With just hours to go for Chinese President Xi Jinping to land in Chennai for the second India-China informal summit, the capital city of Tamil Nadu is sporting a new look. Several new roadside parks have sprung up from the Chennai Airport to Mamallapuram. The coastal town has been beautified with greenery and lights.
Security barricades, zig-zag police checks and CCTV cameras dot the roads as Xi will land in Chennai at 1.30pm on Friday and take the road unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Xi and his entourage will drive down the entire 50km stretch from the airport to the ITC Chola at Guindy, where Xi will be staying and then to Mamallapuram, as the Chinese security officials did not consider a helicopter to be the right mode of transport.
Xi will drive into Chennai in his own secure vehicle, the Hongqi L5 Sedan. On Wednesday, an Air China Boeing 747 aircraft flew into the Chennai Airport bringing four black, bullet-proof luxury cars.
The Chinese president's entourage always uses the Chinese-made 'Hongqi' limousine. Hongqi is the Chinese luxury car marque owned by the car maker company FAW. The four-door sedan is 18-feet long and 6.5-feet wide. Weighing 3,152kg, the car is 5-feet tall. It has an overall shape with a large front grill that is clearly meant to evoke the aura of very high-end, full-size luxury cars such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mercedes. Hongqi, the most expensive car in China, can zip from zero to 100kmph speed within just 8 seconds.
Xi's entourage includes Ding Xuexiang, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC), member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC; Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC; State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and He Lifeng, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the National Development and Reform Commission.
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According to Chinese official media, Xi left Beijing on Friday morning to land in Chennai to take part in the informal summit. In the meantime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive at the Chennai Airport from New Delhi by a special aircraft, before the arrival of Xi. Modi will be received by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues at the airport.
At 1.30pm, a special aircraft carrying Xi and his retinue will land at the airport. He will be given a red-carpet welcome and received as per protocol. He will then reach the ITC Grand Chola Hotel in Guindy. At 4 pm, Xi will leave the hotel and drive the 50km stretch to reach Mamallapuram by road.