Hotel restrictions for foreigners.

Do you still must stay in hotels that are officially licensed to take foreign guests.?

I just came back from a trip to China (Beijing, Hong Kong and Macau this time) and I booked my hotels on booking.com and hostelworld.com and I got my visa, so I guess that isn't an issue anymore :)

Also a friend booked an airbnb and also got her visa approved. Have fun in China

There are still problems with this, and it's not rare for a foreigner to be refused lodging, even at larger two- or three-star places. Like much in China, enforcement varies.

Booking on the English websites of booking.com, Agoda, ctrip, and elong will usually provide a hotel that will accept you, though read the hotel descriptions carefully because sometimes these sites will list a hotel and then note "Chinese citizens only" or some such.

Last year I booked my stay in Hongcun via ctrip, a Chinese booking portal. When I arrived at the hotel, the manager was a bit embarassed and told me he couldn't issue an invoice because he didn't have the licence to host foreigners.

But he let you stay?

(Chinese hotels sometimes don't want to issue formal invoices even to Chinese guests, presumably as a tax play.)

So what is your choice if you arrive in a town and no hotel wants to host you?

This is very unlikely, unless you really want to wander into some provincial town in Manchuria where they haven't seen a laowai since the Red Army(the Soviet one) kicked out the Japanese.

Hop into a taxi. The driver might know which hotel takes foreigners, or at least he may find more hotels to try than you on your own.

Or go to the PSB station to ask for help. If they understand what you want they might know which hotel accepts foreigners or in case there isn't any they might convince a hotel to accept you if they don't want to loose their face by not being able to help a tourist finding a place to stay. I might be wrong though, this is China after all and anything and the opposite can happen.

In short: Don't worry!

It really depends on the province. I've had no end of trouble in Hebei, a lot of towns only have 1 or 2 four star hotels that accept foreigners. I was in Chengde one night and there were no beds left for foreigners as at the time there were only a handful of places that were licenced.

You will always find a place to stay. Usually when a place refuses you they'll point to the nearest hotel that'll take you (which will probably be a lot more expensive). Or you can try your luck at some other one- and two-star places nearby first. Or look up the city on the booking sites and see what's listed.

If you haven't been to China before, it's also important to understand that there are lots and lots of hotels in Chinese towns and cities, especially around train stations. Often, that's not the most salubrious area, but you can almost always find something there with some legwork. (But legwork gets tiring after a while, so you'll probably come to appreciate the convenience of the booking sites.)

But he let you stay?

Yes.

I would help the hotel manager from been embarrassed by pre-empting him:
“hi, I am sorry I can only pay cash …, what are your cheaper rooms looked like?”
:-)

Sure it can happen. Some hotels don't have the system to register you with the local PSB and don't want to bother if they get just a couple of foreigners per year. But I have traveled a lot in China in the past many years and personally never encountered this. I did, however, encounter places would could not care less with the registration. In a small place in Dehang or even in Lijiang.

I disagree with this attitude very strongly. You do need to worry!

If you don't mind throwing money around, you'll find a place to stay. The most expensive place in town will nearly always accept you, and if you're happy paying for a taxi to take you there, you'll get a bed for the night.

But if you're a budget traveler, trying to stay at even decentish mid-range places, finding somewhere to sleep can sometimes be a big, big, big hassle. I once ended up in a horrible (but cheap) 24-hour spa place for the night, staying in a huge dormitory, because I couldn't find a reasonably-priced hotel in town willing to accept me.

I would not rely on the PSB for help either! The PSB were once called while I was struggling to find a hotel room, and all they did was take me to a random street corner in the middle of town (well after dark) and drop me off there.

Finding a decent, reasonably-priced place to sleep can easily be one of the biggest challenges of traveling around China.

And as above, there are no rules to it. In some towns, it's easy to find a hotel. In others, it's next to impossible.

#11 and #12

Are you sure you travelled in the same country?

But I have traveled a lot in China in the past many years and personally never encountered this. >

vs.

finding somewhere to sleep can sometimes be a big, big, big hassle>

Perhaps jpdem tends to look for fancier hotels than I do. The number of hotels in China that have turned me away because I was foreign number at least 100, spread out all over the country.

That's pretty bad!

Well, nobody said travelling in China is easy...

Are you sure you travelled in the same country?

China is a huge country. Things also work a little differently there. One law can be enforced in dramatically different ways.

This particular law was changed in the run up to the olympics 8 years ago, when the central government decreed that all hotels in Beijing would start accepting foreigners, with other provinces to start doing the same soon. No timetable, no definition of soon, no list of provinces. It is up to each individual local government to make the decisions. You can go to one town and find all the hotels accept foreigners, then go to the next down down the road and find that there is only 1 place in town.

