After a 67-day drive along the ancient "Silk Road," a cross-Continent expedition motorcade sponsored by Renault, the French truck manufacturer, arrived in its destination Beijing on Thursday.

As a "Year of France in China" activity and a stunt to promote Renault in China, eight Renault trucks and several jeeps traversed 13 countries to complete a 20,000-km journey that began in Lyons on April 2.

"The motorcade's arrival opened an intangible but more fluent modern 'silk road' for the communication and cooperation between Beijing and Lyons," said Zhang Mao, vice mayor of Beijing, at a welcome ceremony.

The motorcade crossed Iran's Lut Desert, Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert and China's Kaklimakan and Tengger deserts on its way to Beijing.

Presenting a 1.2-m-by-1.2-m square silk scarf embroidered with expedition logos as a gift to Beijing, Gerard Collomb, mayor of Lyons, said at the ceremony that the journey was made "in commemoration of the silk history."

"I think Lyons' citizens will never forget the ancient 'Silk Road,' which brought on a booming economy, updated knowledge and developed culture to the city," he said.

Bernard Momin, a French driver in the expedition team, described the just-concluded trip as a "great" one.

"It would have been impossible (for any of us) to finish the journey alone. We crossed many countries with many difficulties. I 'm proud as a participant of the team event," said Momin.

In a few days, two trucks from the expedition motorcade and an additional seven Renault trucks will form a new Renault motorcade, heading for 15 cities in China on a nationwide promotion tour.

Renault Trucks' CEO Stefano Chmielewski said the expedition also marked the beginning of Renault Trucks' cooperation with Dong Feng Motors, a leading truck manufacturer in China. Renault is hoping to produce 36,000 heavy trucks in China by 2010 through its cooperation with Dong Feng.

Source: Xinhua