Diverse activities heat up city's camping economy

Shenzhen Park Camping Culture Week 2023, which officially kicked off during a ceremony held yesterday at the Sunrise Amphitheater of Shenzhen Bay Park in Nanshan District, is scheduled to provide citizens diversified activities until April 3.

During the week, a total of 26 activities, such as yoga, Frisbee (or “flying disc”), archery for parents and children, camping lectures, barter market, and golf classes, will be held at the Sunrise Amphitheater of Shenzhen Bay Park to enrich citizens’ camping experience, according to the organizer, the city’s urban management authority.

An inflatable carrying the “Go Camping” slogan is seen at a ceremony held to launch Shenzhen Park Camping Culture Week 2023 at the Sunrise Amphitheater in Shenzhen Bay Park in Nanshan District yesterday. Photos by Sun Yuchen

Camping nowadays has become a burgeoning trend with more and more camping tents, camping chairs and picnic mats seen in parks and other places that allow camping.

“I often take my kids to parks to play. More diverse activities have been seen in parks in recent days including camping. I think camping has become a new lifestyle. It is a very comfortable way for people to relax after a long weekday,” said a citizen surnamed Xu, who attended the ceremony.

As of the end of last year, Shenzhen had set up 41 camping areas at parks across the city, according to the urban management authority. The authority is mulling to set up more camping sites at the city’s country parks.

People attending the opening ceremony of Shenzhen Park Camping Culture Week 2023 relax in tents at the Sunrise Amphitheater in Shenzhen Bay Park in Nanshan District yesterday. 

A list of the top 10 popular city parks for camping was also unveiled at yesterday’s ceremony. Dasha River Park in Nanshan District, Shiyan Lake Park in Bao’an District, and Shenzhen Central Park in Futian District ranked among the top three.

The others on the list were Shenzhen Bay Park in Nanshan, Bao’an Park in Bao’an, Lianhua Hill Park and Bijia Hill Park in Futian, and Pingshan Children’s Park, Julongshan Ecological Park and Pingshan Central Park in Pingshan.

Public data showed that the booking volume for camping products this February jumped by 75% year on year nationally. Moreover, the internet search volume for camping as of March 10 had increased by 450% year on year, according to a CCTV report in mid-March.

Shenzhen is among other cities, including Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai, where camping has gained the most popularity, the report said.

In addition to parks, citizens also like to go camping at local scenic spots such as Wutong Mountain. Partial statistics indicated that there are at least seven businesses located at the foot of Wutong Mountain that provide camping services.

A camping business operator based near Wutong Mountain told Shenzhen Daily that recently their camping spots are usually booked up during weekends except rainy days.

A citizen surnamed Chen, who owns a dog, said some of the camping service providers allow pets to their sites, which is a perfect option for hanging out as dogs are not allowed to enter many public parks.