Life on the road

Caravaning event highlights tourists' drive to get away from it all

Fang Ling's family drove their recreational vehicle to visit Beijing's All in Caravaning 2016, China's largest exhibition of RVs and motor homes, held June 18 to 20.

The 32-year-old and her husband have traveled in the RV since 2014, when they sold their clothing store in Zhejiang province. They started by taking their son, then 14 months old, to tour southern China in their new RV.

"Using the RV allows us to spend more time together," Fang says. "Being with family is most important."

The couple says they hope to broaden the boy's horizons by traveling while giving him a place that feels like home on the journey.

"It doesn't matter what he'll remember," the mother says. "These experiences will imperceptibly influence him."

The parents' experiences inspired them to drive the RV, which cost them 250,000 yuan ($37,400; 34,000 euros), to this year's AIC expo. The event attracted a record number of visitors and exhibitors, continuing its growth since its founding in 2012. Nearly 530 exhibitors from home and abroad showed products.

"Chinese tourists can go around to see their beautiful country and live in nature. What is easier than to travel in a motor home to decide where to park and stay?" says Stefan Koschke, director of Caravan Salon Dusseldorf, one of Europe's largest RV exhibitions and a sponsor of the Beijing event.

The AIC show draws European brands eyeing the vast Chinese market.

"While Europeans have a long history of caravaning, Chinese are still learning what advantages Caravaning brings," he says. "But the Chinese market is developing fast."

The number of campsites in China has grown from about 40 in 2010 to nearly 500 today, according to the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers. The State Council announced plans last year to build 1,000 campsites by 2020.

During the AIC show, China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corp released A Guide to China's Caravaning Life, believed to be the first book of its kind in the country.

Routes should be well connected because the number of campsites is small and they often are not marked on road signs, says Zhang Xuewu, company chairman.

The company aims to have 30 of its 318 Autocamp Motels along the Highway 318, which runs more than 5,400 kilometers cross-country from Shanghai to the Tibet autonomous region. Cars and RVs can be rented at one motel-cum-campsite and returned to another.

The company is also working with local partners to develop three picturesque domestic routes. One is from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, to Lhasa in Tibet.

However, the decade-old RV sector faces some roadblocks, Zhang says, as China has stricter regulations than the West about trailers. He explains that an RV is regarded as a home, and improvements to elements such as furniture and hardware need to be made to domestic quality standards.

Despite obstacles, though, Chinese automobile companies are joining the market, says Liu Yujiao, sales director of RV brand Livezone, which was initially launched as a caravan brand by Great Wall Motor Co Ltd.

Great Wall Motor joined the industry as early as 2002, foreseeing China's potential after looking at Europe and the United States. Liu says affordability is its appeal, with models priced at 220,000 to 280,000 yuan.

"Some consumers feel proud to drive a domestically made RV to overseas destinations," he says. "Many foreigners are surprised, too."

The company also focuses on after-service with a network of 1,000 repair and maintenance shops, Liu says.

"It'll take time to cultivate the market. RVs aren't used so often because people have time to drive only during national holidays, when rentals are becoming popular," he says.

Konstantin Abert of Germany enjoys aspects of China's RV culture such as barbecues. The 48-year-old has organized 10 RV trips to China since 2006.

Travel has become easier because of improvements in the roads and the internet, he says.

"The Chinese are curious about our RVs and like to have a look around," he says. "They are friendly, and we often take photos of each other. When you wake up, the windows offer different views. And no hotel can offer such a feeling."

xulin@chinadaily.com.cn