Press On two and four wheels through the Middle Kingdom – 9,000 km over hill and dale Landau, 14. March 2017 The team were well-guarded but also roads – into the mountains of the Foping The great Next Story destination has well looked-after and were able to visit all nature reserve – home to the protected been reached: Hong Kong. Over of the landmark sights in the country and giant panda. This was followed by Hanz- three years, each with three individual the capital in the company of their tour hong, the heavenly Jiu Zhai National stages, a changing list of participants guides. Park in the Valley of the Nine Villages, covered a distance of almost 29,000 and Jianmen Pass – a trip bursting with kilometres. For a combined total of The journey through China resumed in natural scenery and mountain passages. 111 days, 69 participants from 12 the border city of Dandong and continued countries travelled along remote through Panjin and the imperial summer Stage 3: Chengdu – Hongkong roads, through narrow laneways and residence of Chengde to the Chinese After the change of team in Chengdu we over miles of dirt tracks, crossing 14 capital Beijing. The first stage of the expe- had the opportunity to experience a Chi- different countries. Now the team on dition came to an end here on 6 June, nese opera, performed in traditional robes the final leg stood before the Hong and the group was joined by those taking and costumes. A visit to a tea plantation Kong skyline to conclude a great pro- part in the second stage. Together we all and insights into life in the small Tibetan ject in a worthy manner. But before went to see the main sights and the village of Xieluo Puzi brought home to that, the final expedition participants Great Wall of China close to Beijing. the team just how far away Europe was – still had to make a journey that could there was some amazement among the hardly have been more exciting: village inhabitants as they had obviously China from north to south, and a Stage 2: Peking – Chengdu never seen a “long nose” in the flesh short but intense stop in North Korea. Our next destination was Pingyao. With its small black brick houses, the town – before. „We do not take a trip; a trip takes us.“ once the centre of China’s financial John Steinbeck world – looks exactly as it did 400 years Other stops along the way were the ago during the Ming period. Then on the Xichang Space Centre which, owing to way to Xi’an we faced hours of waiting. the unique Chinese style of appointment Stage 1: Harbin – Peking The problem: were we allowed to drive planning, we were unable to see. The Accompanied by cool, rainy weather, our motorbikes on the expressway? After same went for Lake Lugu. the 2016 leg of the expedition got un- some skilful negotiating and a couple of derway on 22 May in Harbin, northeast hours’ delay we finally reached agree- And the challenges didn’t let up: flooding China, a centre of heavy industry and a ment with the police and, travelling in after heavy rainfall in the Xichang area, a trade bridge to Russia. After we all temperatures of around 50 °C we noodle soup that had to be eaten with passed our driving test – obligatory for reached Xi’an, once the most important chopsticks, daring alternative routes af- foreigners before they are allowed to starting point of the Silk Road in China. ter a landslide, and minor elbow injuries drive in China – we travelled to Chang- for the motorbike riders – the trip to Lijiang chun, China’s biggest car city, and then Apart from the impressive Terracotta was quite something! on to the old imperial city of Shenyang. Army, the attractions included the Dra- Here the team had the opportunity to gon Boat Festival that captivated the From Lijiang we headed for Yulong, the take a guided tour of a local paper factory Next Story team and two million other place where Progroup is sponsoring a of the world’s biggest manufacturer of visitors. A dinner with representatives of World Vision project in 2016 (see details containerboard made fromrecycled paper. machinery supplier, Valmet, concluded in the following pages). our visit to Xi’an. This was followed by a true highlight: a After a friendly see-off in Yulong, the three-day visit to North Korea and the After so much culture, it was time to take expedition headed south and southeast capital, Pyongyang, when the team in some nature: our motorcade travelled for Hong Kong. Our stops along the way gained some unforgettable impressions. in the following days – sometimes on dirt were Kunming, the City of Eternal Spring, Contact: Progroup AG, Horstring 12, 76829 Landau, Stephan Göckler, Head of Marketing, Tel. +49 (0) 6341/5576-1190, [email protected] page 1 of 