URUMQI, July 29 (Xinhua) -- It’s time for lunch. Liu Zhen and her travel buddies pull over at a highway rest stop in Kashgar. Using an induction cooker powered by a new energy vehicle, they heated up a pot and cooked a simple yet nutritious meal - rice mixed with vegetables and salted meat - to ease the exhaustion from the long journey.
For the group of six, mostly in their 60s, this is just another day of their adventurous travel around the vast western region of China. A month ago, the three couples set out from their home in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality in three SUVs. They have since driven over 7,000 km to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, passing through the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu.
"The most stunning scenery is always the kind you encounter unexpectedly," Liu said. "The highlight of this trip for me is when we catch sight of some beautiful landscapes from the car windows. We would stop and hop out to enjoy the scenery."
Among all the scenic spots they saw through the journey, the view of horses galloping in the river at a wetland park in Zhaosu County, northern Xinjiang’s Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, left the deepest impression on Liu.
"It was breathtaking, and we took many cool photos," Liu said. One of her greatest pleasures on the trip was sharing online the photos she took along the way.
Their entire journey revolves around their vehicles, which are equipped with portable water boilers. They refill at highway rest stops and prepare meals on the induction stove using ingredients they purchase along the way. When night falls, they transform their SUVs into cozy bedrooms, folding down the rear seats to create a flat sleeping platform, laying down a soft mattress to make the bed.
"This way of traveling may be a bit tough, but it is economical and offers much flexibility and freedom. You travel for as long as you want," Liu said.
She said Xinjiang’s well-developed highway networks and driver-friendly facilities have made the trip much easier. "The roads are broad and smooth and easy to navigate, and self-driving camps are readily available. Plus, the well-equipped rest stops let us refresh and recharge," she added.
Silver-haired travelers are becoming a significant force in China’s tourism industry. According to data from the China National Committee on Aging, seniors now make up over 20 percent of the country’s total tourist population.
Many retirees are embracing self-driving tours as a growing trend. According to zuzuche.com, a Guangzhou-based self-driving tour platform, during this year’s five-day May Day holiday, the number of outbound self-driving tourists aged 60 and above increased by 6.5 percent year on year, while the number of senior tourists choosing domestic road trips grew by 27 percent.
Liu said that she and her companions are all members of a self-driving club in Chongqing, which organizes group trips on a regular basis. Among the over 400 club members, most are seniors.
For Liu’s friend Tu Jianping, road trips are nothing new. Over the years, her SUV has carried her to explore the plateaus of western Sichuan and traverse the border regions of Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang. Next year, she and her husband plan to take on the challenge of driving through the high altitudes of Xizang.
"The children need to go to school. The young people have to work. For us retirees, we have savings and plenty of time on our hands; this is exactly the time to enjoy life to the fullest," she said.
By the end of 2024, China’s population of those aged 60 and above exceeded 310 million. With the improvements in the living standards and health conditions, China’s expanding elderly population points to an ever-growing consumer market.
According to a plan on special initiatives to increase consumption, released earlier this year, China will develop industries such as anti-aging and senior tourism to unleash the potential of the silver-haired consumer market.
Tu has a habit of writing down her travel experiences every day and sharing them on WeChat Moments.
In one of the posts, she recorded their driving through a section of National Highway 216, which traverses some extreme landscapes, including deserts and plateaus.
She wrote: "Outside the car window, visibility is extremely low. The swirling sands seem alive, at times gathering into towering dunes, at others dissolving into a haze of dust and fog. My heart is clenched tight, my palms grow damp."
"The road ahead is but a slender thread, leading us into a 600-km stretch where the altitude soars beyond 5,000 meters. Our drivers’ eyes gleam with the thrill of adventure, but my heart remains as restless as the howling wind outside."
For Tu, writing down her daily experiences on the road was never just about sharing them with family and friends. It was, above all, a gift to her future self.
"I want to preserve these memories in words," she said. "So that when I’m too old to move, I can still travel through them, reliving every moment as I read."
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0729/c90000-20346404.html