Recreational Vehicles Impact Travel and Lifestyle Choices In China

Yuan Yuan

The idea of buying arecreational vehicle （RV）was born when Dong Qifei was quarantined in a hotel togetherwith his wife and daughter.Back then， the family fromZhejiang Province was travelingaround Hunan Province inthe summer of 2021 when anotherguest in their hotel tested positive for COVID-19， throwing the whole placeinto lockdown.

In spite of pandemic travelrestrictions， Dong and his wife， bothtravel buffs， still managed to get in anadventure or two， avoiding all publictransportation and driving their owncar. But restaurants and hotels were one thing they simply couldn’t get aroundwhilst on the road—unless… they had amotorhome.

After two months of weighing，researching and comparing his options， Dong finally purchased an RV for a little over 300，000 yuan （US$44，600）.

“The motorhome can easily fit afamily of three and it serves both short-and long-distance travel.” Despitethe occasional hiccup， including thestruggle to find a battery charger whenthe vehicle’s solar panel wouldn’t work， the investment proved worthwhile.

“When you wake up right next to the beach， or a lake， or grassland， the stunning views erase all irritation，”Dong said.

To Motor or Not to Motor

Long considered a niche market，China’s RVs have amplified their social media presence in recent years with a growing number of vloggers sharingtheir experiences and exploring newlifestyles.

A couple in their early 30s fromHarbin， capital city of HeilongjiangProvince， embarked on motorhomejourney after the husband wasdiagnosed with gastric stromal tumorand had surgery.

“We believed stress at work to havebeen the culprit，” the wife surnamedCheng said in a video on Douyin， China’s version of TikTok.“At the time， we were pouring all our combined energies into our business in Hangzhou， Zhejiang，roughly 2，500 kilometers from ourhometown. It was the surgery that made us stop in our tracks and reconsider our priorities in life. We asked ourselves，‘What do we really want？’”

And what they really wanted，and needed， was change—a change of pace， a change ofscenery... As the couple hadalways dreamed of exploring thecountry in zigzagging fashion，they spent over 200，000 yuan（US$30，000） on a secondhandRV and， together with theirpet pooch， embarked on theiradventure in April 2021.“We only had 100，000 yuan （US$15，000）when we first hit the road oneyear ago，” Cheng said.“But we can always earn more later. If we don’t do this now， we might regret itwhen we’re older.”

Criss-crossing China， theyhave seen more of the nation’svast landscape and visited moreplaces than most people ever will. “We’ve made many friends alongthe way and so far our road trip isturning out to be the best choicewe’ve ever made，” Cheng added.

Thirty-one-year-old actorMa Shuai uses his motorhome for different purposes， namely to serve as a real home. Aftergraduating from college in

2013， Ma rented an apartmentin Beijing， spending over 4，000yuan （US$600） on rent everymonth. With his work taking him all over the city， and country， hisapartment was just sitting empty.

Last March， when Ma’s rental contract was about to expire， his landlord raised the rent by 300yuan （US$45）. It was the strawthat broke the camel’s back. Magave up the apartment and took up residence on the road.

He spent around 100，000yuan （US$15，000） on a traveltrailer， attaching it to his car.On a monthly basis， he nowspends 500 （US$74） to 600 yuan（US$89） on parking fees andunder 200 yuan （US$30） on agym membership—with the gym conveniently located right next to “his” parking lot， so he can bothkeep fit and shower.

The mobility is a major plus.

When he lands a gig outsideBeijing， he can easily go there，park his whole house somewhere near the set and even nap atnoon. Even though the pandemic did cut into the number ofjoboffers， Ma’s Douyin videos gained him many followers as well assome income.

Temporary or Permanent Residence？

Inspired by Ma， one 28-year-old vlogger conducted anexperiment to see whethera person can really live in amotorhome instead of renting an apartment in downtown Beijing. Different from Ma’s career，which is always on the move，this vlogger had a fulltime office job. He started his experiment in winter 2021， and continued it for more than two months.

It can save you money， heconcluded. An apartment easily costs you 6，000 yuan （US$890）per month， but the cost ofmotorhome living is only about 2，400 yuan （US$357）.“It’s all very doable，” the vlogger said.“Butyou do have to consider all theinconveniences， including poor soundproofing， the hassle ofcarrying water to fill the watertank and regularly dealing with all types of waste.”

“Many RV vloggers are moreinclined to paint a pretty picture of motorhome life in order toattract more viewers，” said Wang Zhi， a Beijing resident and proud RV owner.“The real picture is far from fancy.”

“A minor detail， which manyoverlook， is that many smallitems such as bowls， cups andpots should be taken good careof，” Wang said. If you prefer touse real plates， for example， youwill have to use a dish organizerto keep them from sliding around inside the cabinets while driving.

Wang also noted that as China’s number of motorhome parks isstill rather limited， RVs can often only park in public lots， wherefresh water and power-chargingservice are not provided.“Powergenerated by the vehicle’s solarpanel is also limited， especiallyin winter and summer whenheating and air-conditioning aremusts in RV life. And when itrains， it pours，” he added.

Such issues， though， pale incomparison to the fun you getfrom touring around in an RV. “This is the charm of motorhome travel： You encounter problemsand you deal with them，” said Xue Yu， an RV lover from Beijing.

Xue is among the first in the city to get a C6 driving license，a new license for driving lighttowing trailers released thisApril. The policy is also believed to encourage the furtherdevelopment of the RV niche.

“The new license helps tobring RV driving up to standard，”he said.“I believe the supportingfacilities of RVs will also seemuch progress in the years tocome.” Motorhome travel is likean old diesel engine： It just needsto warm up.