A woman examines the inner facilities of a Toyota recreational vehicle (RV). Three high-end RV stores have opened in Hangzhou recently, providing a more stylish way of life.

By Zhou Yiyi and Han Jing

People in Hangzhou now have new options for purchasing automobiles with the opening of three high-end recreational vehicle (RV) stores in the provincial capital in the past three months.

As a symbol of life in mobility, traveling in an RV has been a dream lifestyle for many people. But because of the high price and other factors, RVs are still relatively far away from being popular among the general public.

Two new shops, Zhejiang Grandeur and GMC, opened on Shaoxing Road, and both sell high-end RVs priced at more than 1 million yuan ($156,500) each. Hangzhou Zhongmeishija on Jiaogong Road also sells modified RVs according to customers’ needs. “During the first three months, we sold 13 RVs,” said a manager from Hangzhou Zhongmeishijia.

 Zhejiang Grandeur, which opened on July 29, has received seven orders. “On the opening day, some buyers from Chengdu traveled here to order two RVs, and we had problems delivering them on time,” said Chen Yaguang, general manager of Zhejiang Grandeur.

The dealers said that the buyers mostly were owners of private enterprises, real estate companies and construction firms, who have their own clubs and factories, as most of the RVs are used for receiving guests. Because customers want more stylish and comfortable RVs for business purposes, the RVs sold in Hangzhou are equipped with a bathroom, cabinets and other home appliances. For the future RV market, the dealers are all very optimistic.

Che said that he estimated that his shop will have the capacity to sell 100 to 200 RVs per year. China’s RV market is on a rapid rise, with the number of RVs hitting 1,550 in 2007. That figure rose to 4,000 last year.