Motorcades for guests of honor

Providing motorcycle escorts for visiting leaders' convoys is a show of good hospitality and respect for international practice

In a break from a decade-old protocol, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete was driven from Beijing airport in the suburbs to the downtown Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in a motorcade on Oct 21, drawing widespread attention.

The practice of using motorcycle riders to escort heads of state or government started in 1954 when former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited China. The practice was abolished during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), but was resumed in the 1980s. Watching handsome motorcycle riders escorting State guests live or on TV form part of the fond memories of people who grew up in those decades.