Every weekend in the quasi- urban wasteland of the Chaobai river outside Beijing, Chinese yuppies congregate to skid their sports utility vehicles around the dry river bed. Members of the Haval car club are discovering the freedom and sense of power that stems from being behind the wheel.

This is a lesson that comes to every culture that learns to drive. But the owners are also indulging a peculiarly Chinese sense of individuality, using cars to push the personal boundaries of a conformist society.

The liberal use of stickers, decals, furry seat covers, dashboard-mounted perfume canisters and customised slogans makes each Haval – a model produced by Great Wall, a local automaker, and until recently called the Hover – an expression of its owner’s personality. No one at the offroad caper can easily mistake his or her car for anyone else’s.