Journey of a lifetime

How are participants for the rallies selected? Do they have to meet any special requirements?

There is no formal selection process. People learn about the rallies mainly by word-of-mouth. They do need to have a sense of adventure, curiosity about the world and a durable car in proper working condition. Long-distance driving experience helps.

We do have mechanics that travel as part of the entourage. They can fix minor problems, but if something major happens - like a car's transmission blows - the car owner is responsible for repairs.

We will help to contact local maintenance services. If the problem is too serious to be fixed, we'll arrange for the car's return to their homeland. In that case, the car owner would probably have to drop out of the rally.

How common is it to have repeat participants?

For most people, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Which part of the journey is most challenging?

The Central Asian leg - Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan. These are developing countries.

Some of the roads are in poor condition and a lot of the terrain is desert, so it tests your driving skills and endurance more than the other parts of the trip.

Accommodations there are quite basic too. You're not going to find many five-star hotels.

But culturally, Central Asia is rich and different from either China or Europe. There is a lot to see and experience.

How do you ensure participants are able to pass safely through the many different countries on the journey?

Each participant in the rally requires six visas. It took us more than three months to do all the paperwork.

We have dedicated local partners in every country at the relevant bureaus. We inform them well in advance of our date of arrival so they know we are coming.

It isn't every day that they see a caravan of drivers from Europe or China crossing their border.

This preparation helps us avoid something unpleasant, like someone being stuck in a customs office for a day with no explanation. That can spoil the trip.

This year, Chinese drivers join the rally for the first time. How are you managing their expectations?

Chinese drivers want to devote more time to the European leg of the journey. Europeans usually want to get out of Europe as quickly as possible and leave more time for Central Asia and China.

The history of automobile ownership is also shorter in China, so we don't see Chinese drivers in the rally with vintage cars. They prefer to drive something newer.

At the same time, they are usually less experienced with long-distance drives than the Europeans. We took that into account when preparing them for the rally.

How will the rally participants be greeted in Hamburg?

There will be an official welcoming ceremony in Hamburg held by the city government at City Hall.

The Chinese drivers will deliver a video message expressing Shanghai citizens' friendship to Hamburg and the strong ties between the people of the two cities and two countries.

The video will be broadcast on the city's government's official website and in the Hamburg metro after the rally participants arrive.

We will also organize a get-together with local car enthusiasts. After that, some drivers will travel on to France and Holland.

Are there any plans to change the route of the rally next year?

For our Chinese drivers, we will continue the Shanghai-Hamburg rally following the same route.

For our German drivers, next year we will also go from Berlin to Beijing for the first time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the two capitals becoming sister cities.

On that route, we will pass through two additional countries not on the original Shanghai-Hamburg route - the Vatican and Georgia.

Lastly, we will have two additional rallies departing from Beijing and Shenzhen, respectively. 2014 is going to be an exciting year for car enthusiasts in China and Europe alike.

Contact the writer at matthew.fulco@chinadaily.com.cn