Two drivers competing in an 11-day cross-country race were rescued yesterday 
after being lost for nearly 50 hours in Lop Nur, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous 
Region.
One hitch-hiked 50 kilometres before catching a ride to a town where he found 
help yesterday. Meanwhile, a rescue team dispatched earlier came across the 
other driver in Lop Nur.
Pu Yongsheng, the driver, and Zhao Lixue, the guide, strayed off course 
shortly after they set out to cross Lop Nur on Tuesday afternoon.
Pu and Zhao were confirmed lost on Wednesday night, and a mass search began.
The search proved difficult due to the desert's harsh conditions.
At around 4 pm yesterday, the pair's vehicle was discovered buried in the 
sand about 50 kilometres from the group's starting point and both drivers were 
found to be healthy and safe, according to Fang Zheng, chief organizer of the 
cross-country event.
"Their vehicle broke down because of a battery problem, meanwhile the 
transmitter-receiver in the vehicle also went wrong," Fang told China Daily. 
Pu and Zhao are both from a cross-country automobile club in Shanghai. Pu, 
who is in charge of the club, is also a lawyer, according to the Shanghai 
Transportation Radio.
The pair had been carrying enough food and water for two days with them, said 
Fang.
Because he is younger than Pu, Zhao, the guide, abandoned the vehicle and 
walked in the harsh windy weather for 50 kilometres before he finally 
hitch-hiked to the local government headquarters of Lop Nur town 60 kilometres 
away to seek help, reported the Shanghai Oriental Television.
At the same time, a rescue team from Ruoqiang County, which Lop Nur belongs 
to, found the buried vehicle and Pu 50 kilometres from their starting place.
The pair would join the automobile club at the group's next stop, Zhao, the 
guide, was quoted by Shanghai Oriental TV as saying. 
Fifty-eight vehicles from domestic clubs in Hong Kong Special Administrative 
Region, Shanghai, Shandong and Henan Province, took part in the 
4,000-kilometre-long competition, which started in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang 
last Saturday.
Five competitors have already quit the event due to the road and weather 
conditions, said Fang. The event will end at Akesu on Tuesday.
Lop Nur is known for its harsh conditions. It recently aroused people's 
attention as experts said a dry corpse discovered in Lop Nur is likely to be 
Peng Jiamu (1925-1980), the scientist who was lost in Lop Nur in June 1980 
during a scientific exploration. DNA tests are under way to confirm the 
speculation.
(China Daily 05/05/2006 page1)