This day, 10 June, 1907, the first Peking-Paris car rally began. 12,000 kilometers long, with five cars participating, Italian driver Scipione Borghese was the first to reach the finish line in 44 days. As the world’s earliest ultra-long distance car rally and considered the toughest of its kind, the competition also helped to bring about initial understandings of China among people around the world.