American Airlines Cargo Transports China’s Summer Palace Treasures

American Airlines Cargo was honored to successfully transport more than six tons of China’s national treasures from Beijing to Los Angeles in order to bring selections from the Summer Palace Museum to the United States for the first time.

In conjunction with the Bowers Museum, one of Orange County’s finest and largest museums, American worked closely with museum curators to bring important selections from the life of Empress Dowager Cixi. The pieces will be a first-of-its-kind exhibit in the United States that opens Nov. 12.

The treasures from the Summer Palace were carefully curated and packaged by Bowers Museum representatives, and American managed the logistical challenge of transporting more than 13,000 pounds of delicate material from Beijing (PEK) to Los Angeles (LAX). Because the artifacts were shipped before American launched its PEK-LAX widebody route, which began operation on Nov. 5, the 35 crates were trucked to Shanghai (PVG) and loaded onto a 787-800 from PVG to LAX.

Upon landing in LAX, American carefully downloaded the treasured artifacts to the Cargo facility before being picked up by the Bowers Museum. “It’s a wonderful honor to be of service in bringing this incredible exhibit to the Western world for the first time,” said Rick Elieson, president of American Airlines Cargo. “I’m incredibly proud of how carefully our team worked to ensure the integrity of these treasured artifacts.”
 

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