Rob Stolzenbach was happy to reach his destination, which one could tell from his beaming smiles when he checked his orange classic, a Volkswagen 1302 LS Kever.
The 1971 vintage model was one of 84 old cars of various colours, styles, periods and brands parked on the lot of Beijing Hotel last Saturday morning.
"It is a fantastic journey," said the Dutchman, in his 50s. "But I am tired out, day after day, one city to another. I will never do it again. After all, it is only once in a lifetime."
The exhausted driver just completed the Amsterdam-Beijing Classic Car Endurance Rally 2006, in which 170 Dutch enthusiasts including Stolzenbach and his team partner, Joop Renes, drove from the Netherlands to China in classic cars. The cars are on average between 30 and 50 years old. The oldest of them, a Bentley Speed Six, dates back to 1934.
The rally, consisting of 85 two-member teams, started on July 15 at the Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam.
Over four weeks, participants drove approximately 700 kilometres a day. They travelled through Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, crossing 14 countries on two continents. Drivers not only experienced gigantic hardships and toils en route, but also encountered marvellous panoramas, from lakes to deserts, from narrow mountains to the sandy Gobi.
Six cars dropped out midway. When the rest finally arrived in Beijing, the destination city, on August 11, the caravan had completed a total of 17,500 kilometres.
Drivers received warm welcomes from both curious locals and their relatives and friends, who flew to Beijing from the Netherlands. Mixed feelings of the adventure were echoed among husbands and wives, parents and children, and friends, accompanied by hugs, kisses, laughs and tears.
Stolzenbach was delighted to meet his friend, Erwin Eijpe, who said he himself was not an enthusiast for the vintage car.
"He (Stolzenbach) also drives in modern cars back in Amsterdam. And he has collected four classic ones. He has been in sport rallies before. But this is likely the most difficult and distant journey he's ever gone through," Eijpe introduced. "I'm proud of him."
Jan Vermeer, the organizer, described the event as "unequalled, exotic and memorable." He has participated in classic car rallies for years, and organized 22 rally events in seven years, though the Amsterdam-Beijing Rally is a new challenge for him. It took him more than three years to prepare for this rally.
He believed that sound technique of the cars and good skills by the drivers and navigators come before speed, given the consideration of the ages of the cars and the harsh conditions of the roads.
The meaning of this event was, however, far beyond excitement and adventure.
The rally associates itself with the Doe Een Wens Stichting Nederland (Make A Wish Foundation Netherlands), which is dedicated to making wishes of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses come true. Vermeer says that 5 per cent of all sponsor funds that the rally generates will go to the foundation.
The rally is also a tribute to the historical voyages of discovery that has passed parts of the ancient Silk Road. Government officials of China and the Netherlands regard the event as a special opportunity to enhance the cultural and economical ties between people from both sides.
