Current Press releases
Launching a rolling cultural exchange in the spirit of Porsche The Porsche Heritage Experience 2019 China was held in Yunnan Province
Shanghai/Yunnan/Stuttgart. Porsche Heritage Experience 2019 China was held in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province from 17-24 November. Five brightly coloured Porsche classic sports cars passed through the magnificent vistas of the Honghe terraces and pure and rustic Hani villages, complementing the colorful Yunnan scenery. These classic cars are like a "key" that has been frozen over the years, opening the door to historical memory. When the unique German sports car brand met the thousand-year-old Eastern Hani culture, Farming culture, Tusi culture and Caravan culture, it was like passing through time and space, witnessing the collision and communication of different cultures creating a timeless juxtaposition between heritage and innovation.
In 2019, in order to mark the 10th anniversary of the Porsche Museum and to further implement the “Mission Future Heritage” overall strategy, the Porsche Museum launched the “Porsche Heritage Experience”, taking a classic Porsche sports car as a cultural ambassador to explore the breadth of human civilization and build a bridge between tradition and the future. This project involves learning traditional methods of work that are actively preserved as well as related methods of value protection. Due to its distinct and varied cultural and geographical characteristics, China’s Yunnan Province was chosen as the site of the first Porsche Heritage Experience event. In the future, such events will be held every two years.
Porsche Heritage Experience 2019 China was led by a 1963 Porsche 356 B 1600 Super 90 Coupé, as well as a 911 Carrera 3.0 Targa, 911 Carrera 2 Clubsport, 911 Carrera 3.6 Coupé and 911 Carrera 4 3.4 Cabriolet. These classic Porsche models were transported to China to represent different eras in Porsche history. The convoy of classic cars embarked on a cultural journey to take in the many and varied sights of Yunnan Province. The tour was due to visit the Caravan City of Honghe on the “Ancient Tea-horse Road”, as well as the Honghe Hani Rice terraces which have been carved out of the landscape by the Hani people whose traditional methods date back to more than 1300 years ago and were considered an intangible national cultural heritage. Guests were invited to experience Honghegu Tented Resort in the ruins of the lost villages on the banks of the terraced fields while enjoying an original ecological national performance displaying the Hani people's production of labour and life that has existed for over a millenium.
Mr. Alexander E. Klein, Manager Vehicle Management of the Porsche Museum, said: “This is not only a regular driving trip, but also a great opportunity to visit unique human civilizations, promote communication, experience multiculturalism and display the solid technology and historical connotations behind the Porsche brand. The mission was, and remains, to make the past ready for the future today and enrich what lies ahead of us in the present day with important discoveries from the past."
For ten years, the Porsche Museum has helped transport the past into the future
The Porsche Museum celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. For 10 years, the Porsche Museum has preserved masterpieces, works of art, precious historical materials, and much more, displaying the culture, history and philosophy of Porsche, inspiring and educating future generations. Since January 2009, the Porsche Museum has attracted more than 4.5 million visitors from around the world.
In fact, the cultural self-perception and heritage concept that characterises the Porsche Museum stretches far beyond the Zuffenhausen site. Over the past ten years, many of the several hundred vehicles in the museum’s collection have travelled beyond Europe’s borders to the US, China, Australia, Japan and South Africa as brand ambassadors and reference objects. They have attended trade shows to recount the company’s history, taken part in rallies and many other motorsports events: they have called the world their home and historic public relations their mission. The Porsche Museum does not only portray itself as an institution that keeps collections and preserves the past, but one which helps transport the past into the future.
Mission Future Heritage, making origins and tradition tangible
Learning from the past can mirror today. Making origins and traditions tangible – or in the spirit of Porsche – literally being able to experience them behind the wheel: that’s the fundamental idea of the “Porsche Heritage Experience”. With this new event concept, Porsche Museum aims to proactively spread its historic work throughout the world.
The first destination of the cultural journey is of great significance in Yunnan, China. to this day, UNESCO has added 55 Chinese sites to the World Heritage list, around 30 are considered Cultural World Heritage Sites while the others are listed as Natural World Heritage Sites and Cultural Landscapes. Yunnan province in the south west of the People’s Republic shares its borders with multiple countries. Moving from south-west to south-east these are: Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. The proximity to south-east Asia is the reason behind its very special cultural character. 36 of the 55 officially recognised ethnic groups in China call Yunnan their home and the region’s nature is dominated by the contrast between vegetation growing in high mountain ranges and tropical environments. Traditional rice cultivation on terraces is absolutely typical of the region. Honghe Hani Rice Terraces in Yunnan have already been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Terrace farming represents a craft with a 2,000-year-old tradition that has been passed down to this day and will dominate a large part of the journey.
As part of the Porsche Heritage Experience, the museum’s vehicles not only act as rolling brand ambassadors, but also as likeable ice breakers to facilitate interesting cultural exchanges. The guests drive the Porsche classic sports cars, drink in the beautiful scenery, connect with the machinery on a purely primitive level and enjoy the extensive and profound feel of classic car culture enhanced by the strong technical strength behind the Porsche brand.
Porsche China actively spreads classic car culture
Classic cars are displayed in different ways in different eras, and represent the trends of that era. Every classic car is a story. What attracts us is not only their elegant and noble style, but also the cultural heritage they carry, as well as the glory and mythology of their preservation.
In recent years, classic car culture has gradually developed in China. As a sports car brand that instills heritage and culture in the genes, Porsche continues to work in this field, and is committed to allowing Chinese fans experience the brand's heritage more closely. Every year, Porsche selects about 10 classic cars from the Porsche Museum to meet with fans in China, actively participate in all kinds of classic car activities and promote the development of classic car culture in China. In the future, in order to better meet the needs of the majority of Chinese fans for classic Porsche sports cars, Porsche will arrange more classic sports cars to come to China.
11/26/2019
Further information and pictures for journalists and media representatives can be found on the Porsche press database at http://presse.porsche.de/.