Generally, most hotels in China do accept foreigners, but the ones that do not are clustered together and are towards the lower end of the budget spectrum. You might not find 1 hotel that doesnt accept foreigners, but if you find one, there is a good chance you will find 10.

Years and years ago, there was a new policy that foreigners could stay anywhere in Beijing, but it never really got off the ground, and it is today a dead letter.

Like others, I've been refused lodging at a great number of places, including Beijing after the new policy came into effect. For a while, I carried a copy of the announcement, but finally gave up.

Ditto other places that announced this new policy, like Kunming.

For Beijing, here's the official 2003 announcement from the Beijing PSB:

http://www.bjgaj.gov.cn/web/detail_getArticleInfo_39716_col1159.html (in Chinese)

And here's Booking.com's 2016 listing for the 7 Days Inn near Beijing West, with the notation "Mainland Chinese Citizens" and the remark, "Please note that due to local licensing guidelines, 7Days Inn Beijing West Railway Station Lize Bridge is only able to accept Mainland Chinese citizens. Guests must present a valid PRC Identification Card upon check-in."

http://www.booking.com/hotel/cn/7days-inn-beijing-west-railyway-station-lize-bridge.html

889, that is one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen on the internet. We have advertising copy in their description saying:

"Fengtai is a great choice for travelers interested in convenient public transportation, tourist attractions and history.

We speak your language! "

And then, one of the "6 Reasons to Choose 7Days Inn Beijing West Railway Station Lize Bridge":

Staff speak English!

And indeed, it's advertised on an English-speaking booking site.

But they can only accept Mainlanders???

The real problem is that China is not run according to laws.

Whatever the law happens to be, at a national or local level, is irrelevant. All that matters is what hotel staff actually decide to do. Sometimes the PSB is strict, and many hotels won't let you stay. Sometimes a town is used to seeing a lot of foreigners for whatever reason, and so most hotels there will you let you stay.

But often as not, there's no rhyme or reason to it. Some hotels will let you stay, and other won't. It's impossible to predict. Sometimes a really cheap place won't let you stay, but the nicer place next to it will. Sometimes a nicer place won't let you stay, but the really cheap place next to it will. Maybe one receptionist will allow you to stay, but if you turn up the next day and meet someone else at reception, they'll refuse you. Some places will agree to let you stay, but only after you speak Chinese with them for awhile, and convince them that you're not an alien. Turn up somewhere with a Chinese girlfriend, and they're likely to let you stay, even if they'd refuse you if you were by yourself..

The whole thing is a complete and utter mess, and it can be very, very frustrating.

While ctrip and elong produce English versions of their sites which more-or-less censor out places that won't accept foreigners, Agoda and booking.com don't: their listings are the same regardless of language. Change the language of that booking.com listing to Simplified Chinese and it doesn't look so odd.

Turn up somewhere with a Chinese girlfriend, and they're likely to let you stay, even if they'd refuse you if you were by yourself..>

Sounds like a good solution! :-)

I didn't know Chinese people actually used booking.com

Also, the English translation is very good - it clearly has been properly translated by a decent English speaker.

The Chinese version proudly lets you know that receptionists speak Chinese! Other languages simply tell you that they speak "two languages". If you look at the site in a language other than English or Chinese, the all important warning that only Mainlanders can stay there still appears in English.

It's boilerplate booking.com uses on all listings with this restriction; they didn't do the translation specially for the 7 Days Inn Beijing West.

I mean the general description of the hotel:

"7Days Inn Beijing West Railway Station Lize Bridge offers simply decorated guestrooms. Free WiFi is available throughout the property."

... and so on.

Maybe that's the same description that's on every 7 Days Inn out there, including those that can accept foreigners. I'd presume, in that case, they also all claim to have English speaking staff, even if no one's ever actually checked.

Incidentally, I much prefer Home Inn - they maintain standards far better than 7 Days Inn.

And in several languages there is the brief notation "For Chinese citizens": "Citoyens Chinois Continentaux," "Para ciudadanos de China continental," "Cittadini della Cina Continentale," etc.

Home Inns is indeed fine, and if you can read Chinese their website normally tells you if a property does not accept foreigners.

http://m.homeinns.com/hotels/P21001/comments

I can't see a notation anywhere in local languages saying "For Chinese citizens". All it says is "Mainland Chinese citizens", and it does so in the title of the room, not in anything describing who can stay there.

The name of this room is the "Mainland Chinese citizens - special offer Twin Room".

