RALLY 2010
China was one of the “L’Impérial - Rallye d’Exception” first destinations back in 2006. The tour returned to China in 2010, this time exploring Silk Road Country: south western China’s Yunnan province, on the Tibetan border.
A pioneering spirit
The tour explored areas of the Middle Kingdom that foreign tourists rarely get a chance to see. The adventure kicked off with a tour of Kunming, Yunnan’s capital city. Drivers then started up their classic cars’ engines and headed off into the spellbinding Stone Forest (Shilin) whose limestone peaks, pillars, and stalagmites have inspired centuries of Chinese folk tales and superstitions. There is nothing else like it in the world. After the second leg of the tour, from Yiliang to Jianshui, participants found themselves in ancestral China with wonders like Confucius’ Temple, the secondlargest in the country, with not-to-be missed accommodation at the Zhu Family Garden Hotel, a 19th century home with a centuries old garden and traditional courtyards, pavilions, finely-carved doors, windows with ornamental lintels, and screens.
A land of ancient customs
On the way to Yuanyang on the Vietnamese border, the tour wound its way along mountain roads and passed through villages like Jingkou and Duoyishu, whose residents discovered classic cars for the first time. As for the participants, they took in a breathtaking cascade of terraced mountainside rice paddies. Next came Dali (the City of Marble), with time out to experience the symbolic three-teas ceremony at Xizhou and visit the Three Pagodas Temple at Chongsheng. The last leg of the tour took participants to Lijiang, “the Venice of the East,” with its web of canals and tiny bridges. Located at the foot of Jade Dragon Mountain, Lijiang is a picturesque village with cobblestone streets, traditional Chinese architecture, and Peking Willows blowing in the wind. At night time the town lights up with thousands of little red lanterns.
Throughout the 2,200 km journey, participants got a unique view of the Chinese culture and way of life, and had the rare opportunity to meet people from ethnic minorities like Hani, Hui, Yi, Bai, and Naxi.
Download the full record of the rally
This is the opportunity to reflect on a very unusual journey.
L’Impérial Classic is the only French company to offer vintage car rallies worldwide, combining not only speed but also the art of living and passion for cars.
These rallies, each centred on an exceptional destination, offer splendour, sophistication and true French style and elegance. These watchwords go hand in hand with the quality and originality of the hospitality on offer.
L’Impérial Classic could be nothing other than top of the range, and is today a major player in the vintage rally world. It combines receptions and private visits, fascinating spectacles in unique sites with tailor-made organisation, providing travel through sumptuous countries to explore culture and hitherto undiscovered sights.
L’Impérial Classic retains its fundamental principles, the guarantee of its success and its trademark : unique routes, precise preparation and « haute couture » style, trips which offer each participating team the chance to live their dream.
As a new decade dawns for l’Impérial Classic two outstanding new projects have been announced (the South Africa in 2016 and the end of the world : New Zealand in 2017).