pit Stop.
- Big Fun
- Big Eater: They constantly talked about being hungry and even ate one of the fruits in the task. They probably would've been penalized if they hadn't been last.
- Lethal Joke Character: In spite of their goofiness, they were a serious threat to win.
A Lai & Jackie 
Mother and son. They quit the first task in the second leg, sending them far behind the other teams right from the start. Although they had a chance to survive due to Sun Bin and Hao Fei'er having navigation issues and quitting the code task, they were unable to find the code and quit the task as well after the musicians' penalty had already run out, ensuring their elimination.
- Broken Tears: Jackie after quitting the code task.
- Complexity Addiction: At the code task, Jackie had a (correct) suspicion that the code was related to the various clocks in the house. However, A Lai believed that the code would not be so obvious, so they searched all over the room for a code while ignoring the clocks. As a result, they were unable to find the code.
- The Load: A Lai can be almost entirely blamed for their elimination as it was her idea to quit the puzzle task, and she didn't listen to Jackie when he thought the code was related to the clocks
- Non-Gameplay Elimination: They failed to complete the puzzle task and the code task resulting in them being field eliminated at the Roadblock site.
Paul & Nash
Friends and expat teachers. They started poorly thanks to a bad cab, but managed to do well enough in the first couple of tasks to avoid falling too far behind the pack. However, they experienced major navigation issues at the tail end of the leg, ultimately making them the first team eliminated from the race.
- Failure Montage: They got a montage of their ill-fated attempts to find the old pharmacy.
- History Repeats: The first team eliminated from China Rush was once again an all male team who had a member named Paul.
- Sequence Breaking: They went to the bridal museum before receiving the clue instructing them to go there, costing them valuable time and dropping them to the back of the pack.
