Reds arrive in Guangzhou
For the first time in their history, Liverpool Football Club have landed in China to kick off the first leg of their Standard Chartered sponsored pre-season tour of Asia.
Watch the players on the plane and arriving to hysteria in China
Kenny Dalglish and his squad touched down at Guangzhou airport at 11am local time this morning following a 13-hour flight from Liverpool (via Kazakhstan) - and were greeted by scenes of hysteria as Chinese fans gathered in their hundreds to welcome the Reds to their country for the first time.
There may be 5940 miles between Liverpool and the southern Chinese province where the Reds will spend the next three days, but having waited for so long to see their heroes in the flesh the screaming locals brought the spirit of Anfield to the streets of Guangzhou as the playing squad emerged into the airport and made their way to their hotel.
First on an action-packed agenda is a press conference which will be hosted by Kenny Dalglish alongside Jamie Carragher and new signing Charlie Adam before an open training session takes place later this evening when Chinese Kopites will get their first glimpses of their heroes in action on the pitch.
Liverpool's travelling playing squad and management staff have been joined on the tour by club ambassadors Ian Rush and Phil Thompson along with staff from the club's commercial, media and community teams, with the community department looking forward to delivering their own itinerary of events to local children in the area over the coming days.
Liverpool's Chinese adventure promises to deliver an experience to savour for all members of the travelling squad - and the LFC media team are with the Reds every step of the way to provide reguilar updates on the first leg of the Asian 2011 tour both online and on LFC TV.
How much do you know about the region of China that will host our first pre-season game of 2011? Here's 5 things you probably didn't know about Guangdong...
1. Guangdong is a province on the south east coast of China. Its capital Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) is the third largest city in China with a population of over six million people.
2. The most common way of greeting someone in Guangdong is by asking them, 'chi le mei you' - or 'Have you eaten?' The region is of course famous for being a true diners' paradise.
3. In late 2010 a video of a mysterious UFO hovering over a football pitch in Guangdong became an instant internet sensation in China.
4. Running right through Guangdong is the Pearl River, so-called because of the pearl coloured shells that lie at the bottom of the river.
5. Guangdong has an average annual temperature of around 22 (°C). Unfortunately for the Reds though, it can often reach 40 (°C) at this time of the year - which means training is going to be tough!