Chinese RV Show

For some reason, I still think of China in terms of rickshaws, bicycles and people on foot – and, thanks to Tianamen Square, if I do think of motorized transportation, I picture tanks.

Obviously, my opinion needs to be updated. 

Airstream recently announced plans to  market their  line of RVs in China.  Airstream said its three new dealers in China, located in Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, will service a “burgeoning population of consumers that are discovering the RV lifestyle.” 

Chinese government plans call for some 400 to 500 recreational vehicle campgrounds will be built in Shanghai, and other cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region by the end of 2020

 

The 6th Beijing International RV and Camping Exhibition will be held from March 21-24 in Fangshan, representing the largest RV show in China.

The event, held in the Beijing RV Expo Center, is hosted by the Beijing Tourism Development Commission, People’s Government of Fangshan and the Beijing China RV & Camping Association. A trade day will be held on March 21 followed by three public days.

Organizers report that exhibits will include a range of motorized and towable RVs along with RV parts and accessories, outdoor/camping products and representatives from campgrounds and parks.

The Beijing International RV and Camping Exhibition launched in 2010. Last year’s show ran from Aug. 8-12, concurrent with the China RV and Camping Rally, and featured more than 100 exhibitors and 400 RVs on site while attendance totaled around 30,000.

For what it’s worth, I did a little research just to see how wrong I was, and I’m not sure that I was that far off. 

According to China Daily, the highest paid workers in China are employed in the financial sector in Shanghai.  Their salaries average just over 70,000 Yuan  ($11,200 in US dollars) per year, while the average farmer gets by on about $2,600.

Median income in China doesn’t even put it in the world’s top 35 countries, and according to a CNN report on the booming Chinese middle class,  being middle-class in China often means earning at or below what's considered the poverty line in America.

Still,  considering the much lower cost of Chinese life, living standards there aren't all that bad.  The average city resident can afford to rent a 700-square-foot apartment, spend 35% of their income on food, and still put 20% aside in savings, as is customary in China.

I could not find statistics on RVs, but statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security show that the number of registered motor vehicles in China reached 233 million by the end of June, 2012.  That  includes 114 million automobiles and 103 million motorcycles. 247 million people had a valid driver’s license. 

Over 3/4 of the automobiles,  86.13 million of them are privately owned.

Auto ownership exceeded 1 million in 17 Chinese cities. Five of them, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Tianjin, have more than 2 million auto registrations.