For Heinrich Schultz, a 77-year-old German retiree, this is a chance of a lifetime. Schultz is part of a group of around 50 Germans who are on a bus journey along the ancient Silk Road.

Speaking of his trip, he says: "I have been deeply interested in the Silk Road since I was a child, but now I finally have a chance to experience it."

The two-month bus journey will take the group through Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. They will then enter China from the country's western border.