Air France and the Pearl of the Orient

On 20 September 1966, the Boeing 707 "Château de Cheverny" launched the Paris- Shanghai route. Three crews shared the 23-hour flight, with stopovers in Athens, Cairo, Karachi and Phnom Penh. Air France became the first European airline to serve the PRC.
During the "Cultural Revolution", China experienced much unrest. Shaken within its borders, the Eastern giant did not, however, neglect its diplomatic contacts. Taking advantage of closer ties with France, since 1964, the Chinese authorities allowed Air France to launch the Paris-Shanghai route. Or "relaunch" to be precise. The service had already operated from 1947 to 1949 as an extension of the Paris-Saigon route, with two weekly flights by DC-4. It was an endless trip which took 76 hours! The civil war had forced Air France to suspend the service in 1949. In 1966, thanks to the new Jet aircraft, the flight to the "Pearl of the Orient" was reduced to less than a day. Since then, China has opened up to the world and ties with Air France have become stronger. Together with its Chinese partner airlines, AIR FRANCE KLM now offers up to 132 weekly flights to China including Shanghai, the country's economic capital and megacity of 19 million people, with several daily flights, including some by A380. The trip is now non-stop and lasts only 11 hours.