Leaping into the great outdoors

Dong Shouyue, 38, has all he thinks is necessary in his car trunk, ranging from a portable gas stove, snacks, coffee, tea, a folding desk and chairs.

Weather permitting, he parks his car in a forest or by a river and has a picnic, enjoying a moment of tranquillity.

"I just want to sit there in a trance and relax myself," says Dong, who works in Beijing. "The environment is important. Being in a park allows me to escape from my computer and mobile phone."

He has spent about 20,000 yuan ($3,000) on camping gear, including three tents and three sleeping bags for different kinds of weather, he says.

"It's like preparing different clothes for different seasons. I want to upgrade my camping gear when I've accumulated some experience. But you have to think carefully about whether you really need the item before you buy it."

Glamping, a portmanteau of glamorous and camping, and which means camping with amenities and comforts, has become popular in China in recent years.

Campers, who are usually family or a group of friends, pack up a folding table and chairs, cooking tools and food ingredients and put them in their car trunk, to get away from the cares of life and spend time together.

However, Dong sometimes prefers bushcraft, which refers to the practice of self-reliance in the wilderness, rather than camping with all the creature comforts.

By watching videos put online by campers he has learned skills such as wood carving and fire making. Instead of using a lighter he strikes a flint with a steel striker.

Once he tried to establish a canopy tent in a wild mountain to resist the wind, and light a bonfire with firewood he picked up there. However, he had to give up and drove back home in the wee hours because it was so cold, about-10 C.

"I wanted to know whether I could stay overnight there without staying in a warm tent," he says.

He also emphasizes the importance of fire safety and doing the right things in that regard. When you use a wood-burning stove in a tent for heating, he says, you have to make sure the tent is well-ventilated and install a carbon monoxide alarm.

Like him, more and more Chinese have been getting into the habit of camping in various ways, especially since COVID-19 broke out in early 2020.

The Chinese tourism website Mafengwo recently published a survey on camping in which 74 percent of campers interviewed were from first-tier cities, and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou in Guangdong province and Chengdu in Sichuan province were the top four source cities of campers.

Many said they liked to go cycling, do yoga and play with a flying disk while camping. Some said they prefer campsites that allow them to enjoy the stars and stay overnight in areas whose barren landscapes could well be on Mars. When they camp near a lake they ride paddleboard or do yoga, they said.

Campsites are offering many different activities, some of them exotic, to attract tourists.

Sunshine Valley Nature Village is a holiday resort in suburban Beijing that targets those who were born in the 1980s and 1990s, with their children aged no more than 12.

In addition to hotels, visitors are drawn to places such as wooden houses, caravan accommodation and campsites.

"Our highlight is the one-stop travel experience, with creative events to attract tourists to visit again," says Tang Zhao, chief executive of Sunarea Group, which owns Sunshine Valley.

Activities range from outdoor entertainment to education. Children can observe insects on a guided tour, ride horses, shoot arrows and draw paintings. Child minding is also offered so parents have time to enjoy themselves.

"Young people are prone to follow trends and are very picky when it comes to tourism," Tang says. "They're very aware of what they are going to get out of it and like going to places that offer comfort and style. They also use social media to tell others about their travels."

Good quality is paramount in tourism, she says. The company's research team creates new products and puts on various events to cater to the demand of visitors.

Sunshine Valley has worked with the French sporting goods retailer Decathlon to establish temporary themed campsites in the village, to promote camping culture among tourists.

They also organize a flea market on weekends in which parents and children can exchange secondhand items with others. Visitors can form friendships with people in rural areas as well as connect with like-minded people, Tang says.

"Camping is like returning to one's roots," says Jian He, 40, a veteran camper. "In the morning you're woken by chirping birds and babbling streams."

He was greatly impressed when he visited a camping exhibition in Japan in 2017 and was exposed to Japan's colorful camping culture, especially glamping. "They decorate camps like their own homes, with different styles," he says.

He had just created the camping essentials brand Yogui and decided to adjust the design of products so as to introduce the lifestyle of glamping to China.

"Safety, durability, practicability and pretty appearances are important when I design camping essentials," he says. "Our brand focuses on lightweight, easy storage and multifunction."

Earlier, like many Chinese campers, when he went camping, he associated it mainly with hiking or backpacking.

Many people have taken up camping in recent years, he says, after being attracted to glamping, which started becoming popular in China in 2020.

Alibaba's e-commerce platform Tmall recently published a consumption trend report on the Labor Day holiday, revealing the popularity of camping-related merchandise among Chinese shoppers, who also paid much attention to what to wear and what sports to do while camping.

On Tmall from April 20 to May 4, the sales of canopy tents rose 2100 percent and the sales of outdoor coffee pots, tables, chairs and barbecue plates rose 300 percent, compared with the same period of last year.

"The sales of our camping essentials have been increasing greatly since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020," says Hong Chen, in charge of sales for the domestic outdoor brand Naturehike, which makes camping, hiking and mountaineering equipment. The brand recently raised funds of about 100 million yuan.

During the Singles Day shopping festival last November, the brand sold goods on Tmall valued at 18.25 million yuan, 412 percent more than in the corresponding period in 2020, with more than 50,000 orders.

The brand focuses on developing products to cater to the diverse demands of users, bringing about 150 to 200 new products to the market annually.

It also markets lines in collaboration with brands in other fields, such as apparel and automotive, and demonstrates its products in music festivals and variety shows.

Its products are also exported. While Western customers like larger equipment that last longer, especially the kind that can be used in caravans, Asian users prefer products that are easy to store and transport, with elegant designs.

"There have been more female campers in China in recent years, and there are more campers from first- to second-tier cities, from outdoor tourism lovers to youngsters, and parents traveling with children," Hong says.

Camping equipment is being designed to be more comfortable, in a glamping way, rather than lightweight and small as in the past. Users have shifted their preference to large camping tents for more people, and to equipment with good aesthetic designs.

Wu Liyun, an associate professor of the China Academy of Culture and Tourism at Beijing International Studies University, says:"Due to the pandemic, local and peripheral tours have become the main trends in China's tourism market, and camping is an example of a rapidly emerging category."

She suggests that the government draw up a plan to allow tourists to camp at suitable parks in suburban and urban areas and establish new campsites. Authorities should also improve standards in camping so as to maintain the industry's development.

As for operators, Wu suggests they combine camping with other fields such as hotels and homestays to provide novel accommodation experiences for visitors. They should also offer colorful camping products and themed activities such as outdoor sports, and improve infrastructure and services, especially for caravan campsites.