从"自行车王国"到"汽车时代"

香车、美女、汹涌的人群构成了2010年北京国际汽车展览壮观的景象。据悉，此次车展10天共迎接了78.56万海内外观众，创国内车展观众数量新纪录。从此次车展的火热程度可以看出，汽车制造业中心正向中国转移，汽车工业的中国时代正在到来。

Zhang Yuntian is about 60 and visited the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition to find himself a motor home.

"I heard that many elderly couples in foreign countries sell their houses to buy a motor home to take a driving trip, and after that, they sell the vehicle to get into a nice nursing home. That's a pretty nice way to spend retired life. I would like to do that too."

In China, such a lifestyle of retirees used to be rare. But things are changing, as is exemplified in the latest auto show.

Ren Zhijun, from Zhong-ou International Group, manufacturere of luxury motor homes, says that motor homes, amongst others, have been quite popular in the exhibition.

"The waiting list to buy million-Yuan motor homes runs until September this year."

As China's economy grows and its society opens itself up more to the outside world, people's lifestyles are being reshaped. One of the new changes being that China, the former 'bicycle kingdom', is becoming a new 'nation on the wheels.'

China has seen a nearly 53% year-on-year surge in auto sales last year. The more than 10 million cars sold in 2009 made China No.1 auto market in the World.

China's newfound car fever was clear with the heated response to the Beijing Automotive Exhibition this time.

Wang Xia, the organizer and deputy director of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, gives some figures.

"As of Saturday, the ninth day of the car exhibition, more than 7.5 million people had come to see the auto show. It will reach 8 million by the end of the exhibition."

Families with parents and children made up the majority of the visitors.

"We came here to see the cars. My boy wants to see the cars badly and actually he dragged the whole family here."

Influenced by the car trend, kids enjoyed taking cool pictures with limos in the exhibitions and adults also came to feast their eyes. Many people came with cameras, taking hundreds of pictures of the auto models they liked most.

Wang Xia, the organizer, explains the development of car culture in China.

"I remember in 2006, the theme of our car exhibition was 'chasing the car dream'. But today, many Chinese can afford a car, even more than one car. It's nice to find that Chinese people are getting more knowledge about cars and developing a better understanding of this culture. As the exhibition shows, more and more people and particularly younger people have shown immense interest in automobiles."