Wulf-Diether Graf zu Castell, a German aristocrat and a very young pilot for what was then known as Luft Hansa in the 1930s, received an unusual assignment in 1933: the 27-year-old was to develop new routes for a mail airline for the German-Chinese airline Eurasia, which had been founded two years earlier Search and try out China. The adventurous pilot enthusiastically accepts the unusual challenge. In the coming years he documented several of his flights in and to China with his Leica.
Count Castell was already using the color film, which had just been invented at the time, for some of his photographs. He was one of the first Europeans to take aerial photos of Beijing and the Imperial Palace. Around 1,500 photos were taken during this time. Numerous accidents and crash landings show that flying in China in the 1930s, with its underdeveloped or non-existent aviation infrastructure, was pure adventure. In addition, even the robust Junkers aircraft of the Eurasia sometimes have to be pulled from swampy bush runways back onto solid ground after landing with the help of ox teams. The lack of availability of fuel or spare parts often also affects Castell and his crew. Involuntary breaks, sometimes lasting weeks, are therefore more the rule than the exception.
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