1

Sims Cozy guesthouse in Chengdu is always a favourite and you do feel very welcome there....The staff are very friendly and they even let me stay one night for free when I lost my bank card!!! However it is a little way out of town although the bus stop is just round the corner.........Pretty cheap too and also have very sturdy solid wood beds unlike the cheap ass metal ones that look rusty that some hostels have......Traffic hostel is also another one I believe that's quite a popular backpacker haunt in Chengdu.

As for Xian anywhere near the wall is a favourite of backpackers....Both the xiangzimen International Youth Hostel and the Xian ShuYuan International hostel are good places to stay as they are fairly close to everything and also have some pretty good night life near by!

Stooby

2

Can´t speak highly enough of Mix Hostel in Chengdu. Backpacker place but with a range of room options, spotless, and fantastic staff. They´ll gladly sort out any activities, book taxis etc for you - which saves grappling with the language barrier and at no extra cost.

3

Hi

I second Sims

Have stayed there on a number of occasions , always get a private room with or without ensuite .
Dorms were in another lifetime .
Great value and have always found the staff to be friendly and helpful. They can do just about anything for you .
There is a friendly bar and restaurant area .
Down the road there are some excellent eateries with great value food , espescially the one with the muslim lad making noodles .
The comment is often made that it is out of town , which I dont believe it is . Its close to the North Railway station and a 10 minute walk to the Langzhong , amongst places , bus station.
Its about 15/20 minutes to central l down town by an air conditioned bus .
You could do a lot worse than Sims .
The only noticeable thing that has changed since Sim has left is that they no longer put a piece of fruit in your room each day which was really nice touch , no biggie.

Cheers

Edited by: sakya

4

Have stayed at Traffic Hotel but it had no hostel when we stayed. Also stayed at Sams which was quite nice though it wasnt their main building but a bit further along and close to Peoples Park.

5

I stayed at Han Tang Inn Youth Hostel in Xian and it was the best place I stayed in China. They are part of this group The hostel was spotlessly clean and the staff were wonderful. They booked my overnight train tickets and will pick you up from the train station. It's in a little street and just a short walk to local sites.

6

Check out the Bell Tower Hotel, Xi'an.

7

Another vote for Sim's. Double rooms were 160 Yuan when I was there a couple of months ago. Rooms are nothing fancy, but the whole place has been designed specially with foreign tourists in mind, and there are lots of nice things about the place that are rare in Chinese hotels (DVD players in the rooms, rooms and corridors completely non-smoking, brilliant common areas, good city map, and so on). It certainly has some kinks, but I still think it's one of the best hostels in China.

8

I agree with Sim's in Chengdu - it was the only place we stayed in in China where a "no smoking" policy was actually enforced.

In Xi'an the Xiangzimen Youth Hostel near south gate is excellent.