It's not at all obvious - in English or in any other language - that what they're trying to say is that only Mainland citizens can stay there.

The only thing I hate worse in China than being called a 老外 is being called a 外宾. I've only ever heard (or seen) the term from hotels telling me that I can't stay there.

"I can't see a notation anywhere in local languages saying 'For Chinese citizens'. All it says is 'Mainland Chinese citizens.'"

"Para ciudadanos de China continental."

I was looking at French and Japanese, rather than Spanish. The equivalent of "Para" doesn't appear in either French or Japanese.

In fact, the Spanish version is even more confusing, since the "para" only appears in the description of some of the rooms, but not the others. You have a choice between the "For Mainland Chinese citizens room" and the "Mainland Chinese citizens room".

Well, if you honestly honestly think those listings are confusing, then by all means write to booking.com and complain.

When I was in Lanzhou, I made a booking at Hanting Hotel using Ctrip.
Upon reaching the hotel, I was told the establishment is not allowed
to take in foreign guests due to licensing issue. I was fortunate that
the booking was under the free cancellation policy.

Recently, I booked a hotel in Hangzhou which I was very sure was able
to accommodate foreign guests via Ctrip Chinese Website. A few weeks
later, when I went back to check their pricing, the rooms indicated
for 'Mainland Chinese Only' ‘内宾’。 Seems like they keep
changing the status all the time.

To avoid the above scenario, I usually check by emailing the hotel
or customer service before making a booking which is non-refundable.

So far, I have no issues for hotel reservations under booking.com

I

Maybe I am staying in more upscale hotels? I have never stayed at a place cheaper than 50RMB per night. So maybe you are right. This is hardly mid-range. In more remote places i usually pay 50 to 100RMb per night. Never been refused so far. In many instances, I wasn't even asked for my passport either.
But in bigger cities I prefer to pay 200 to 300RMB. Not very upscale either.
But I extremely rarely just show up somewhere and look for a place to stay. I try to book one day in advance. Sometimes this is not practical such as pretty much anywhere in Guizhou or small villages in Henan.

Yes. It depends where you are and what sort of budget you have.

4 or 5 star hotels will, rarely, be a problem (Except, oddly, the 5 star (I think. Never stayed there) hotel nearest to me in Beijing. But that does overlook a military compound and the Chinese are paranoid about spying. I suppose they're always at it so they think everyone is). If you want cheaper accommodation, however; you may have problems.

The places I've had most trouble are Hebei (as said above and which is incredibly annoying as there are quite a few attractions that a visitor might want to visit), Liaoning in, pretty much, every major centre outside of Shenyang, Dalian and, for some inexplicable reason, Fushun (Pretty much, EVERYWHERE else will be problematic) and Ningxia (I've only ever been to Yinchuan in Ningxia, it's true, but have experienced the problems first-hand even though I, eventually found a hotel that would accept me despite not officially being allowed to.... Which was RIGHT next door to a Police Station as well). Henan can also be a problem, even in Zhengzhou (Although there are enough hotels that will accept you to mean you don't have to worry).

Most Youth Hostels (NOT all) are set up to take foreigners

i usually pay 50 to 100RMb per night. Never been refused so far. In many instances, I wasn't even asked for my passport either.

If they didn't take a copy of your passport then you weren't officially registered meaning that you were illegally staying (As, quiet possibly, was everyone). A private room anywhere for 50RMB will, almost certainly, be in an unlicensed "hotel".

" When I was in Lanzhou, I made a booking at Hanting Hotel using Ctrip.
Upon reaching the hotel, I was told the establishment is not allowed
to take in foreign guests due to licensing issue. I was fortunate that
the booking was under the free cancellation policy. "

I had exactly the same problems when I stayed in Tongren in Qinghai. This is a very sensitive town politically and the whole town had quite a sour atmosphere. I booked the hotel on Ctrip but when I arrived they refused me, saying they can't accept foreigners. I kicked up a fuss and planted myself in the reception area. I was a bit of an a*sehole to be honest, but I made it very clear I wasn't leaving until I got my room. Eventually they gave in and led my to my room, past endless empty rooms. The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
_
Tongren was probably the worst place I visited in China!

Really? I really liked Tongren. I also had a bit of trouble finding a hotel there, I think.

Ningxia is a huge pain to find hotels - I got refused in every town I stayed at there except, strangely enough, Tongxin. Both Yinchuan and Guyuan involved lengthy searches for hotels. I must have been rejected from nearly a dozen hotels in Guyuan, before I "gave up", and just headed to a hopelessly poorly built building in the bus station where a cheap hotel was willing to accept me. I made sure to get a room with a computer, so instead of failing to sleep in the noisy bus station, I could browse the internet instead.

