Camper, the way to go

Yang Bei (right, top picture) and her family members spent 136 days touring half the world in a recreational vehicle last year.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"Those standards will play a leading role in improving recreational vehicle travel development and quality," Liu says.

At the moment, there are more than 200 such campsites in operation nationwide. Approximately 500 of which are either under construction or already planned.

Beijing has 23 camping facilities up and running, 21 under construction and 78 planned, says Li Yan, an official with the Beijing Tourism Industry Association's auto-camping branch.

The expo showed the rapid development of the camping industry in China.

"There were only fewer than 50 exhibitors in the first session of the expo (in 2012)," says Tian Qun, general manager of China CTS Asset Management Corp, one of the expo's organizers, along with the German company Messe Dusseldorf's Shanghai office and the Recreational Vehicle Industry Committee under the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers.

This year's event attracted more than 300 exhibitors, including global caravan leaders like Adria, Dethleffs, Forest River and Knaus Tabbert as well as well-known international caravan parts providers, such as Truma, Dometic, Camec and Outdoor Revolution.

Tian points out that when they conducted surveys at auto shows seven years ago, only six out of 100 visitors had heard of caravan travel or had related experiences

"But the people who came to the expo asked us very professional questions," she says.

The large population base and vast natural landscape resources make China an ideal place for travel by recreational vehicles and that potential is drawing many global caravan players here.

"I believe China's caravan market is promising," says Marco De Bonis, Adria Mobil's director of operations in China. "In my opinion, China will be a world's (caravan) leader in five years."

The company spent two years doing market research in China, and the research has turned out some interesting results.

Compared with European travelers, Chinese prefer more compact and shorter caravans.

With a C1 driving license, Chinese feel more comfortable driving vehicles that are shorter than 6 meters long, while Europeans are accustomed to driving vehicles more than 10 meters long, Bonis explains.

"This (smaller space) means we not only have to downsize our products but also refigure the inner layout to cater to Chinese customers' habits," he says.

The research found that Chinese care more about living room space, not so much the bedroom.

"They want to spend more time doing things like playing mahjong in the living room," Bonis says.

However, campsites are underdeveloped in China, compared with Europe. A campsite shouldn't be just a piece of land but should have water and electricity supplies, and sewage system for caravans, as well as green space, Bonis says.

Italy is about as big as a Chinese province, but it has roughly 3,000 campsites, as opposed to 300 in China. "So, there's huge potential for development," he says.