Roughing it in comfort

Hotel in Geladan. [Photos by Huang Jianguo/For China Daily]

Asia's fastest-emerging route is forming along the Southern Silk Road, starting from Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu and running 2,000 kilometers to India.

It spans Sichuan, Yunnan, Myanmar and Thailand, Dong says, and is ideal for more adventurous travelers.

Domestic agencies increasingly offer other routes.

Chinese travel website Tuniu.com offers an "outdoor-survival journey" that embarks from Tibet's capital Lhasa and runs westward to the border between Tibet and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, before cutting across northern Tibet's Qiangtang Nature Reserve.

The route takes guests 4,500 meters above sea level, along swaths of towering snow-capped mountains and shimmering lakes. It's available from May to October.

The website also offers a "primitive" desert glamping trek that's available year-round.

Travelers can explore the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia's Alxa.

The desert's wild flora and fauna, undulating dunes and historical sites testify to ancient humanity and nature.

And a growing number of Chinese glampers explore these while enjoying the comforts of modern civilization.