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China acquires a taste for classic cars

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Created on November 26, 2025

Text:

Martin Sigrist

Photos:

Martin Sigrist

40

1000 Miglia Chinese Experience

9

Beijing Automobile Museum

2

Wikipedia Commons

1

Martin Sigrist

40

1000 Miglia Chinese Experience

9

Beijing Automobile Museum

2

Wikipedia Commons

1

Hongqi CA770 (1973) - The former state limousine belongs to the Beijing Automobile Museum - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Admission to the exhibition was free for visitors - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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One of the four Tigers at the opening ceremony - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Four Chinese tigers are part of the exhibition's opening ritual - the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL from HK-Engineering took center stage - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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First interested visitors to the Classic Car Exhibition at the Guangzhou Opera House - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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First interested parties in front of the Mercedes Gullwing - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Chinese modernism in downtown Guangzhou, on the left the 103-storey Guangzhou International Finance Center - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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The Canton Tower is Guangzhou's landmark and measures over 600 meters - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Surreal atmosphere - Mille Miglia China Experience, prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Committed to tradition - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Canton Opera Museum in Guangzhou - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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In contrast to other cities, Guangzhou's old town was not simply demolished - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Traditional lantern decorations in the city center - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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China between tradition and modernity - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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The Chinese have no problem combining the past and the future - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Modern quarter on the Pearl River - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Homage to China's automotive sector at the Beijing Museum - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Oldsmobile Model R (1902) Beijing Automobile Museum - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Hongqi CA770 (1973) - The sight of this car used to inspire a mixture of fear and awe - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Jaguar XK140 FHC (1955) - A car from Hong Kong - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider (1958) - In the beginning, the organizers still had some trouble with the lettering, the Giulietta was provided with the badge of the 1900 SS - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Austin Mini 1000 (1979) - Also from Hong Kong, this wildly tuned Mini doesn't take originality too seriously - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (2004) - The Ferrari is already a classic car at the age of 21 according to Chinese standards - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Ferrari Testarossa (1988) - At the prologue in front of the opera in Guangzhou - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Jaguar E-Type Series 1 (1967) - The car of a participant in the Mille Miglia China Experience found a local admirer - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1600 HF (1970) - The cardboard sign for the temporary registration of the right-hand drive Hong Kong car on the roads of the mainland is behind the windshield - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato (1971) - This car was driven from Hong Kong to Guangzhou - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato (1971) - In the background the two tallest buildings in the city of Guangzhou - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Mercedes-Benz 300SL (1955) - Undeniably one of the highlights and for once very tangibly exhibited - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Mercedes-Benz C124 Cabriolet AMG (1988) - A W124 remains a rarity in China, a convertible in particular - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Porsche 356 Speedster (1955) - From the collection of the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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The Guangzhou Opera House as a backdrop for classic cars - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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An exhibition of classic cars without major barriers is very rare in China - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Range Rover Series 1 State Review Vehicle (1975) - The royal Range Rover belongs to the British Motor Museum in Gaydon UK - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 AMG Rote Sau (1972) - On promotional tour for AMG at the Mille Miglia prologue in China - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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The Chinese know many classic cars primarily from the media and from models - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Flying Pigeon (1950) The Chinese bicycle is the most-built vehicle in the world, with over 500 million units produced

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Gateway to China - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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RS on the road in China - Mille Miglia China Experience, prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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The new opera of Guangzhou - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Opening ceremony of the second Mille Miglia China Experience in front of the Guangzhou Opera House - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Visitor turnout - Mille Miglia China Experience, Prologue in Guangzhou 2025

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Erich Oswald has brought his 300 SL to China - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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Open-air gala dinner at the 1000 Miglia China Experience - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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Hans Kleissl is driving, owner Erich Oswald is the navigator and Zeng Whu, President of the Chinese classic car umbrella organization, is waving the starting flag - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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Hot Mini from Hong Kong drives through a Chinese city with a European flavor... - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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Interested public at a stopover - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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A colorful field of participants - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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Preparations for the start of the 1000 Miglia China Experience - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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Dream landscape around the Greater Bay, there is undoubtedly potential for more tourism, classic cars could contribute to this - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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Ve Lau, a Chinese influencer, brings the topic of classic cars to her followers in an amazingly competent way - 1000 Miglia China Experience 2025

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Summary

China is thinking about opening its gates to classic cars. From 2027, the province of Gounandong in southern China will be the first to try it out. A visit to the prologue of the second 1000 Miglia China Experience in and around the opera house of the provincial capital Guangzhou, a metropolis with 16 million inhabitants, brought some first encounters with China's young classic car scene.

This article contains the following chapters

Hong Kong as a role model
Collecting yes, driving only on special occasions
Without barriers and with expert information
First trial run in 2027
Closely monitored and meticulously selected
A cultural or investment good?
Building the entire universe of the classic vehicle
Tourism and cultural exchange

Estimated reading time: 13min

Preview (beginning of the article)

You can't help but be amazed. In China, the "Flying Pigeon" has long since been replaced by the car. The largest bicycle brand in the world is said to have produced no less than a staggering 500 million units of the Flying Pigeon PA-02 model. It is a "bicycle" in the style of an English roadster bike with only one gear ratio. Even at the time of Deng Xiaoping's departure into a modern China, which was to unite market economy and communism - very successfully as we know today - a single bicycle like this fulfilled the mobility needs of an entire family. Today you stand at the side of the road and open your Chinese universal app for everything: WeChat! With the help of the Chinese Uber alternative Didi, you can get a cab in just a few steps. The number of available "rides" in the vicinity, the alternative costs, the time until arrival and the current location of the selected cab until it arrives are all displayed in real time.

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