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European panda fans travel to Sichuan, China

A group of panda fans selected from European countries are joining a two-month self-drive tour from Europe to Sichuan province,China. [Photo by Tan Qiuying / China Daily]

A group of panda fans selected from European countries are joining a two-month self-drive tour from Europe to Sichuan province, which is the well-known home to the panda.

Since mid-June, 12 panda fans selected from six European countries including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Austria, together with famous cultural celebrities and reporters from home and abroad, are participating in the drive tour.

The self-drive team, which consists of 40 members, will cover about 20,000 km across 14 countries along the Southern Silk Road before arriving in Chengdu.

A total of ten sport utility vehicles which are made in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, were sent to Europe via the Chengdu-Europe Express Rail to aid the whole trip.

On their way to Sichuan, a full range of activities will be held, including 14 tourism promotion activities and six panda-themed cultural exchange activities.

The activity, "Travel the Southern Silk Road, Visit the Homeland of Panda--European Panda Fans Hit the Road to Sichuan," was launched by the Sichuan Tourism Bureau in November 2014.

It is the first large-scale transnational tourism campaign which combines pandas with the Southern Silk Road, according with the tourism theme of 2015 “Beautiful China - Silk Road Tourism”.

Sichuan is the homeland of pandas, also the starting point of the Southern Silk Road.

The Southern Silk Road is one of the ancient international trade channels, starting from Chengdu in Sichuan, stretching across Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China.

Sichuan, known as the panda home of the world, is the obvious destination for panda lovers. In Sichuan, there is Panda Base, an important conservation and breeding centre and a green oasis in the city, home to the black-and-white bears.

The city of Chengdu loves it pandas and there are homages to them everywhere, from taxis with pandas on their bonnets, to the silver statue in the city centre.