6 Press On two and four wheels through the Middle Kingdom – 9,000 km over hill and dale which we unfortunately left in pouring Kong Harbour provided a worthy con- is the production of containerboard and rain, a visit to the Shilin stone forest, and clusion to the Next Story programme. corrugated board sheets. With 1010 then on through a fantastic mountain “We produce paper. Discovering the employees, in 2016 the company gene- landscape to Xingren and Duyun. history of this material and the routes rated sales of around 733 million euros it took was a fantastic experience. We and is one of the top 5 companies in the In Guilin we briefly switched our mode of felt the vast distances and got to know sector in Central Europe. The brands of transport: the surrounding karst moun- many different cultures. We are retur- the Next Generation Products are syno- tains are at their most imposing when ning to everyday life enriched by our nymous with the use of less raw material seen from the water. A boat trip along Next Story experiences. Many thanks to coupled with an increase in performance, the Li River was an unforgettable experi- everybody who took part.” Jürgen and have come to epitomise sustainable ence and delighted everyone, particularly Heindl, CEO thinking and a sustainable way of doing the photographers in the team. The next business in the industry. stops were Hezhou and Dongguan, after Further informationen you will find at: which our travel was completed and a www.next-story.info Please send us a sample copy on champagne shower was just the right publication. Thank you way to cool down after clocking up a hot 8,636 km precisely. Designed for innovation and speed – Progroup AG Progroup AG Stephan Göckler Ending with a business programme Questioning the existing, developing Horstring 12 Freshly showered, we continued our iti- completely new approaches and brin- 76829 Landau nerary the very next day with our busi- ging trend-setting concepts to market Tel. +49 (0) 6341 5576-1190 ness programme. We were visiting readiness. That is what Progroup AG Fax +49 (0) 6341 5576-109 Dongguan near Nine Dragons – the stands for. [email protected] world’s biggest paper and cardboard www.progroup.ag factory with a total of 15 paper machines The successful development of the www.next-story.info in one facility. Afterwards we had a group is based on a consequent green- chance to talk to Chinese politicians. field strategy, technological leadership, Later in the day the chairwoman of Nine network management and an advanced Dragons, Mrs. Cheung Yan treated the supply chain strategy. With two paper Next Story team to a festive evening. machines (Propapier), a combined heat and power plant (Propower), nine corru- A visit to Macau and a sightseeing tour gated board plants (Prowell) and several of Hong Kong, as well as the closing service companies (Prologistik, Proser- party overlooking the skyline and Hong vice, Profund), Progroup’s core business Contact: Progroup AG, Horstring 12, 76829 Landau, Stephan Göckler, Head of Marketing, Tel. +49 (0) 6341/5576-1190, [email protected] page 2 of 6 Press On two and four wheels through the Middle Kingdom – image material Image Number 001 Caption: The key-visual of the „next story“ tour. Image Number 002 Caption: The team and vehicles of the „next story“ tour 2016 are ready. Contact: Progroup AG, Horstring 12, 76829 Landau, Stephan Göckler, Head of Marketing, Tel. +49 (0) 6341/5576-1190, [email protected] page 3 of 6 Press On two and four wheels through the Middle Kingdom – image material Image Number 003 Caption: Good mood of the „next story“ team at the Great Wall of China. Image Number 004 Caption: Business program at Nine Dragons – the world‘s largest paper and board production. Contact: Progroup AG, Horstring 12, 76829 Landau, Stephan Göckler, Head of Marketing, Tel. +49 (0) 6341/5576-1190, [email protected] page 4 of 6 Press On two and four wheels through the Middle Kingdom – image material Image Number 005 Caption: The „next story“ expedition on the way through a small town of China to the Tibetan villages. Image Number 006 Caption: Rides through rough terrain. Contact: Progroup AG, Horstring 12, 76829 Landau, Stephan Göckler, Head of Marketing, Tel. +49 (0) 6341/5576-1190, [email protected] page 5 of 6 Press On two and four wheels through the Middle Kingdom – image material Image Number 007 Caption: Journey through small isolated Chinese villages. Image Number 008 Caption: Progroup supports the 2016 World Vision project in Yulong. Please contact us for print-ready images. Further image material available on request. Contact: Progroup AG, Horstring 12, 76829 Landau, Stephan Göckler, Head of Marketing, Tel.