4 Range Rover Discovery's travel 16,000km from UK to China

On the 50-day journey of four Land Rover Discoveries from Birmingham, UK to Beijing, China covered more than 8,000 miles (12, 874km) of varied terrain through 13 different countries, revealing some unique and fascinating stories with the aim of raising £1 (S$2) million for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the process.

The high-alpine pass into China had been blocked by snow and made it impassable even to the tough Land Rovers. Time was ticking as the team’s target of reaching the Beijing Motor Show was slipping. It must have been a huge relief that finally the earth beneath China rolled beneath the wheels of the four Land Rovers.

Ironic, what blocked the path into China is directly related to the very first story on this 'journey of discovery'. After rolling out of the Geneva Motor Show, the first stop was the Aosta Valley, where the team joined experts to discover techniques of protecting the slopes from avalanches.

After a dramatic start, the Land Rovers had a stint of ice driving in Austria followed by a tour of European cities of Milan, Saltsburg, Vienna and Budapest with the first week ending at a haunting trip to Chernobyl. More than 25 years since the world's worst nuclear accident, this was the first private vehicle trip allowed into the exclusion zone. The town of Pripyat was seen with peeling paint and sagging ceilings which was once home to 50,000 working professionals.  The younger readers might recognize Chernobyl through Call of Duty and Transformers 3.

The Ukrainian cities of L'Viv, Kiev and Odessa were next up, passing by the pharmacy museum of potions and lotions; a micro miniatures museum with a 400-piece gold model ship smaller than a fingernail and the Odessa Steppes.

The Discoveries then rolled into a former submarine shelter, carved deep into a mountain beside the Black Sea. The curved tunnels were designed to deflect accidental blasts from nuclear missiles.

En-route to Moscow revealed a glimpse into Soviet automotive history through an incredible with the modern Discovery off-roaders driving alongside an ancient Soviet equivalent. An exclusive visit to the Kremlin was followed by a unique tour of the city's sights finishing with a visit to the mighty statue of Mother Russia in Volgograd.

The Journey took a twist and went into the wild as the highways turned to potholed roads; urban streets were replaced by remote desert outposts; with temperatures, plummeting to new lows. Eventually, the team made it to the Aral Sea, where long abandoned rusting boats sit on a gargantuan seabed.

In stark contrast, the cultural jewel of the Savitsky Museum in Nukus, deep in the Uzbekistan desert, offered the chance to explore a collection of over 90,000 avant-garde Soviet artworks, saved from destruction through years of hiding from the KGB. Islamic architecture spread far and wide as the Silk Road and Spice Route rolled out towards China.

Heading south after more than 6,000 miles from Lake Issyk Kul came the obstacle at the final border.
The 3,752m Torugart Pass came so close to repeating the original Land Rover expedition in 1956 to re-direct to Singapore.

This time, the Land Rovers reached Turpan, the first main stop in China with almost 2,000 miles remaining. The dunes of the Taklamakan Desert presented an opportunity to play with China's most adventurous off-road driving club. The Great Wall offered a clear path all the way to Beijing.

When the wheels of the one millionth Land Rover Discovery rolled along the tarmac of Tiananmen Square, it was mission accomplished for the Range Rovers and concluding their one-in-a-million journey.