A group of 56 Germans from all walks of life arrived in Shanghai on Friday on the last stop of their 53-day “cultural expedition” that crossed eight countries.

On two buses, the travelers, including doctors, architects and journalists, travelled about 13,000 kilometers, all the way from Germany’s Hamburg to China’s Shanghai via Poland, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

About 2pm on Friday, they arrived at Shanghai’s tallest building, Shanghai Tower, marking the end of their trans-Eurasian continent trip.

"It's a good opportunity to enhance the understanding between people and cultures, and also it opens a window for people from these countries to see whether there are possibilities of cooperation in the future," said Lars Anke, chief representative of Hamburg Liaison Office China.

One of the group members is Monika Cura, 72, from Cologne in Germany.

Cura said she was greatly impressed by the different landscapes and cultures along the road, like the generous Belarus people and friendly Chinese people. It really astonished her when she experienced the completely different cultures in Germany’s neighboring Poland and when she was caught in the rain in China’s largest desert Taklamakan.

Another traveler, Claus Kilpert, 68, said he learnt how to use chopsticks on the trip and he had never seen so many high-rises back in Germany.

“We should break those stereotyped images of China. Actually, China’s development is so unbelievable,” said Cura.