A man from eastern China leaves his Mercedes-Benz camper van unlocked and invites strangers to take it on an adventure.

The first family to hit the road had a “wonderful journey”, and before long, the bold car relay idea exploded across the internet.

The 38-year-old owner, surnamed Guo, from Shanghai, owns a million-yuan (US$140,000) camper van. What he does for a living is undisclosed.

In August, he travelled across the country, but a month later, feeling homesick, returned to Shanghai by train.

He left his vehicle parked on a street in Nanning, Guangxi province in southern China.