I was also rejected by a few hotels in Dalian.

Really? I really liked Tongren. I also had a bit of trouble finding a hotel there, I think.

Don't get me wrong I'm sure the town is great, I think I just had a bad experience in the town. And having the opportunity to interact with the thangka artists was a memorable experience :)

"Fengtai is a great choice for travelers interested in convenient public transportation, tourist attractions and history.
We speak your language! "
And then, one of the "6 Reasons to Choose 7Days Inn Beijing West Railway Station Lize Bridge":
Staff speak English!
And indeed, it's advertised on an English-speaking booking site.
But they can only accept Mainlanders???

Well first, nothing in Fengtai is a great choice for travelers for tourist attractions or history.

Second I bet the quality of their staff's english is suspect. About what you would get in Japan at a hotel that doesnt advertise they speak english or possibly worse.

Not sure they even know what it means.

Turn up somewhere with a Chinese girlfriend, and they're likely to let you stay, even if they'd refuse you if you were by yourself..>

Sounds like a good solution! :-)

That solves the problem sometimes, but not always. I went to Xiamen a few years back, gf at the time booked the room. As we were checking in they figured out we were together and then they canceled on us right there.

" When I was in Lanzhou, I made a booking at Hanting Hotel using Ctrip.
Upon reaching the hotel, I was told the establishment is not allowed
to take in foreign guests due to licensing issue. I was fortunate that
the booking was under the free cancellation policy. "

I had exactly the same problems when I stayed in Tongren in Qinghai.

I had the same problem once in Shijiazhuang. I had made an online booking through one of the web-sites (Booking.com/Agoda/etc) at a Home Inn only to be told, when I got there, that they couldn't accept foreigners. They did, however, direct me to another hotel (Actually; part of the same complex as the Home Inn, through which I'd had to go to get to the Home Inn reception) that could accommodate foreigners (And, to be honest, wasn't THAT much more expensive).

I recently saw a notice checking in: if a hotel does not properly register you as foreigner, then report the hotel to the PSB and they'll refund your room charges! Seriously.

... refund your room charges! Seriously.

That would be good news, but … the hotel may give excuse that it was caused by a temporary worker.

Until now I only was refused in Ma'erkang (where afterwards I found a really nice room in a better hotel for just 160) and in 2 places in Guizhou. In 2014 two very friendly policemen escorted me from my Nongjiayuan in the most picturesque village in the Xingyi-area into Xingyi-town, to find a hotel for me (finally I had to pay 180 for a really nice room, but I would have liked the Nongjiayuan in the village better which would have allowed me, to start the next morning in the area of my interest). They told me, that the room in the Nongjiayuan was not good enough for me as a foreigner from Europe.
Last month I was in Dafang to visit Jiudongtian and Qingxudong Arch. The first Binguan would have costed 158. But when I showed my foreign passport the lady at the reception giggled and told me to wait because she had to call somebody. Finally, I was told that it is not possible, but they would recommend me the very fancy hotel on the other side of the street. I didn't ask at the other hotel, because it seemed way to expensive (maybe I was wrong) so I asked at the next Binguan. The same story, I left before she got the answer when she called somebody. Since Dafang has many hotels around the two busstations I continued my search. A cheaper place probably would have accepted me, but I never showed them my passport because I didn't like the room. So I entered the next place, a Jiudian with a big lobby. I asked for the price: 178. OK. When I gave the girl at the reception my passport she looked at it, probably didn't like to do the paperwork and just gave me a receipt without any name on it. She also didn't make the mandatory copy of my passport. This was a diametrical experience. I thought, that probably I would get into trouble if police would stop me, but since I travel for many years in China and never had such an experience I was happy to get a room as it was already dark outside.

It does happen, though not very often, that desk clerks just take your money and hand you the key, without even asking your name. Just say "Xiexie" and quickly head to your room.

I don't think you can get in trouble with the police for staying unregistered in a hotel! After all, it's often unclear whether or not you've been properly registered. If the police want to make trouble for you in China, they don't need you staying in an unregistered hotel as an excuse.

Also, I've never had my identity checked on the street in China (only when going into train and sometimes bus stations), and have absolutely never been asked by any official where I'm staying. If you're staying unregistered somewhere, I think the worst thing that might happen to you is that the PSB will find out and come and kick you out, encouraging you to stay somewhere more expensive.

And yes, the girlfriend trick isn't foolproof - I've been refused at hotels when traveling with a girlfriend, but not very often. In fact, only ever in one town, from what I can remember.

