Let’s go! The 2019 RV Family Eurasia Self-Drive Tour officially sets sail today

[21RV News]On April 21, 2019, after more than six months of preparation and spanning over 30 countries and 40,000 kilometers across the Eurasian continent, the RV self-drive tour officially set off from the RV World in Beijing today. A total of 26 RVs and 26 families from various provinces and cities across China joined this 2019 RV Family Eurasia Tour. The youngest participant is just 3 years old, while the oldest RV enthusiast is 70 years old. They bonded over RVs and gathered together through shared interests. Today, they set off as a group on their self-drive journey to Europe together.

The 2019 RV Family Eurasia Tour was organized by 21st Century RV. This RV family Eurasia journey is also the fifth self-drive RV trans-Eurasia activity following those held in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. This event still carries the theme of “Friends · Experiencing the World Together.” The self-drive journey will mainly pass through over 30 countries, including China, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Finally, they will return to China via the Khorgos Port in Xinjiang through Kazakhstan, returning to Beijing.

Before departure, an RV enthusiast from Guangdong wrote the following on social media: “In 138 BC, Zhang Qian’s two diplomatic missions to the Western Regions opened up the world-famous Silk Road. Today, 26 RVs organized by Wang Xudong of the RV Family departed from Beijing, marching northward through Manzhouli into Russia and advancing into Europe via the Eurasian Continental Bridge. Chinese people are driving their own RVs to show the world that China stands tall among the nations of the world!” This RV enthusiast is a middle school geography teacher who has explained the knowledge of the Eurasian Continental Bridge to students countless times. Now, he will embody the principle of “what you learn from books is superficial; to truly know something, you must experience it yourself.”

The team lineup for this 2019 RV Family Eurasia Tour is also the largest in history. First, the range of vehicle types is much richer compared to before. This time, Iveco RVs make up 50% of the fleet, with 4 pickup RVs and 30% being based on the Maxus chassis. Additionally, there are two highlight vehicles—an imported German MAN all-wheel-drive off-road RV, which is also the most eye-catching model of this Eurasia Tour. In terms of families, a total of 26 RVs and 26 different provincial/regional groups of RV enthusiasts have gathered, making it much larger than any previous edition.

Auntie Wang, an 68-year-old RV enthusiast, has traveled far and wide with her 70-year-old husband. A Ford Transit B-type RV has taken them almost all over China, and she drives even better than some young people. Before departure, I talked with Auntie Wang about her thoughts on this Eurasia Tour. She told me that she had previously traveled to Russia and other countries, but never really driven her own car abroad. She is very excited to drive an RV out of the country this time. For this half-year-long trip, she carefully prepared a travel itinerary, filling up three notebooks with detailed records of the countries and attractions they would visit. Speaking of the destinations, Auntie Wang lamented that the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, had just been destroyed by fire, losing one attraction. Auntie Wang told me a saying: “We don’t know the length of life, but we can expand the width of life with our current actions.”

Everything is imagination before departure; it’s on the road that dreams can illuminate reality. Let’s go, all RV Family Eurasia Tour participants; let’s go and sail toward your dreams. We hope that through this 2019 Eurasia RV self-drive journey, they can fulfill the wishes made in their youth—whether perfect or profound, all are genuine attempts and explorations of life itself.