death of the chinese laundry

why is it so difficult to get washing done in china these days ? what happened to the chinese laundry? i have many problems trying to get my clothers washed here whilst travelling either there is no laundry service anywhere or its overpriced like 10 yuan for a t-shirt ?and in the case of zhaoxing the hotel staff seems to think i was weird that i wanted my clothes washed. so of course i do them myself but drying times can be frustrating like jeans as im on the move all the time and difficult in some hotels to find somewhere to dry it

the chinese laundry was an overseas business. there's no natural tendency for Chinese to wash clothes for profit - but it was only one of the few businesses that Chinese could open in California during the Gold Rush.

But thanks for being vaguely insulting.

Synthetic fabrics are much better for traveling as they hang dry three times faster than cottons. My parents once owned a laundry in the US. It is not a job one would do if one had other choices.

In colonial Singapore, laundry was traditionally done by Indian "dhobies". That's the origin of the place name "Dhoby Ghaut" in downtown Singapore. It used to be where the Indian "dhobies" laid out the washing to dry.
Cheers!

OK, unrelated but on cable TV recently there was a doco explaining why there are so many Chinese laundries in San Francisco.

Chinese immigrants were prohibited from doing a lot of jobs (and owning land or becoming US citizens for that matter). Laundries were one of the few jobs they were allowed to do.

Yes, it's always struck me as ususual that laundry is so expensive in China, given that everything else outside a four or five star hotel is relatively cheap. Even in a three star hotel the prices are very high. Costs as much as a beer to get a t-shirt done. Why is that I wonder?

Welcome to China . . . please adapt to us.

Because people just do laundry at home, no one takes them out.
Cheers!

I just asked my staff which one of them wanted an extra 100 per month, and I've had the cleanest clothes ever since.

I always get laundry done every day when I stay at hotels in China, just to get the reciepts for my T&E report. I only have to collect reciepts ( amount doesn't matter) in order to make it look like I'm actually spanding my per diem. I have always had great service, although in some hotels I could actually go out and buy new shirts for what it costs to launder them.

We get all our clothes ironed by the laundry shop downstairs...and that costs 2-3 RMB per item. Getting stuff washed and dried is only slightly more expensive.

I'd suggest that hotel laundry services are designed to turn a profit, and the laundries close to hotels have cottoned on to the fact that they can raise their prices.

Maybe you're not looking in the right place?

I haven't done it for awhile, but roughtly in a smaller shop it should be 1-3RMB per piece max, 5RMB is a lot, 10RMB unthinkable.

When I need washing done in Kunming I always use a small one down an alley, great service! :)

Is there a laundromat or its equivalent where you can do your own laundry? I will be traveling light and expected to be able to really clean my clothes a couple of times during the trip rather than just hand wash in a sink. Last year in Greece a launderer washed, dried, ironed and folded them for next to nothing. I sort of assumed I could do the same in China but it is interesting to hear differently. Thanks for bringing up the topic, even if you misunderstood for origin of Chinese laundry.

#9, do you ever come to Shanghai? I have a huge stack of F&B receipts sitting around waiting for someone to want them, so I'll give you those if you want.
Cheers!

#12, surprising to know but you might want to try in supermarkets. I've found one in the downstairs supermarket (Lianhua).
Cheers!

im going home soon so dosnt matter anymore about my question but this has bugged me for a while that clothes washing in china is a licence to print money currently on shamian island guangzhou and the price here is 60yuan for jeans jumper 4 t-shirts socks and underpants yes 60 yuan

#12: I've never seen a DIY laundry in Beijing.

#15, why aren't you doing underwear yourself?!
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#13, can I have some of those receipts? I'd like to cheat my university.

#13, sorry, I forgot, I only cheat on my diet.

Ellyse - do a search on That's Beijing's forums - there's some guy there trying to buy food and beverage fapiaos....

ZHET, I guess you're trying to tell me that it's unethical to do that. I do respect your viewpoint as well, but it doesn't look like I'm parting with my receipts anytime soon. I'm not palming them off to just anyone on the street, but if someone needs some extras (I've had friends come who're not used to having to ask for receipts to claim back from the company, when they're entitled to) then I don't mind passing them some.
Cheers!

I highly recommend SPA Wash for the price, convenience & quality of work. They charge ~15RNB/kg, plus a pick-up/drop-off fee. My hotel charges an exorbitant amount, and the nearby dry cleaning, Fornet, does not offer a simple washing (non-dry cleaning) rate. I was quoted 186RNB by Fornet and paid SPA Wash 98RNB, including delivery fees.
They speak English, too.