Safety, fun, the road less travelled.
The PRC have been known to shoot down aircraft.
Refer to the Cathay Pacific DH4 in 1954.
Times have changed, but its always nice to know you have options.
Last time I checked 1000NM in the cruise doesn't burn that much extra juice - esp if you have 2 engines not 4 and would add only 2 hours time wise. Maintenance, crew would add to this I guess.