Silk Road Rally set for August sendoff

The China Silk Road Rally will roar off at Daminggong Palace in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Aug 30.

The two-week event was formerly called the China Grand Rally for its two last versions but was renamed for the concept of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative .

The 6,000-km race, organized by the Federation of Automobile Sports of China, CCTV Sports Channel and the China Equity, will pass through Shaanxi, Gansu provinces, and Inner Mongolia autonomous region for 10 competitive special stages before winding up in the ancient Silk Road city of Dunhuang.

Frenchman Hubert Auriol, a rally legend and former chairman of Dakar Rally, will serve as race director for the event, which for the first time will feature a foreign team, France's Team Peugeot.