Self-drive travel becomes popular among Chinese

By Yang Feiyue (China Daily)

Updated: 2015-05-13

Self-drive trips to neighboring Mongolia allow travelers to access magnificent views and rich folk customs. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Jin Xin has taken his car in for service and has started stocking up on boxes of ready-to-eat rice. Jin, from Tianjin, is preparing for a road trip around and across the Chinese border in July.

"I signed myself up for a 13-day self-drive trip from Beijing through Inner Mongolia's Erenhot to Russia's Lake Baikal," Jin says. The trip will cost him 19,800 yuan ($3,171).

Frontier inspection and visa applications may take some time and money, but the idea of experiencing wild nature and capturing amazing photos makes all the trouble worth it, he says.

Self-driving travel are expected to become increasingly popular. Authorities are working on making it easier for Chinese to drive to neighboring countries.

China's General Administration of Customs is working on the development of self-drive routes to China's neighboring nations, such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, according to the administration's port management office.

"Russia and Mongolia offer vast landscape sceneries and abundant natural resources," says Zhu Huashan, managing director of the Beijing-based Century of Self-driving Tour Travel Service Co.