Of course, you need to be properly registered with the PSB first if you're going to have any contact with them. Normally this is foreseeable -- usually getting a visa extension -- but not always. Say you lose your passport and need to make a police report.

I don't think you can get in trouble with the police for staying unregistered in a hotel! After all, it's often unclear whether or not you've been properly registered. If the police want to make trouble for you in China, they don't need you staying in an unregistered hotel as an excuse.

The PSB does care that foreigners are registered. If you are say living in China they might make a big deal of it, but for tourists they wont make a fuss. They will go after the hotel though

If you're staying in a place licensed to accept guests, then that place has the responsibility to register you.

If you're staying privately or in an unlicensed place, then it's your responsibility to register.

If you're staying at a hotel, and the hotel didn't register you, that's their problem. If you're staying somewhere privately and you're not registered, that's your problem.

I did once stay in a local apartment in China for awhile, and I tried to register with the PSB. They refused to register me. So instead, I just got the landlord to tell me when building inspections were, and make sure I wasn't around then.

At a hotel though, any kind of inspections are the hotel's problem, and not yours.

The one time that I KNOW I wasn't registered properly was the time in Yinchuan I mentioned earlier. I handed my passport over when I checked in only to have it immediately handed back to me (The girl barely looked at it, wouldn't have understood what she was seeing anyway and no copy taken). I asked no questions, went to my room and had no problems. And, like I say, this hotel was right next door to a fairly big police station.

There have been a few occasions when I have booked online and turned up at the hotel to be met by receptionists who have not known whether or not they are allowed to accept foreigners (Two recent occasions spring to mind. Both at branches of the 7 Days Inn. One in Jinhua, in Zhejiang; the other in Jinan, Shandong) and they've had to trundle off and talk to a manager before checking me in.

Apropos the girlfriend situation: when I lived in Tonghua and my ex-girlfriend lived in Qiqihaer, we used to rendezvous in Changchun and stay at a hotel that I know I wasn't supposed to be at. Every time we'd turn up there would always be an argument which the ex would always win (She was good at that).

I've twice been told I have to leave late at night after booking in, because the police say I can't stay, one booked on booking.com. Both times I stayed the rest of the night and moved the next day. On the southern silk road I had some difficulty finding a hotel that would accept me. Each one that did charged me somewhat more than the hotel warranted. Friends arrived at their booking.com booked hotel in Zhangye during Golden week to be told they couldn't stay because they were foreigners. In Xinjiang once I had trouble finding a foreigner hotel so asked some riot squad police (i found many were from out of town, spoke some English and had nothing much to do) and they were very helpful. Twice hotels I booked on ctrip emailed me the day before to cancel the booking when they realised I was a foreigner. Someone told me that applying to be a foreigner hotel was time- consuming and expensive so it wasn't worth doing unless you were sure of customers.

Someone told me that applying to be a foreigner hotel was time- consuming and expensive so it wasn't worth doing unless you were sure of customers.

I've been told that, too. And I might have been able to accept that explanation had it not been for the fact that some branches of Chain Hotels, Like 7 Days Inn/Home Inn/Motel 168/Hanting Express/etc, have no problem at all in accepting foreigners; others can't. Sometimes even in the same city (There are 6 branches of the 7 Day Inn in Yinchuan, for instance. Only one of them is able to accept foreigners). Also; when they can't accommodate you, hotels will often apologise and tell you that they are prevented from having foreign guest by local bylaws (I've encountered this in both Handan, Hebei and Anshan, Liaoning).

I can accept that cost might be a factor for small, independent hotels but not conglomerates. And I've stayed in many small hotels that wouldn't get a lot of foreign custom that DO have a license.

It is definitely still an issue for budget places. Hanting Express for example does not allow foreigners, at least not the one I tried in Shanghai.

Some of the booking websites do have notes about 'Chinese only'. Check it beforehand.

I had no trouble whatsoever getting a room in either In Yinchuan or Guyuan.
In both I walked into the first cheapie I randomly came across (definitely not ones in LP or intended for foreigners) and got a room immediately.
Maybe NOT speaking much Chinese helps? ;-)

Strangely, relatively touristy Kaili in Guizou was one place where I had a number of budget hotels refusing me. But I still ended up staying at two "unapproved" hotels there - and got a free visa extension at the local PSB while doing so.

You must have been the only person all year to turn up in Guyuan without speaking Chinese! Did you visit Tongxin as well?

