The 16th Asian Games, part of the worldwide Olympic movement and governed by the Olympic Council of Asia launched the overland route of "The Road of Asia" on Thursday.

Yuan Yue, deputy director of the Marketing Department for the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (GACOG), said that the overland route of "The Road of Asia" will be a month-long odyssey - from September 3 to October 9, 2009 - with a convoy of eight Han Randa cars and eight Odyssey cars provided by Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group.

The caravan will traverse across Middle Asia along the ancient overland Silk Road with members of the delegation including senior officials of GAGOC, media partners of the campaign and volunteer drivers.

The convoy will set off from Guangzhou and journey to Xi'an - the starting point of the Silk Road - where a ceremony will be held to welcome the convoy.

Then it will travel through Lanzhou; Jiayu Pass; Hami; Urumqi and Yining and make its way out of China via Huoerguosi Port to visit countries such as Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

The caravan will touch important ancient cities along the Silk Road, including Taraz; Shymkent; Samarqand; Bukhara and Mary. Working with National Olympic Committees of each country, the delegation will hold varied promotional activities in each capital city to highlight the campaign's theme "Fun Games, Fun Party" while conducting sports and cultural exchanges.

The overland tour will last 40 days and cover a distance of more than 12,000 kilometers.

After the overland tour, "The Road of Asia" campaign will visit countries and regions throughout East Asia, including Japan, South Korea, DPR Korea and Chinese Taipei.

As a large-scale overseas promotional program for the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games, "The Road of Asia" was launched on November 12, 2008 to coincide with the two-year countdown to the Games.

(Xinhua News Agency  September 4, 2009)