During holidays, Beijing’s Longwan International Camping Park is often packed with RVs. Families and friends gather around their vehicles for barbecues and chats, enjoying a relaxing outdoor lifestyle. But now, securing a spot requires scrambling—RV ownership is growing so fast that campgrounds can’t keep up. China plans to increase the number of RV campsites to 2,000 by 2020 to address the shortage of spaces for these vehicles.
In China, road-tripping by car is nothing new, but an increasing number of people are opting for RVs (also called motorhomes or campervans) to explore the country. Beijing’s Longwan International Camping Park is the nation’s first five-star RV resort, featuring RV camping zones, lakeside tent areas, movable wooden cabins, villa-style wooden lodges, and a visitor service center.
The Chinese market holds huge potential
Similar campgrounds to Longwan International Camping Park currently number 37 in Beijing, with 15 under construction and 76 in planning—showing booming interest. Like Beijing, regions such as Gansu, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Fujian are also seeing rapid growth in self-drive and RV campgrounds.
China is the world’s most populous country, yet as of 2014, it had only 21,000 RVs—far fewer than Europe’s 6.97 million and America’s 1.56 million, and even just a quarter of Japan’s. In terms of RV campgrounds, Europe has 26,000, the U.S. 19,000, and Japan 3,000, but China has just 200—a stark contrast that highlights the market’s vast growth potential.
RV rentals start at 800 RMB per day
Traveling by RV not only solves eating, sleeping, and transportation needs, saving on travel costs, but also makes for a more stylish road trip compared to regular cars. On Taobao, the cheapest RVs cost just 30,000 RMB (all figures in RMB unless noted), while the priciest exceed one million. Rentals are also an option, starting at a minimum of 800 RMB per day. RV types range from integrated motorhome trailers to separate towable units, offering a wide variety of choices.
Recently, China’s National Tourism Administration and other agencies issued the “Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of Self-Drive and RV Tourism,” proposing policies to support this sector. By 2020, the focus will be on building a number of self-drive and RV tourism destinations with comprehensive public services, launching premium RV travel routes, establishing 2,000 campsites, and initially forming a self-drive and RV tourism industry system.