Caravanning: Chinese tourists hit the road

Fang Ling and her son with their family's recreational vehicle. Fang and her husband have traveled in the RV since 2014 when they started by taking their then-14-month-old boy to tour southern China in their new RV. Provided to China Daily

Caravanning event highlights tourists' drive to get away from it all, Xu Lin reports.

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

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 then-14-month-old boy to tour southern China in their new 250,000 yuan ($38,000) RV.

"RVing allows us to spend more time together," Fang says.

"Being with family is most important."

They hoped to broaden their boy's horizons by traveling, yet giving him a place that felt 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 enough to drive their RV to this year's AIC. The event, from June 18-20, attracted a record number of visitors and exhibitors, continuing its growth since its 2012 founding.

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 co-sponsor of the Beijing event.

The AIC draws European brands eyeing China's market.

"While Europeans have a long history of caravanning, Chinese are still learning what advantages caravanning brings," he says.

"But the Chinese market is developing fast."