SHANGHAI - Ten antique cars driven by a team of 20 rally drivers and navigators from Bremen, Germany, arrived at Shanghai on Saturday to mark the Bremen Case Pavilion Day at the Expo Garden, which fell on Sunday.

German rallyists Gunther Wily Degner and his wife kiss to celebrate their arrival at Shanghai on Saturday. The rally, involving 10 antique cars, kicked off on Aug 18 in Bremen, Gemany. [Photo/China Daily]

The rallyists, along with six mechanics and doctors, began the 56-day road trip on Aug 18. They crossed eight countries during the 14,000-km rally on the Silk Road.

The activity is the brainwave of China Tours, which specializes in organizing trips between Germany and China.

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The 10 vehicles, all of which are more than 20 years old, included Mercedes Benzes, BMWs, SAABs, Porches and a nearly 70-year-old Ford.

"This isn't the first time I have driven the Ford to China. I participated in the China Tour four years ago and made it from Germany to Beijing," said Gunther Wily Degner, 70, the owner of the antique car manufactured in the 1930s.

Degner, whose wife partnered him on the drive, bought the car six years ago and has done several cross-country trips in it.

"We're very excited that we had the chance to drive from Germany to Shanghai for the Expo. The 56-day journey gave us a unique chance to drive through the Silk Road," said Degner.

Svend-Jork Sobolewski, nicknamed "hero", 48, used to be a motorcycle racer. Two months before the rally was to kick off, he broke both his legs in a car accident.

After a month in rehabilitation, Sobolewski insisted on participating in the event and drove the entire distance himself.

"I've never driven a car such a long distance. And even though both my legs were broken, I didn't want to miss the opportunity (to participate in the rally). Luckily, God was on my side," said Sobolewski, who drove a 31-year-old Mercedes Benz 450 SLC, which did not break down even once during the trip.

Sobolewski bought the car, which was used in some African rallies in the 1970s, especially for the journey for 4,500 euros ($6,260) and spent 15,000 euros on modifications.

"I own a private museum of 12 antique cars and that's where the Benz would go once I return," said Sobolewski.

Liu Guosheng, general manger of China Tours Hamburg, said: "This is the fourth time we organized an antique car rally from Germany to China, but the first time we drove through the Silk Road."

Liu added that the antique vehicles are symbols of the era of Europe's industrial revolution.

To celebrate the Bremen Case Pavilion Day, Bremen Mayor Jens Bohrnsen led a delegation of a number of high-ranking Germans from the fields of economics, politics and science to China.