My day in Guyuan was amongst the worst I've ever had in China - I got in a physical confrontation with a guy on the bus there and then discovered that the bus station had moved miles out of town. I bought my ticket out of town for the next day, and went into the city center to look for a hotel. The city center was a polluted construction zone, with none of the buildings looking older than 5 years (or looking like they'd survive another 5 years). I spent 3, maybe 4 hours, wandering around looking for a hotel. Every single hotel was either dubiously "full" or flat out told me that they didn't accept foreigners. I even went into a few hotels which would have been above my budget anyway, and they refused to accept me as well. In between visiting a dozen hotels, I managed to go to the town's museum as well, which was seriously dilapidated.

In the end, I was worried local buses to the bus station were going to end soon. So I decided to hop on one, and found a cheap (but still overpriced) place to stay in the bus station. It was a noisy dump. Thankfully, I headed to the far more pleasant Tianshui the next day.

I don't remember Tongxin.
Guyuan was certainty a dump, and the "hotel" I stayed at was some dark, windowless basement thing in what looked like a disused parking lot or storage area.
The room was OK though, and cheap - my definition of that being ¥50 or less for a room. Even the nearby Budfhist caves that were the whole reason to stop by were underwhelming - I found the dusty chipmunk spotted on the hills more interesting than the caves.
The onward journey southwards to Gansu was certainly scenic though, and the Maijishan caves more than made up for the ones at Guyuan.

You don't get much for 50 Yuan these days!

Tongxin is a small town north of Guyuan. It's noteworthy for having a Ming-era mosque, the only mosque in all of Ningxia which wasn't destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

The scenery between Guyuan and Gansu is certainly lovely! One of the corners of China I'd like to get back to and explore more.

Incidentally, I found Yinchuan one of the most likeable provincial capitals in China.
Though I imagine in winter it must be far less pleasant.

So far I have pretty much always found a place within that budget in China.
Typically a hostel dorm in big ciities, but a private room elsewhere.

And there are plenty of areas I'd still love to explore in China, including some I've already been to in the past.

Yes, Yinchuan's surprisingly pleasant. Probably because there's a lot of space, and not so many people. The city is very spread out, and not very congested. I enjoyed the old tombs and pagodas sitting around town, but it was the brand new Renmin Guangchang with a flock of resident peacocks that I really liked! There's an interesting museum there as well.

50 Yuan isn't a suitable nightly budget in China anymore. In the bigger cities, hostels charge more than that for a dorm bed, and only the most basic of lodgings will give you a private room for that amount. You can probably get by on 50 Yuan a night in the cheapest parts of China, but only just.

I will be back to explore a few places in China, old and new, in a few weeks time.

Oh well.
My first ever room in China, admittedly not exactly luxurious, cost me Y5 (five).
Those were the days!

Here in Japan, on the other hand, nothing seems to have raised their prices in decades. You can pick up a guidebook from 15 years ago, and the prices are all still correct.

Indeed. I mentioned that in my review of an old Japan guide on Amazon.

I didn't know they had a hiking guide to Japan! The LP hiking guides seem to be very hit and miss. The old Trekking in the Karakoram and the Hindu Kush is still my favorite LP guide, but some of the others are so-so. I wonder if Cicerone cover Japan.

it was the brand new Renmin Guangchang with a flock of resident peacocks that I really liked!

This is the second time I've seen you mention peacocks in Renmin Guangchang, Yinchuan. I've been to Yinchuan on several occasions and never seen hide nor hair (Face nor feather?) of a peacock. Pigeons by the truck-load but not one single peacock.

What were you doing in Yinchuan on several occasions?? I've only been there once, and the peacocks were clear as you like. I've found their home on Google Maps. Take a look at the square in the satellite view. Right in the middle of it is a big 6-pointed star. One of the points on the star points to the south-west. Follow the line of that point. You'll see, hidden in the grass and the bushes next to the paved part of the square, the red roof of a small little building.

When I visited the square, that little building was home to a large family of peacocks.

OK, this is certainly something that your experience of finding accommodation in China does not encompass, but let’s have a look at such situation:

You have decided not to pay more than 100 Y for a room, and the only hotel in a town that accept foreigners has room for 300. There are other hotels, cheaper ones, with rooms for 100 y. You go to PSB and say that you cannot afford the 300 Y hotel, and need a cheaper one, otherwise you have no place to stay and will be forced to sleep on a bench in the town park. What reaction from the police side you might expect?

There's a general feeling, at least among Chinese people, that you do not approach the police unless you absolutely absolutely must. This isn't so much related to today's police or political regime but to an ages-old aversion to getting mixed-up with authority, especially the law.

That is, best you work it out yourself and don't involve the police.

