Buying home away from home catching on

Le Yan and her relatives are planning to take a vacation in Yintan, a coastal tourist resort in Weihai city of Shandong province, during the weeklong National Day holiday.

Unlike other one-off tourists, attracted by the silvery beach and sapphire seawater, the Le family's trip is like a homecoming, a second home soothing the ragged nerves of these Shanghai natives.

During a sightseeing trip to Yintan in the summer of 2010, Le persuaded her sisters and brother to join her in purchasing a 240,000 yuan ($38,000) apartment.