The festive departure of the Flax Road will be held on Saturday, 11 May 2013 at 10:30 h. at Vyncke in Harelbeke and at 15 h. at Viavia Reiscafé in Mechelen.

The Flax Road is an initiative of 18 Flemish pioneers who travel the 15,000 kilometer from Flanders to China in two expeditions: from May 11 to June 22, they explore Transcaucasia and Central Asia, where the energy map of the world is being drawn; and after the summer break, from September 8 till October 18, the focus is on western China, motor of the new Silk Road, a land corridor from China’s East Coast to the terminus Antwerp. The Flax Road relates to the Silk Road, along which not only goods were transported, but also ideas and convictions were exchanged between East and West.

10:30 h. at Vyncke, Gentsesteenweg 224, 8530 Harelbeke, with a Representative of the Chinese Embassy; Carl Decaluwé, Governor of the Province of West-Flanders; Michel Delbaere, National Chairman of VOKA; Hans Maertens, Director VOKA West-Flanders and Frédéric Douchy Managing Director Procotex.

Programme: 10:30 h. till 12:30 h.:

• The initiative: Vyncke for another 100 years by Mr. Dirk Vyncke, Pater Familias of Vyncke and the Flax Road
• Flax, yesterday, today and tomorrow by Mr. Frédéric Douchy, Managing Director Procotex
• Harelbeke’s springboard to the world by Mr. Alain Top, Mayor of Harelbeke
• Reception followed by the festive departure of the Flax Road convoy

Please confirm your attendance by e-mail to ltr@vyncke.com

15 h. at Viavia Reiscafé Mechelen, Zandpoortvest 50, 2800 Mechelen.

Programme from 15 h. till 16.30 h.:

• From Viavia Mechelen to Viavia Chengdu, by Bob Elsen, CEO Joker and co-founder of vlasroute.be
• Cosmopolitan Mechelen by Mayor Bart Somers
• Flemish in action by Minister President Kris Peeters
• Snacks and drinks followed by the departure of the Flax Road convoy

Registration: Dries Caems dries.caems@viaviacafe.com.
Map: http://www.viaviacafe.com/nl/content/wiewaar-1

The Vlasroute.be is the initiative of a cohort of spirited and experienced entrepreneurs who will travel overland from Belgium to China by jeep, 15,000 km from (Vyncke) Harelbeke over the Trans-Caucasus lands and through Central Asia to (Vyncke) Suzhou. The Flax Road from Flanders to China symbolically intertwines with the Silk Road.  Much more than durable goods travel along these paths: ideas, technology and convictions are exchanged between East and West.  The ‘Vlasroute’ is not a trade mission or rally. The purpose is to engage in a convivial dialogue with pacesetters on the spot; and to put the Trans-Caucasus, Central Asia and West China on the knowledge map of enterprising Flanders.

The Flax Road to Silk Road Overland will be travelled in two expeditions of each 5-6 weeks and about 7500 km.
– A first expedition tours from Harelbeke to the Caucasus and Central Asia, from the 11th of May until the 22nd of June. The Flax Road crosses Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, over the Caspian Sea to Stan-lands with iconic Silk Road cities: Turkmenistan (Merv), Uzbekistan (Samarkand, Bukhara) and Kyrgyzstan (Fergana Valley). We cross the border to Almaty (Kazakhstan) where the vehicles will be checked during the summer leave.
– The second expedition resumes on the 8th of September in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and lasts until the 17th of October (Suzhou, China east coast). We travel through Kyrgyzstan onto Kashgar (Xinjiang Autonomic Region) and cross China’s West: the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Sichuan. Xian in Shaanxi, famous for its terracotta army, was the capital of the empire during the prime days of the Silk Road. The western Chengdu-Chongqing Economical Zone is part of the industrial top in China.

Contact: Lutgart Dusar, lutgart.dusar@lscoop.com, tel.+32477 276977 www.vlasroute.be