But if you do go to the police and you do meet someone you can talk to who's willing to help, then they'll drive you over to the 300RMB hotel and strike a deal for you at 200RMB.

I had this experience once. I was new to China, didn't speak any Chinese, and was traveling on a very tight budget. I turned up in a town, only planning to stay one night. I started wandering around looking for hotels. Hotel after hotel after hotel refused me. It was getting late, and I started to get worried. Then, luck! I found a hotel that accepted me. Reception staff spoke no English, but they showed me a room, wrote down an acceptable price (80 Yuan), and everything seemed great. I threw my bags in the room, and went down to pay.

That's where the problems began. We couldn't communicate too well, and suddenly, they seemed to be telling me I couldn't stay there. Why? What's going on? I couldn't really get an answer. I was incredibly angry. I went off to the room and locked myself in, so that I could at least use the bathroom and freshen up a bit (I'd been traveling since first thing in the morning). They banged on the door repeatedly. When I came out, about 10-15 minutes later, the police were there.

The police didn't speak any English either. They took me to a hotel, and some poor Australian/Chinese girl who staying there was called down to translate. A room in the hotel was about 300 Yuan. I said that was too expensive, and asked to be taken back to an 80-Yuan hotel, such as the one I'd just been to, where I would have been perfectly happy to spend the night.

I was furious at this point.

The awkward conversation, with the Australian tourist mediating, continued like this for about 20 minutes. Eventually, I was told that the police knew of a cheaper hotel where I could stay. I got back in the car with them. They dropped me off on a completely random street corner a few blocks away, and drove off.

I went back to the fancier, 300 Yuan hotel, sat down on a couch in reception, and told them I was going to spend the night there. It was already well after dark, I was exhausted, and doing more wandering in search of a hotel seemed hopeless.

The hotel evidently didn't want me hanging out at reception. They promised me they really did know somewhere cheap I could sleep, and had a member of staff walk me there.

It turned out to be a 24-hour spa. It cost me 19 Yuan for the night. I gave my backpack to reception, turned down an offer or two of a massage, and headed to a large dormitory-like room to spend a sleepless night.

In my first year in China the powers that be used to lock up our residential building at 10pm and close the gate of the compound as well. This meant that if we went on of an evening (Maybe a Friday) to a bar (For instance) the night was only just starting when we had to leave or otherwise we'd be faced with jumping over a gate or wall and then trying to wake up the old twit who was the caretaker (Who would be a lot less than happy with us). This didn't appeal much; even less so in the winter when ice and snow made jumping the gate/wall that much more hazardous.

The answer, I found, was to go to the massage place that was across the road, pay 10 yuan for a beautiful foot massage that would put me to sleep anyway (Particularly after copious quantities of beer), spend a comfortable night there, pay 30RMB extra in the morning and back across the road for breakfast.

The thing is that i am going to tour China (HK – Hanoi) on a bicycle, and looking for accommodating will be a subject for improvisation: where an evening found me there I would stay: village, town or in the middle of nowhere (wild camping). I am not going jump from one “foreigner hotel” to another. And if there is no hotel or any other place to stay at I always have a tent to sleep in, and if this causes a headache for local authorities I would let them find a better solution (max 100 Y).

There are always people hanging around outside train station/bus station/etc in bigger centres who will be holding cards with pictures of rooms on them and they'll take anyone. Be aware though that they WILL be unlicensed "hotels" and there is always the outside chance that the police will raid the place, the photo on the card will bear very little resemblance to the actual room and they WILL try and charge you standard hotel prices (150 - 180). You have to bargain and don't, whatever you do, pay up front (And never, never, never pay a key deposit).

The thing is that i am going to tour China (HK – Hanoi) on a bicycle, and looking for accommodating will be a subject for improvisation: where an evening found me there I would stay: village, town or in the middle of nowhere (wild camping). I am not going jump from one “foreigner hotel” to another. And if there is no hotel or any other place to stay at I always have a tent to sleep in, and if this causes a headache for local authorities I would let them find a better solution (max 100 Y).

That is a great attitude. Heading to China intent on breaking the law every day you are there. Generally the PSB is inclined to look the other way, avoid conflict but not always. The solution the PSB will find is probably holding you without charge or fining you until you change your mind.

I usually don't expect to get a room for 50 Yuan, but on my last trip I got one (average price travelling in Guizhoui for hotels was 135 Yuan). I wanted to visit the big Tianshengqiao in Liping which actually is situated closer to Gaotunzhen (where the airport is). The girl at the bus who sells the tickets stopped the bus for me in front of the only Binguan in small Gaotunzhen. The room was basic but clean and costed 50 Yuan. But there are not many tourists and Guizhou is one of the poorest provinces. But still I was surprised because usually hotel-rooms in regions with no western tourists are more expensive. I guess it's because there is less competition.

