TRAVELLING EAST ON THE SILK ROAD

Xi’an is a city in eastern central China whose history stretches back 3000 years. Popular with tourists, it was the capital of China under a series of dynasties and currently boasts a population of more than 8 million inhabitants.

In the second century BC, Xi’an was the starting point for convoys taking the land route west, laden with Oriental goods. These included precious silk which only China could produce, giving it the name “the Silk Road”.

In a nod at the city’s history, it was by land that a recent order of several pallets of champagne made their way to the venerable city of Xi’an. Champagne is generally shipped to China, Asia and overseas in general by sea, with a few exceptional urgent shipments of champagne sent by plane at tremendous cost.

Under the circumstances, we decided to experiment and try shipping our champagne over land. This trial was a success, leaving our cellars on the 27 July and arriving in perfect condition at our Xi’an importer on the 15 August, after a journey of just 19 days.

This mode of transport is highly unusual in China and undoubtedly anywhere else in the world. It offers two major advantages and one drawback: it is quicker and more environmentally friendly than by sea, but is more costly (although nowhere near that of air transport).

Will historians write about the opening of a new trail running counter to the Silk Road in the 3rd millennium AD? Could this be the advent of the Champagne Road?