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London, England - China will return to an expanded world rally championship calendar in 2016 for the first time since 1999, series promoters said on Tuesday (November 3).
The all-asphalt event will be the 10th of 14 rounds and take place on Sept. 9-11 with a base in the Huairou district 70km from central Beijing.
16 year absence
Huairou also hosted the rally in 1999.
The season will open in Monaco in January 2016 and end in Australia in November.
WRC promoter managing director Oliver Ciesla said in a statement: "China is the biggest car market globally and by taking the WRC there, we offer manufacturers the opportunity to showcase their products via a championship focused on production-based vehicles.
"Its return was unanimously supported by our participating manufacturers."
Volkswagen, currently gripped by a major scandal over the rigging of emissions tests, are the rally world champions.