It turned out to be a 24-hour spa. It cost me 19 Yuan for the night ....

Was the massage part of the 19 yuan package?

... spend a comfortable night there, pay 30RMB extra in the morning ...

What was the extra for, services?

" . . . and if this causes a headache for local authorities I would let them find a better solution."

Agree this is a really bad attitude to have on a trip to China. As said, you should go out of your way to avoid encounters with officials, and if you have to encounter them then you do so on bended knee.

The thing is that i am going to tour China (HK – Hanoi) on a bicycle, and looking for accommodating will be a subject for improvisation: where an evening found me there I would stay: village, town or in the middle of nowhere (wild camping). I am not going jump from one “foreigner hotel” to another. And if there is no hotel or any other place to stay at I always have a tent to sleep in, and if this causes a headache for local authorities I would let them find a better solution (max 100 Y).

My bolding. The problem with your camping plan on the HK-Hanoi route is that there is very little "middle of nowhere" to pitch a tent--you will always be on somebody's land and you will probably not go unnoticed or unchallenged--and not necessarily from the local constabulary. I think you are over-imagining accommodation being a problem in this region of China--you should be able to find inexpensive accommodation, legal to take foreigners at RMB 100 or less especially in towns or smaller cities. Friendly villagers in out-of-the-way spots who are unaware or untroubled by official regulations, might let you pitch your tent somewhere if you politely ask "permission", maybe buy a little food or meal from one of them, and let them know you'll be moving on in the morning (if that's the truth).

If the police show up, you can always tell them that you were supposed to make it to X [insert name of next major town on forward route] but were so tired you had to stop for the night. Always be polite. Unless you happen to rock up unawares to a place near some sort of sensitive installation, I doubt the police will do anything scary to you and might be OK with letting you stay/camp one "emergency" night.

I stayed at the only hotel in a small Guizhou town once. I think the room was about 30 Yuan. In places like that, you don't tend to have problems with foreigners not being allowed! They don't know what a foreigner is, and you speak much better Mandarin than they do anyway. They probably think you're from Beijing.

As to the person asking about cycling - I know many people who have cycled in China on small budgets. You'll get by. In small places with only one or two hotels, there usually isn't a problem staying as a foreigner. The main issue is in towns and cities, where people feel they can always just tell you to go "somewhere else", or when there are indeed fancier hotels in town where the police want foreigners to stay.

Do note though that in some regions (Xinjiang, ethnically Tibetan regions) local authorities tend to be much stricter with foreigners, and there you are likely to have more problems.

If you turn up somewhere and the police find out, and decide they don't want you there, they're not going to arrest you. They'll either tell you to cycle out of town, or put you on a bus.

Do you remember my story about being taken by the police and being dumped on a random street corner? That's their attitude more generally as well. If you turn up in a County, and the local police don't want you there..... all they'll do is make sure that you cross the border into the next County, and then you are suddenly someone else's problem, and they don't have to think about you anymore.

Thank you for your comments. I think i will be able to handle such situations in a right way.

I found it excellent.
I think it even saw a 2nd edition.
I used the first:
https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Lonely-Planet-Walking-Guides/dp/1864500395/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2Y4CM28W6RX54X9J8JGB

I'll keep an eye out for it.

It's funny your review is still sitting up there. I didn't even know Amazon existed back then. Well done on them for not periodically deleting old commentary, I suppose.

Do you have any favorite hikes/regions in Japan to recommend? I've only done the odd day-hike here and there, mostly in Shikoku. I would love to compare the volcanoes of Japan with those of Indonesia.

Sure I do.
The main hike passing several crater lakes and volcanoes in Kirishima-Yaku NP on Kyushu, adding climbing the highest peak there.
It was a day hike but very scenic.

All right, well I am definitely getting to Kyushu one of these days! I think I could probably drive there in only one day.

By the way, I finally saw a raccoon dog. I hit him with my car... :-(

You have your own car in Japan?
Living well, it sounds.

Yes, I have a car, albeit a very cheap one. I live in a small town with poor public transport connections.
Life here isn't bad, but I don't get to travel as much as I used to! Mostly just 2-3 days trips at the weekends.

I think you can book a hotel in booking , Agoda, or Ctrip in prior to your arrival. Remember double check with the on-line staff whether the hotel accept foreigners, it is very convenient. Just take care of your Passport, and don't go to some places few people, just for your safety.

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